Last week I received a letter notifying me that my teacher certificate in Michigan is due to expire this June. Having spent three years acquiring my Alaska teacher certification, the thought of dealing with more bureaucratic nonsense is a bit wearying. When I moved up here three and half years ago, my plan was to stay (as it is now). There's no reason to spend time, frustration, and money on a certification that I will not use.
That's not to say that I'm not tempted to re-up "just in case." I didn't know the retirement situation when I came up here (the short of it is--I can't). Then we ended up in the current contract negotiation mess which is all too familiar to me. Meanwhile, the new governor's proposed budget includes a 25% to the K-12 fund. To be clear, I don't fully understand the ways that Alaska funds its education, but that fund (as I understand it) is one of several components that determines school funding. However, the cuts to that fund alone would cut school funding overall by about 10% (if I have that right). Plus, other cuts might still come due to this. Sure, this is just a proposed budget cut, but this is also the first year of this governor's term.
I don't believe that my employment is in jeopardy--at least, not in the near future. However, I am concerned about the overall environment in education as well as the stresses (increased class sizes, less planning time, even more reduced medical insurance) that are certain to be down the road we are currently headed. Together, these have made me wonder if keeping my certification in Michigan active might work as a bit of a safety net.
That said, I'm not going to do recertify in Michigan. It's not just that it would be financially impractical for me to return to a teaching job in Michigan (and thus start over again on the salary/seniority scales). Rather, it's because I am where I want to be, and I plan on continuing to fight to stay here.
That's not to say that I'm not tempted to re-up "just in case." I didn't know the retirement situation when I came up here (the short of it is--I can't). Then we ended up in the current contract negotiation mess which is all too familiar to me. Meanwhile, the new governor's proposed budget includes a 25% to the K-12 fund. To be clear, I don't fully understand the ways that Alaska funds its education, but that fund (as I understand it) is one of several components that determines school funding. However, the cuts to that fund alone would cut school funding overall by about 10% (if I have that right). Plus, other cuts might still come due to this. Sure, this is just a proposed budget cut, but this is also the first year of this governor's term.
I don't believe that my employment is in jeopardy--at least, not in the near future. However, I am concerned about the overall environment in education as well as the stresses (increased class sizes, less planning time, even more reduced medical insurance) that are certain to be down the road we are currently headed. Together, these have made me wonder if keeping my certification in Michigan active might work as a bit of a safety net.
That said, I'm not going to do recertify in Michigan. It's not just that it would be financially impractical for me to return to a teaching job in Michigan (and thus start over again on the salary/seniority scales). Rather, it's because I am where I want to be, and I plan on continuing to fight to stay here.
RSS Feed
