Because of the crunch of the increased health insurance premiums, Georgia’s teachers are making less money this year than last year. Governor Sonny Perdue has proposed a mere 2% increase for teachers’ pay in Georgia. That’s not enough! To offset the increased insurance premiums, the Georgia teachers need at least 5% to see any increase at all. Inflation also has to be factored into the equation.

     Representative Darryl Jordan, a MACE member who lives in Clayton County and teaches in Henry County, is again introducing The Teacher Bill of Rights. Representatives Williams of the 61st, Post 2, Thomas of the 43rd, Post 1, Greene of the 134th, Stephens of the 124th, Post 2, and others have signed on as co-sponsors. Call or write to these legislators to show your appreciation and support for their efforts on behalf of teachers. Call or write to all of the legislators (but especially the ones who represent you) to ask them to support House Bill 275. Bob Holmes is the Chairman of the Home Education Committee. Call him especially (404-656-6897) and tell him that you support House Bill 275. This bill will add a new code section to Title 20. It will be O.C.G.A. 20-2-221. Part of the language of this House Bill 275 which, if passed and signed into law, will read as follows:

     "Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each certificated teacher serving in the public schools of Georgia shall have the following rights as a condition of employment:

     (1) Constructive criticism offered in a professional manner is an appropriate way to seek improvement of the educational system. School board members and administrators shall respect the right of a teacher to exercise independent thought and to express constructive criticism in an appropriate and professional manner;

     (2) Each teacher in Georgia shall have the right to associate with an educational organization, association, or union. This freedom of association shall not be abridged and a teacher shall not suffer reprisal for exercising this right;

     (3) A teacher shall not be coerced, threatened, or intimidated to change a student’s grade if, in the opinion of the teacher, the student truly earned that grade;

     (4) If, in the professional judgment of a teacher, a student needs to be removed from the regular classroom environment because the student’s misconduct is materially and substantially disrupting the learning processes of the other students, the administrator shall respect the teacher’s professional judgment. At the minimum, the student shall not be returned to the classroom on that particular day. The administrator shall not undermine the teacher’s authority in the classroom by questioning the teacher’s account of what happened in front of one or more students;

     (5) A teacher has a right to file a grievance about an evaluation if, in the opinion of the teacher, the evaluation was unfair, false, or retaliatory for the exercise of a right granted by this Code section;

     (6) Each teacher shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in an annual evaluation of each administrator at his or her school. These evaluations shall be conducted in a way that assures each teacher complete confidentiality and anonymity. These evaluations shall be forwarded to the superintendent who in turn shall send copies of all the evaluations to each school board member;

     (7) No teacher shall be discriminated against on the basis of the teacher’s race, gender, age, religion, nationality, disability, or exercise of the freedom of association;

     (8) No teacher shall be the object of capricious or arbitrary treatment;

     (9) Upon transfer to a different school system, a teacher’s service in any public school of the state shall receive full credit for purposes of calculating the teacher’s eligibility for any local supplement to salary; and

     (10) The teacher of the year at each school shall be nominated and selected solely by the anonymous votes of the teachers at the school."

     The following list includes the members of the Georgia House of Representatives, and the Georgia Senate, the Governor, the State Superintendent, et al., and their contact numbers:

