No money, but hope of some for National Board Certified teachers

That's left current National Board teachers discouraged and others reluctant to commit to the program that can take two to three years to complete. Applications for the program were down more than 50 percent last year.

House Appropriations Vice Chairman Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, said the resolution, though not legally binding, demonstrates House members' commitment to restore the pay supplements -- hopefully next year.

"That is as sacred an obligation as a pension benefit in my mind," Ehrhart said. "This isn't some special box top for a decoder ring. This is two years for a very rigorous program. We have a contract as far as I'm concerned, and it disturbs me that we haven't held up our end."

National Board teachers aren't exactly holding their breath.

"Although I greatly appreciate the efforts of legislators who sponsored this resolution, I have no realistic expectations of funding in this economic environment," said Jolinda Collins, a National Board language arts teacher at Gwinnett County's Brookwood High School. "I still feel disrespected and betrayed."

Vickie Carson, a National Board teacher who retired from Atlanta Public Schools and now consults with the program, said the House resolution is "great news" for the teachers.

"It will mean a lot to them because they were hurting a couple of years ago, with a lot of furloughs and teacher layoffs," she said. "I think it will be good for them to see at least they are thinking about us again because we're usually put on the back burner."

Teachers spend hundreds of hours putting together portfolios of classroom work, videotaping classroom lectures and passing national assessments to earn the certification. The process costs $2,500 -- with at least some of the money often coming out of the teacher's pocket -- and the certificates are good for 10 years. They can then be renewed.

The state's largest teacher organization, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, filed suit after the supplements were cut in half. The suit was dismissed, but that is being appealed.

Officials with PAGE supported the resolution.

"It was a bit confusing, though, that the same legislators who were claiming National Board had no research-based, proven impact on student achievement -- as the pretext of walking away from funding it -- now were doing a ‘memo to self' -- fund National Board stipends when we have the money," PAGE spokesman Tim Callahan said.

Georgia isn't the only state to have to change the supplements due to the tough economy, said Wil Parker, director of the National Board's mobilization and outreach. South Carolina capped its number of National Board-certified teachers, and North Carolina has moved to a loan program, he said.

In Georgia, the loss of the supplement has had an impact, Parker said. Applications fell from 113 in 2007-2008 to 106 in 2008-2009 and 52 in 2009-2010, according to board data.

Parker said his group actually drafted and pushed state lawmakers to pass the resolution. The board also put National Board teachers with state lawmakers so they could better understand what the certification means to classroom teaching, he said.

Parker said he is "100 percent" convinced House members will follow through on the resolution.

In the meantime, National Board teachers are continuing to find ways to improve their teaching, he said.

"They want their stipend sure," Parker said. "But it's not keeping them from dong what they are doing."