Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/530934
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org June 2015 3 OPINION We should not need to convince anti-public education policymakers that their decisions are not good – we want to be on the front end of this debate. We want to be in the proactive position of working with pro-public education policymakers. In order to do that, we must work to get them elected. June 2015 – Vol. 52, No. 7 The ISEA Communiqué (ISSN 0019-0624) is published seven times a year (monthly except July & August; plus combined in October/ November, December/January, and April/ May) by the Iowa State Education Association, 777 Third St., Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-471-8000 or 1-800-445-9358. $3.87 of membership dues is for a year's subscription; for nonmembers, the annual subscription is $10. Periodical postage is paid at Des Moines and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address corrections to ISEA Membership Records, 777 Third St., Des Moines, IA 50309. Advertising: To advertise, contact Charles Lapham at 515-471-8000 or email clapham@isea.org. ISEA makes no representations regarding advertised products or services that are not endorsed by ISEA or NEA Member Benefits. Duplicate mailings? To stop duplicate mailings to the same household, contact Kimberly Hupp at 515-471-8000 or email khupp@isea.org. President: Tammy Wawro Vice President: Mike Beranek Treasurer: Tom McLaughlin NEA Directors: Ray Feuss, Joshua Brown Executive Director: Mary Jane Cobb Editor: Mike Wiser Editorial Assistant: Charles Lapham Visit us on the web at isea.org I am bursting with pride for all you accomplished this spring. I cannot think of a stronger, more unwavering group of professionals than you – members of the ISEA. Way back in January, we asked for your help. The Legislature was beginning what turned out to be a very long debate on education funding. You responded in force by traveling to the Capitol to testify before a packed room of lawmakers. You began the narrative of what became our story throughout the spring. When we asked you to turn out to your legislative forums week after week you packed the rooms and asked your representatives tough questions on class sizes, textbooks, support for teachers and state dollars. You took time out of your busy schedules to attend events, answer emails, respond to requests, send messages and write letters. You told your stories from the classrooms, the libraries, the nurses and counselors offices, the bus routes, the cafeterias, the community colleges, and the AEA's. You gave personal accounts of what funding cuts meant to your students. You told policymakers about students who needed extra help, curriculum that was over 10 years old, classrooms that were jam packed and could seat no more, courses which would be cut, and snack drawers that were always open. You took the time to share from your experiences and your hearts. And, your voices made a difference. Had you not taken the time and effort to deliver your messages, had you not worn pink on April 30 in solidarity with those who were receiving pink slips, had you not sent more than 2,000 messages to the governor and legislative leaders telling them their Supplemental State Aid proposals were not enough, there would have been no debate at all. Funds would have been cut right away. That the Legislature battled over funding past its adjournment date is due entirely to your efforts. You should be as proud as I am that you moved the dial and made our legislators listen to what is going on in public schools across the state. While in the end, we can be disappointed with their decision, we must not be disappointed with our fight. You made a difference. If not for your hard work and your strong voices, the budget cuts would have been far more devastating to our students. Had you not raised your voices so strongly and so many times, our students would not have been noticed. I am eternally grateful for your strength and commitment, for your passion, and for your enduring belief in what we do. I am bursting with pride to represent you in this great organization. We can do so much when we do it together. However, we cannot rest. We have more work cut out for us in the months ahead. Our work this spring was a precursor to what we need to do to ensure we have the right people representing us in the future. We should not be put in this position again. We should not need to convince anti-public education policymakers that their decisions are not good – we want to be on the front end of this debate. We want to be in the proactive position of working with pro-public education policymakers. In order to do that, we must work to get them elected. First, are our school board elections this September. School boards are an integral part of our immediate professional environment. Let's try to control that so it is a positive one. Get involved. Work with your local association on electing only those who will work for our students and for our profession. Next will be our legislative action. We will remember in November 2016. The ISEA will have a plan and we will work hard to elect only those policymakers who will work on behalf of our students and our profession. We will remember how policymakers voted in the 2016 legislative session, so we will remember them when they are up for reelection. We will also seek out those who are running for the first time to make sure they are with our students, our schools and us. A good plan is one which is ahead of the debate not catching up to it. We can all be proud of what we accomplished this spring. They heard us loud and clear. We stopped them from a worse fate than what they dealt, but we know we can do better, and we will remember in November 2016. You made the difference by Tammy Wawro, ISEA president, twawro@isea.org - 9 - 9 - 9 Untitled-2 1 11/16/09 7:33:41 PM - 9