Georgia House of Representatives

Amos Amerson - 404-656-0287; hamerson@alltel.net

Alberta Anderson - 404-656-7859; aanderson@legis.state.ga.us

Kathy Ashe - 404-656-5064; kashe42-2@mindspring.com

Charles Bannister - 404-656-0137; cebann@mindspring.com

Terry Barnard - 404-656-0177; terryebar@hotmail.com

Mike Barnes - 404-656-0287; repmikebarnes@aol.com

Sharon Beasley-Teague - 404-657-8443

Stephanie Stuckey Benefield - 404-656-6372; stuckey@mindspring.com

Ken Birdsong - 404-656-7149

Ellis Black - 404-656-0305; eblack@legis.state.ga.us

Mike Boggs - 404-656-0152; mboggs@legis.state.ga.us

Tom Bordeaux - 404-656-5125; tbordeau@legis.state.ga.us

Ron Borders - 404-656-0287; rborders@legis.state.ga.us

Ben Bridges - 404-656-0152

Craig Brock - 404-656-0220; duratex@vol.com

Tyrone Brooks - 404-656-6372; tbrooks@legis.state.ga.us

Hugh Broome - 404-656-0287; hdb2@surfsouth.com

Jeff Brown - 404-656-0177; jbrown@legis.state.ga.us

Roger Bruce - 404-656-6372; rbruce5347@aol.com

Tom Buck - 404-656-5052

Debbie Buckner - 404-656-6372; buckner604@aol.com

Gail Buckner - 404-656-3904

Barbara Bunn - 404-656-0126; bbunn@legis.state.ga.us

Mark Burkhalter - 404-651-7737; mburkhal@legis.state.ga.us

Sue Burmeister - 404-656-0220; subrmyster@aol.com

Mark Butler - 404-656-7859; votebutler@bellsouth.net

Tom Campbell - 404-656-0152

David Casas - 404-656-0314; repcasas@msn.com

Jill Chambers - 404-656-0116; jillchambers@msn.com

Mickey Channell - 404-656-5138; mickey@legis.state.ga.us

Buddy Childers - 404-656-5141

Mike Coan - 404-656-0325; repcoan@aol.com

Brooks Coleman - 404-656-0177; ammcbc@aol.com

Terry Coleman - 404-656-5020

Sharon Cooper - 404-656-0116

Mack Crawford - 404-656-0152

Bill Cummings - 404-656-5143

Burke Day - 404-656-0254; bday@legis.state.ga.us

Douglas Dean - 404-656-0137; ddean@legis.state.ga.us

Buddy DeLoach - 404-656-0202

Scott Dix - 404-656-0126

Ron Dodson - 404-656-0152

Matt Dollar - 404-656-0126; dollar31@hotmail.com

Pat Dooley - 404-656-0254; pdooley@legis.state.ga.us

John Douglas - 404-656-0137; jfdouglas@aol.com

Karla Drenner - 404-656-0298; DREN16999@aol.com

Winfred Dukes - 404-656-0126; wdukes@legis.state.ga.us

Earl Ehrhart - 404-656-0109; EAEH@FacilityGroup.com

Chris Elrod - 404-656-0298; christopherelrod@alltel.net

Carl Von Epps - 404-656-7146; vonepps@mindspring.com

Barry Fleming - 404-656-0325; bfleming@fulcherlaw.com

Hugh Floyd - 404-656-0298; hughfloyd@mindspring.com

Johnny Floyd - 404-656-5943; jfloyd@legis.state.ga.us

Vigil Fludd - 404-656-7859; vfludd@mindspring.com

Ron Forster - 404-656-0265; rforster@legis.state.ga.us

Bobby Franklin - 404-656-0152

Pat Gardner - 404-656-0305; pat@patgardner.org

Rich Golick - 404-651-7737; rgolick@legis.state.ga.us

David Graves - 404-656-0202; repdavidgraves@hotmail.com

Tom Graves - 404-656-0220; tom@tomgraves.org

Gerald Greene - 404-656-5126

Teresa Greene-Johnson - 404-656-0109; tgjaria@yahoo.com

Bob Hanner - 404-656-5912; bhanner@legis.state.ga.us

Ben Harbin - 404-656-0325

