Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/466345
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org February 2015 15 MEMBERS AT WORK A bus load of Iowa State Education Association members stop for a quick photo on the Iowa Capitol steps before boarding a chartered Trailways bus and heading home. These members were part of a group of more than 100 that spent the day talking with lawmakers about public education issues. State law requires the Iowa Legislature pass Supplemental State Aid for the subsequent two fiscal years 30 days after the governor introduces his budget. Staff at the Iowa State Education Association hung a countdown in the windows that face the Capitol to remind lawmakers how many days the law said they had left. Staff also posted daily reminders on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Lawmakers held a public hearing on education funding on a chilly January night at the Iowa State Capitol. More than two dozen Iowa State Education Association members and staff attended the hearing where ISEA President Tammy Wawro and 18 other ISEA members testified about the need for adequate state support for the public education system. You can find copies of their presentations on the ISEA website www.isea.org. Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, and Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, host a legislative breakfast in Marshalltown with Iowa State Education Association members. ISEA members can find a list of legislative forums updated every week at www.isea.org. Attending a forum is a great way to talk directly to your senator and representative and impact legislation. Des Moines Education Association member and teacher Teresa Mehmen listens to a student in her 4th grade class at George Washington Carver Elementary in Des Moines. A student suspiciously eyes his laptop as Des Moines Education Association member and teacher Melanie Castro encourages him at George Washington Carver Elementary in Des Moines.