1. In teacher shortage, advocates stress better benefits

• Alabama was already experiencing a teacher shortage before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s even worse.
• Alabama’s salaries and benefits for K-12 teachers are on par with what surrounding states offer and better in some instances, including out-of-pocket health care expenses, according to a recent report to lawmakers.
• But educators and some lawmakers say the state must do better, particularly with retirement packages, to attract a shrinking pool of young teachers.
• Alabama pays starting teachers with bachelor’s and master’s degrees more than neighboring states, but over time every state except Tennessee pays more than Alabama. In 2019-2020 the top salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree in Alabama was $52,609. In Florida, it was $60,401.
• Under the state’s Tier II, which went into effect in 2013 to save the state money, new teachers can’t collect retirement until age 62. Tier I allowed retirement after 25 years, letting many teachers leave the classroom around age 50.
• Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, told Alabama Daily News he will try again in the 2022 session to pass a bill allowing for retirement after 30 years for Tier II.
• Alabama’s public colleges and universities graduated 1,817 education majors in 2020, a 25% drop since 2013, according to information given to ADN by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. There’s been a comparable drop in the output of educators with master’s degrees. And that doesn’t mean those graduates actually went into Alabama classrooms.
• Across the state, school principals are puzzling together class schedules around vacant teaching positions.
• Read the full feature story from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

2. Ground broken for west Alabama corridor

• Gov. Kay Ivey and other officials held a ceremony Friday to break ground on a project to construct a four-lane highway spanning rural western Alabama from north to south.
• Expected to cost some $758 million over five years, the West Alabama Corridor project will provide an interstate-type highway that will eventually connect Mobile and Tuscaloosa.
• A bypass at the Marengo County city of Linden is the first phase of the project.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

 

• In 1994, the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) established its Certified Municipal Official (CMO) training program, a voluntary educational service specifically designed for mayors and councilmembers that provides formal training in municipal government.

• The program has three levels: Basic Certified Municipal Official (40 hours), Advanced (additional 40 hours) and Emeritus, which recognizes officials who have excelled beyond the Basic and Advanced requirements.

• On November 3rd, ALM graduated 47 municipal officials with their CMO certification; 23 received their Advanced designation; and 11 received their Emeritus certification. Congratulations to these graduates!

• For more information visit www.almonline.org.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Alabama man arrested in DC for guns, explosives admits guilt

• A north Alabama man arrested after police found multiple guns and incendiary devices in his pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection has pleaded guilty to weapons charges.
• Lonnie Coffman, 71, pleaded guilty on two federal charges of possession of unregistered firearms related to Molotov cocktails found in the vehicle and at his home near Falkville, located about 60 miles north of Birmingham, prosecutors said in a statement. Coffman also pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license in a District of Columbia court.
• Coffman, who already was in custody, could receive as long as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the federal charges and five years and a $12,500 fine for the local offense, authorities said.
• Coffman was one of hundreds of people arrested after rioters supporting then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to block certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
• Police found Coffman’s truck loaded with 11 jars containing a flammable liquid; several loaded guns; a crossbow with bolts; several machetes; camouflage smoke devices and a stun gun, prosecutors said.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

4. Congress returns with eye on Biden’s big budget bill

• Congress returns to Washington today for a weeklong session that could stretch into next week’s planned Thanksgiving recess. That’s if Democrats can’t corral enough votes for President Joe Biden’s massive tax and spending package for House passage this week.
• The White House is expressing confidence that the $1.85 trillion package will pass the House of Representatives this week, delivering a badly-needed win for the president.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ready for a vote, but a handful of moderates are holding out for an official score from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s what will officially say whether or not the bill’s spending provisions are truly “paid for” by tax increases as Biden claims.
• That full report might not be available until later in the week. Read more about the CBO scoring process and what it means HERE.
• The bill is expected to face changes in the Senate. With Republican opposition and an evenly split 50-50 Senate, Biden has no votes to spare.
• Manchin in particular has been vocal about the risk of aggravating budget shortfalls and already has managed to bring the bill down from Biden’s original $3.5 trillion price tag. Last week, Manchin again sounded the alarm over “the threat posed by record inflation.”
• Read the full story HERE.

 

5. Bo Nix to have season-ending ankle surgery

• Auburn quarterback Bo Nix will miss the final two games of the regular season with an ankle injury.
• Nix was injured in a 43-34 loss to Mississippi State Saturday that represented the program’s biggest collapse after leading 28-3. A team spokesman confirmed Sunday night that the Tigers quarterback is scheduled to have surgery on Monday.
• Nix, a three-year starter, stayed in the game before getting replaced by LSU transfer T.J. Finley in the final minutes. Auburn visits South Carolina on Saturday and closes the regular season against No. 2 Alabama.
• Nix posted on Twitter and Instagram about the injury
• “Bones break and things change, but God is always the same,” Nix posted. “One of my favorite verses is John 13:7, ‘Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I’m doing, but later you will understand.’ The Lord’s timing is our schedule. The road to recovery begins tomorrow.”
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

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