Chuck Harper - 404-656-7859; harpercm@msn.com

Sally Harrell - 404-656-0265; sally.harrell@riverside.net

John Heard - 404-656-0137; jheard@clarkpatterson.com

Keith Heard - 404-656-0220; kheard@legis.state.ga.us

Bill Heath - 404-656-0177; billheath@billheath.net

Joe Heckstall - 404-656-0220; powerheck@aol.com

Bill Hembree - 404-656-0305; bhembree@legis.state.ga.us

Michele Henson - 404-657-8440; mhenson@legis.state.ga.us

Calvin Hill - 404-656-0314; calvin@gilainc.com

Cecily Hill - 404-656-0116; cecily@eagnet.com

Victor Hill - 404-656-0287; niteblast@aol.com

Roger Hines - 404-656-0109; roger@rogerhines.com

Bob Holmes - 404-656-5115; bholmes@cau.edu

Penny Houston - 404-656-0202

Henry Howard - 404-656-9198

Lee Howell - 404-656-0265

Sistie Hudson - 404-656-0325

Carolyn Hugley - 404-656-3949; chugley@legis.state.ga.us

Lester Jackson - 404-656-3904; ljackson@legis.state.ga.us

Lynmore James - 404-657-8441

Jeanette Jamieson - 404-656-0202

Charles Jenkins - 404-656-0254

Curtis Jenkins - 404-656-7857

Jan Jones - 404-656-0137

Darryl Jordan - 404-656-0116

Brian Joyce - 404-656-0265; bjoyce@mcwebs.com

Jerry Keen - 404-656-5058; jlkeen@bellsouth.net

Tom Knox - 404-656-0188; tknox@legis.state.ga.us

Bob Lane - 404-656-6831

Jeff Lewis - 404-656-0188

Jimmy Lord - 404-656-5099

David Lucas - 404-656-5115

John Lunsford - 404-656-0265; jlunsford@legis.state.ga.us

George Maddox - 404-656-0192

Randal Mangham - 404-656-0126; rmangham@legis.state.ga.us

Judy Manning - 404-656-0287

Pete Marin - 404-656-0314; marinstatehouse@aol.com

Chuck Martin - 404-656-0213; chuck@martinforgeorgia.com

Warren Massey - 404-656-0325; repmassey@aol.com

Howard Maxwell - 404-656-0137; howlinmax@mindspring.com

Louise McBee - 404-656-5069

Tom McCall - 404-656-0287; tmccall@legis.state.ga.us

JoAnn McClinton - 404-656-3947; jmcclint@legis.state.ga.us

Fran Millar - 404-656-0116

James Mills - 404-656-0152

Billy Mitchell - 404-656-0116

Barbara Mobley - 404-656-5087; bmobley@legis.state.ga.us

Nick Moraitakis - 404-656-0202

Greg Morris - 404-656-0254

Howard Mosby - 404-656-0298; mosbyfordist59@aol.com

Hinson Mosley - 404-657-8442

Jack Murphy - 404-656-0325; jm77725@aol.com

Quincy Murphy - 404-656-7859

John Noel - 404-656-0265; jnoel@legis.state.ga.us

Bert Oliver - 404-656-0152; oliver@pineland.net

Mary Margaret Oliver - 404-656-6372; mmo@marymargaretoliver.org

Larry O’Neal - 404-651-7737; loneal@legis.state.ga.us

Nan Orrock - 404-656-5024; norrock@legis.state.ga.us

Bobby Parham - 404-656-5132

Butch Parrish - 404-656-5096; lparrish@legis.state.ga.us

Don Parsons - 404-656-0314; dparsons@inteliview.com

DuBose Porter - 404-656-5072; dporter@legis.state.ga.us

Alan Powell - 404-656-7856

Ann Purcell - 404-656-5139

David Ralston - 404-656-0109; ralstonlaw@tds.net

Nikki Randall - 404-656-0109

Robert Ray - 404-656-5122; rray@legis.state.ga.us

Barbara Reece - 404-656-0305

Stacey Reece - 404-656-0220; stacey@staceyreece.com

Tom Rice - 404-656-0325; tqgrice@aol.com

