July 16, 2017, Chattanooga Times Free Press: Walker County Schools boosting instruction funding 7 percent http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/jul/16/walker-county-schools-boosting-instructifundi/438526/
The Walker County, Ga., Board of Education will meet Monday night to review this year's budget, highlighted by a boost in funding for teachers.
Compared to 2016-17, the budget will add an extra $4 million for instruction, a 7 percent increase. Phyllis Copeland, the system's director of financial services, said the boost is highlighted by an addition of 30 teachers and "support personnel."
Superintendent Damon Raines said the school will add 14.5 special education teachers, 11.5 elementary school teachers, three middle school teachers and one guidance counselor.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.