Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/92845
Education Voter Guide 2012 Markell and Denn get 'thumbs up' T he DSEA Exec. Board, fol- lowing recommendations from member interview com- mittees, has recommended that DSEA members vote to re-elect Gov. Jack Markell and Lt. Gov. Matt Denn on Nov. 6. salaries significantly by putting substantial increases in his pro- posed budget. Following the national mid-term elections of 2010, when many gover- nors and state legislators stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights, attacked their fringe benefits and cut education spending, Markell went on national TV criticizing these moves, noting that collective bargaining helps employees have a voice in their work and they, after all, are the experts, the people we should be lis- tening to. Gov. Markell is impressed with the tal- ented "Cookers and Bakers" Club from Delcastle H.S. whose members prepared and served delicious hors d'oeuvres for a DSEA fundraiser. On balance, the Board felt that Gov. Markell has worked closely and collaboratively with DSEA leaders on significant issues, including pension and health care; the new DPASII-Revised evaluation system; and supported the General Assembly's desire to raise ESP For Matt Denn, it's all about our kids Lt. Gov. Matt Denn has kept his campaign promise of focusing on improving education for our youngest, and exploring how to improve parental involvement. He hosted a conference with DSEA on Parental Involvement which showcased several schools that have found unconventional ways to successfully break down Matt Denn has kept the state's focus on providing high quality pre-school for every youngster in Delaware. Here he's meeting new friends from the Kingswood Community Center in Wilmington. those invisible barriers that keep some families away from school. He also has created a new award, the Excellence in Parental Involvement Award, to turn up the volume on this important issue. He finds time to mentor a stu- dent, and encourages others to do so, including successfully engaging employees at several businesses to mentor entire schools. He was a driver in Delaware's successful Early Childhood Race to Sen. Carper talks to students this past April at John Bassett Moore Intermediate School in Smyrna about what they are learning. B A grade from NEA www.dsea.org Carney and Carper get oth Rep. John Carney and Sen. Tom Carper received an A from NEA on their votes on legislation of special interest to NEA members in 2011, and on five additional criteria: • Co-sponsorship of bills critical to advancing NEA's legislative priorities • Behind-the-scenes work to advance or impede NEA priority issues • Committee votes in support of or against NEA priorities • Accessibility of the member and his staff in Washington to NEA staff and leaders • Accessibility and education advocacy in the member's home state. Let's re-elect Friends of Education to Congress: Tom Carper and John Carney ééé Additionally, in the 2011 Report Card, new emphasis is given to votes involving union rights. NEA believes that it is important to hold lawmakers accountable at a time when both public and private sector unions and the right to bargain col- lectively are under severe attack. The bills and amendments that came up in Congress in 2011 that NEA included in its Report Card dealt with these issues: Education funding; worker rights and the National Labor Relations Board; deceptive practices in for- profit higher education; worker wage protections; private school vouchers; school-based health clin- Congressman John Carney speaks with University of Delaware Public Policy students last spring about green energy. ics; charter school accountability; and health care. To see the list of specific bills that were included in this report card as well as how NEA has graded all federal Senators and Representatives, go to www.nea.org/home/ 50435.htm. For more information, e-mail NEA at reportcard@list.nea. org. October 2012 DSEA ACTION! 11 the Top Grant, and worked with us to define areas of need. As Lt. Governor he chairs the Inter-agency Council on Adult Literacy (ICAL) which seeks to improve our state's ability to pro- vide services for all adults so that they have the reading and language skills to be responsible family mem- bers, workers, community members and lifelong learners. ééé