Glen Richardson - 404-656-5058; grichardson@vtrc-law.com

Jay Roberts - 404-656-0305; jroberts@alltel.net

Lawrence Roberts - 404-656-0177

Carl Rogers - 404-656-0202

Chip Rogers - 404-656-0188; chiprogers@attbi.com

Richard Royal - 404-656-5103; richardroyal@yahoo.com

Ed Rynders - 404-656-0109; rynders2002@aol.com

Ron Sailor - 404-656-0137

Austin Scott - 404-656-0177; repscott@planttel.net

Jay Shaw - 404-656-5064; jshaw@legis.state.ga.us

Donna Sheldon - 404-656-0188; sheldon71@bellsouth.net

Wallace Sholar - 404-656-7859

Chuck Sims - 404-656-0287; simsfuneral@alltel.net

Georgeanna Sinkfield - 404-656-9210

Jimmy Skipper - 404-656-5024; jskipper@americuslaw.com

Bob Smith - 404-656-0305; Smith98@bellsouth.net

Lynn Smith - 404-656-7859; lysmith@legis.state.ga.us

Paul Smith - 404-656-7153

Tommy Smith - 404-656-5105; tsmith@legis.state.ga.us

Vance Smith - 404-656-0126; vsmith@legis.state.ga.us

Calvin Smyre - 404-656-5024; csmyre@legis.state.ga.us

Mike Snow - 404-656-6801

LaNett Stanley-Turner - 404-656-5024

Mickey Stephens - 404-656-0314; estep444@yahoo.com

Ron Stephens - 404-656-0202

Pam Stephenson - 404-656-0126; pstephenson@wsvlaw.com

Jim Stokes - 404-656-0254; jstokes@legis.state.ga.us

Doug Stoner - 404-656-0254

Rob Teilhet - 404-656-0202

Doug Teper - 404-656-7855; repteper@mindspring.com

"Able" Mable Thomas - 404-656-0177; mthomas949@aol.com

Alisha Thomas - 404-656-0109; alisha@alishathomas.com

Curt Thompson - 404-656-0177; curtbthompson@mindspring.com

Larry Walker - 404-656-0213; lwalker@whgbc.com

Len Walker - 404-656-0254; lewalker@legis.state.ga.us

Pete Warren - 404-656-7859; petewarren99@comcast.net

Stan Watson - 404-656-0220

Lynn Westmoreland - 404-656-0213

Jack White - 404-656-0265; jack@jackwhite.org

Joe Wilkinson - 404-656-0325; joe@joewilkinson.org

Wendell Willard - 404-656-0314

Al Williams - 404-656-6372

Earnest "Coach" Williams - 404-656-0314; coachewilliams2002@msn.com

Roger Williams - 404-656-0116; wroger@alltel.net

Don Wix - 404-656-0254

John Yates - 404-656-0126

Georgia Senate

David Adelman - 404-853-8206; vote@davidadelman.com

Don Balfour - 404-656-0095; SS9BALFOUR@aol.com

Peg Blitch - 912-487-2280; pblitch@legis.state.ga.us

Rooney L. Bowen - 229-273-4531; rbowen@legis.state.ga.us

Robert Brown - 478-750-0220; rbrown@legis.state.ga.us

B. Joseph "Joey" Brush, Jr. - 706-860-3952; jbrush@legis.state.ga.us

John Bulloch - 229-683-3420; jbulloch@rose.net

Gloria Butler - 404-299-6681; gbutler@legis.state.ga.us

Casey Cagle - 770-297-0409

Don Cheeks - 706-736-1397

Chuck Clay - 770-422-1776; cclay@bcwr.com

Ginger Collins - 770-438-2368; gcollins10@cs.com

Mike Crotts - 404-656-0071; mcrotts@legis.state.ga.us

Nathan Dean - 770-684-7851; ndean@legis.state.ga.us

Vincent D. Fort - 404-753-3163; VFORT@legis.state.ga.us

Hugh Gillis - 912-529-3212; hgillis@legis.state.ga.us

Tim Golden - 229-241-7732; tgolden@legis.state.ga.us

Randy Hall - 706-828-7800; rhall22@knology.net

