State officials sent an application to Washington, D.C., Tuesday for $485 million in education grants, but questions about the money still loom for some Rhea County educators.

Governor Phil Bredesen signed off on a bill approved by the Tennessee General Assembly late Friday in an attempt to potentially secure the federal funding that could trickle down to local schools.

Part of the application required legislators to alter existing law regarding student testing data, low performance schools and how teachers and principals earn tenure.

"They have legislated the 'whats,' but we've got the 'hows' that we've got to learn," Rhea County Director of Schools Jerry Levengood said Tuesday. "It's a work in progress, but I don't have the answers yet, and I don't know anybody who does."

He said the bill passed last week still leaves several questions unanswered for teachers, principals and administrators.

Among other things, lawmakers agreed to change evaluation standards for teachers and principals. Teachers will now be evaluated once every year, as opposed to twice every five years.

In addition, 35 percent of evaluation standards will come straight from students' standardized testing results, such as TCAP, ACT and gateway exams.

Another 15 percent will come from a 15-member governor-appointed advisory committee. Eight positions on the board will be made up of teachers or administrators. The remining criteria will come from principals' evaluations, classroom obervations and peer reviews.

Rhea-Dayton Education Association (RDEA) President Debra Phillips said standardized tests are not the best way to gauge teacher effectiveness.

"This is not an assembly line," she said. "Not all children are the same."

She added that the more testing teachers have to do, the more teaching time students lose.

"I don't know it's worth it," she said. "Just close the classroom door, and let me teach my children."
Levengood said he's concerned about how teachers who don't use those standardized tests will be evaluated.

"That's part of the piece that's going to have to come down from the state," Levengood said.
Rhea County Commissioner and Rhea County High School Librarian Emmaly Fisher is one of those teachers and is a member of the RDEA teachers' union.

"A lot of us are concerned because it seems there's so much that's undecided," she said. "They don't give tests in my subject area. That's a little disconcerting."

Gov. Bredesen's original proposal was to make testing results count for 50 percent of teacher evaluations, but statewide teacher unions protested.

"I just hope we're not selling ourselves out to get some money," added Fisher.

Another chief concern of Levengood's was funding for the legislation's changes. If Tennessee is awarded money from President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" initiative, the changes would presumably be paid for. But if Tennessee receives no money, the changes will still go into effect.

"If the laws do not have a funding mandate with them, we're really in trouble because we don't have the monies now," Levengood said.

Just performing yearly evaluations for each teacher would require hiring more full-time administrators, which would necessitate added funding, according to Levengood.

"If not, then we've got a real mess," Levengood said.

Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, who voted for the bill, said Bredesen promised legislators the endeavor would add no unfunded expenses to cash-strapped school systems. If Tennessee receives no money, Cobb said the State Board of Education will determine how to shift funds to pay for the changes.

"We've been guaranteed by the governor this is revenue-neutral," he said.

Michael Reneau can be contacted at michael.reneau@rheaherladnews.com.