By Staff
Our View
When all hope for passing an education budget during the senate session seemed lost, an unlikely candidate stepped forward Wednesday to work out a compromise.
Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, returned to his office Wednesday after heart surgery and reached a compromise on the budget that has been filibustered for the last month.
Fourteen of the state senators reached the compromise with him, which as of Wednesday left room for the budget to pass, and enough time to override a possible veto by Gov. Bob Riley.
While this compromise likely saved the jobs of hundreds of teachers throughout the state (many superintendents simply fire untenured teachers if a budget fails to pass for fear of being unable to afford paying them), we at the Advance are wary of any compromise worked out by Hubbert.
While paying our teachers well is vitally important to our students, Hubbert has shown on many occasions he cares little about our students. In the book Alabama in the 20th Century by Auburn history professor Wayne Flynt, numerous examples were cited of Hubbert showing only concern for his teachers, even if the money was simply not there to give them a raise.
Hubbert's motives should certainly be questioned, but we can all breathe a little easier knowing that the Senate may get some work done. Maybe they can even pass the bill, spearheaded by Escambia County Middle School teacher Shiren McGlothren's eight-grade science class, to allow the Alabama Black Bear to become the state mammal.
We hope, even with the presence of Hubbert, that this budget will help our schools.