Bill Hamrick - 770-836-3703; bhamrickiii@yahoo.com

Ed Harbison - 706-687-3899; eharbison@legis.state.ga.us

Seth Harp - 706-323-2761; sethharp@aol.com

Steve Henson - 770-939-5969; stevehenson@mindspring.com

Jack Hill - 912-557-3811; jhill@legis.state.ga.us

George Hooks - 229-924-2924

Ralph T. Hudgens - 706-783-2405; ralphhudgens@aol.com

Carol Jackson - 706-219-2419; cjackson@legis.state.ga.us

Eric Johnson - 912-354-4626; ejohnson@legis.state.ga.us

Brian Kemp - 706-543-0188; bkemp@legis.state.ga.us

Rene D. Kemp - 912-876-5125; rkemp@legis.state.ga.us

Robert B. Lamutt - 770-552-4240; Rlamutt@mindspring.com

Daniel W. Lee - 706-812-1224; danlee@mindspring.com

Liane Levetan - 404-636-3704; llevetan@attbi.com

Michael Meyer von Bremen - 229-439-7504; mmeyer@legis.state.ga.us

Dan Moody - 770-495-3127; danmoody@bellsouth.net

Jeff Mullis - 706-375-4921; jeffmullis@comcast.net

Thomas E. Price - 770-587-9384; tprice@legis.state.ga.us

Kasim Reed - 404-815-2253; kreed@legis.state.ga.us

Mitch Seabaugh - 770-502-7990; gasenate28@aol.com

Valencia Seay - 770-909-9912

David Shafer - 770-497-9191; david@davidshafer.com

Faye Smith - 478-445-1385; sensmith@accucomm.net

Preston W. Smith - 706-295-9000

Mary Hodges Squires - 770-938-9667

Terrell A. Starr - 404-366-5311

William Stephens - 770-517-5229; bstephen@legis.state.ga.us

Connie Stokes - 770-593-3999; cstokes@legis.state.ga.us

Charles B. Tanksley - 770-424-1500; charlie@browningtanksley.com

Horacena Tate - 404-577-5609; htate@legis.state.ga.us

Don R. Thomas - 706-259-3921; dthomas@legis.state.ga.us

Nadine Thomas - 404-241-7712; nthomas596@aol.com

Regina Thomas - 912-231-0600; rthomas@legis.state.ga.us

Steve Thompson - 770-427-2600

Ross Tolleson - 478-988-1206; rosstolleson@alltel.net

Renee Unterman - 770-466-1505; reneeu@bellsouth.net

Tommie Williams - 912-526-7444; GaPine1@aol.com

Sam Zamarripa - 404-419-0115; sam@zamarrip2002.com

Georgia U. S. Senators

Zell Miller - 404-347-2202; webform@miller.senate.gov

Saxby Chambliss - 770-763-9090

Georgia U. S. Congressmen

Jack Kingston - 202-225-5831; jack.kingston@mail.house.gov

Sanford Bishop - 202-225-3631; bishop.email@mail.house.gov

Jim Marshall - 202-225-6531; jim.marshall@mail.house.gov

Denise Majette - 202-225-1605; michaeleen.crowell@mail.house.gov

John Lewis - 202-225-3801; john.lewis@mail.house.gov

Johnny Isakson - 202-225-4501; ga06@mail.house.gov

John Linder - 202-225-4272; john.linder@mail.house.gov

Mac Collins - 202-225-5901; mac.collins@mail.house.gov

Charlie Norwood - 202-225-4101; rep.charlie.norwood@mail.house.gov

Nathan Deal - 202-225-5211

Phil Gingrey - 202-225-2931; gingrey.ga@mail.house.gov

Max Burns - 202-225-2823; max.burns@mail.house.gov

David Scott - 202-225-2939; donni.turner@mail.house.gov

Secretary of State

Cathy Cox - 404-656-2881; sosweb@sos.state.ga.us

State School Superintendent

Kathy Cox - 404-656-2800; state.superintendent@doe.k12.ga.us

Governor

Sonny Perdue - 404-656-1776

Lt. Governor

Mark Taylor - 404-656-5030