NORTHWEST ALABAMIAN
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Copyright © 2007 Mid-South Newspapers, Inc. • P.O. Box 430 • Haleyville, Alabama 35565  All rights reserved.
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Last Updated: February 3, 2012
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The Northwest Alabamian gladly accepts letters to the editor on issues of pertinent interest to our readers. This is your open forum to express your opinions, but we do have a few guidelines we ask you to follow:
1. All letters must be signed with an address. Names will be printed with the letter in the NWA. No letters will be printed without a name.
2. We reserve the right to edit letters without changing the tone of message. Corrections in grammar, spelling and proper English usage will be made if we deem them necessary.
3. Please keep letters as brief as possible. (Example: two typed pages, double-spaced,
or three handwritten pages).
4. No letter containing slanderous or libelous material will be published.
5. The NWA editorial page is for opinions and comments. Editorials, articles, cartoons, or letters are the opinions of the writers whose names are included, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper and its employees.
6. The NWA tries to report news fairly and accurately. If we fall short of that objective, we welcome complaints from our readers.
7.We do not knowingly make misstatements of fact. If we find we have, we will gladly make a correction in the next issue.
The Northwest Alabamian is published semi-weekly, except weekly Christmas and New Year’s when only the Wednesday edition is published at 1506 21st Street, Highway 195 East, P.O. Box 430, Haleyville, AL, 35565. Phone 205-486-9461. Entered as periodicals at the Post Office at Haleyville, AL 35565. Annual subscription rate is $33.05 for one year or $24 for six months for Winston County; $37.50 per year or $26 per six months for adjoining counties. Subscriptions for senior citizens (Winston Co. only) are $29 for one year or $20 for six months. All others are $49.50 per year or $30 for six months. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGE TO P. O. BOX 430, HALEYVILLE, AL 35565
The opinions of editorial columnists or opinions reflected in Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the official editorial opinion of this newspaper.
Northwest Alabamian
Letters to the Editor Policy
Horace Moore
Publisher
Phillip Brooks
Production Manager
Mike Moore
General Manager
Melica Allen
Managing Editor
Roger Carden
Advertising Director
BOE does outstanding job
If you have a
Letter to the Editor,
please send it to:
NWA
P.O. Box 430
Haleyville, Ala.
35565
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Opinions
Haleyville City Schools joined school systems throughout the state to salute their local education leaders during Alabama’s 19th annual School Board Member Recognition Month in January. The commemorative month was designed to recognize the contributions made by Alabama’s more than 800 local school board members, who are charged with governing public education under state law.
Alabama school board members are chosen by their communities through election or appointment to manage local schools. They oversee multi-million-dollar budgets, which fund education programs for more than 749,084 students in 1,523 schools. Their personnel decisions affect 47,573 teachers, 3,084 administrators and 36,680 support workers.
These volunteer leaders are also responsible for formulating school system policy, approving curricula, maintaining school facilities, and adhering to state and federal education law.
Legal concerns and the complexities of school finance, including budgeting and taxation, require them to spend many hours in board training programs and personal study to enhance their understanding of these issues.
Our deepest appreciation is extended to the dedicated men and women who make it possible for local citizens to participate in education in our community. We salute the public servants of the Haleyville City School System whose commitment and civic responsibility make local control of public schools in our community possible: Steve Stott, president; Boo Haughton, vice-president; Sandra Manasco, Beth McAlpine, Kris Burleson.
Please join us by saying thanks to our school board members. They do an outstanding job.
Haleyville City School Administration
Faculty and Staff

There’s no great secret to it
There is no great secret to improving education in Alabama. We have an impressive track record of raising student achievement by developing our own programs and efforts. Alabama is a national leader in curriculum and instruction innovation.
The question is whether we are going to continue with our efforts and maintain progress.
It comes down to funding. We will spend 20 percent less this year than we did in 2008. Over the past four years, plagued by proration and cuts caused by the economic downturn, we have lost hundreds of millions of education dollars. In turn, we lost thousands of teachers, we haven’t bought textbooks in years, and we slashed everything else to the bone. 
This situation has put more than a decade of progress in Alabama schools at risk, and hurt an entire generation of students. In fact, we are all at-risk if we fail to educate the next generation of workers.
In the next ten years a substantial portion of the state workforce will be ready to retire. If they are unable to gain a trade, work in the modern technology-driven workplace, or be the entrepreneurs that create a new generation of Alabama small businesses, our state economy will stagnate.
The economic numbers are clear when we fail to educate our children.
In the 1960s, the average high school dropout would earn approximately 50 cents for every dollar of income earned by the average college graduate. With low skill manufacturing and agricultural jobs available, dropouts could get decent jobs as long as they could show up at the textile mill or cotton gin. Those days are gone.
Now, workers who failed to graduate from high school earned less than 28 cents for every dollar that the average college educated worker makes.
Dropouts have a negative impact on the state economy beyond low income. Investment does not readily flow to areas of deep poverty – an outcome of poor education attainment – and industry won’t come to a place where workers are unprepared. Dropouts have been called Alabama’s “number-one economic problem.” 
The good news is that we have been making progress in keeping kids in school, bringing the graduation rate up from 55 percent in 2001 to just under 70 percent in 2011. This improvement comes in large part from making education gains in the early grades. When a child succeeds early, it predicts future success later.
Along with the hard work of our teachers, the Alabama Reading Initiative transformed the state into a national leader in early reading gains. ARI was started in 1999, and was finally put in every school by the end of 2006.
Now, we are taking that example of curriculum and instruction innovation to develop the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). It too has shown remarkable results in promoting gains in student achievement.
However, because of funding constraints, AMSTI exists in only 40 percent of schools. What’s worse, AMSTI has lost funding over the past three years. Each year, AMSTI is not in a school, we are depriving students of a real and important learning opportunity, and in turn putting their future at-risk. 
In this next legislative session, we have a choice. Either we can rise to our responsibilities and fund education, or we can let our schools wither and risk the future of thousands of our children.
That choice will impact the state economy for years to come.
State Rep. Johnny Mac Morrow
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