The 2008-2009 MLEA Budget

As with every year, we need you to vote on our budget for this school year.

First, please click here to see the proposed budget that Cheryl put together.

After you've had a chance to look at it, please click here to vote to either accept or reject the 2008-2009 budget. The ballots will be tabulated December 4th.

Thanks!

--The MLEA Exec Board--

The Future of the NWEA

A few weeks ago the Joint Legislative Task Force on WASL Reform had a meeting in Renton where the future of testing was the #1 topic of discussion. Superintendents from Vancouver and Richland gave presentations on how their districts use the MAP assessment from the NWEA, and it sounds like the legislators were very open to the idea of giving that test more play.

That would be great for us here in Medical Lake, since we've been using the MAP effectively for years; I'll let you know when I hear more!

Also, check out this article from Education Week on computerized adaptive testing, which is what the MAP is. It's a good overview of what goes in to constructing those sorts of tests.

--Ryan--

A Political FYI....

Joel Kretz, one of the members of the State House from the 7th Legislative District (everything north of Medical Lake, stretching all the way up to the Canadian border) was recently elected the Deputy Minority Leader for the House Republican Caucus. I met with Rep. Kretz on a couple of different occasions when I went back to Olympia last year; he's a good listener when it comes to education issues, and as a member of the House Appropriations Committee he's also in an important position when it comes to the discussion on education funding.

Given that a good part of the Medical Lake SD lies within the 7th Legislative District, I'm optimistic that he'll continue to listen to us in his new position.

Happy Substitute Educators Day!

Here at the end of American Education Week we honor the substitute teachers who make it possible for us to attend inservice, have a sick day, look after our families, and go to meetings. A good substitute is worth their weight in gold, and all of us in the MLEA thank them for their time and dedication!

--Ryan, for the MLEA Exec Board--

Pride

I know there's a lot of you out there who would just as soon never here about WEA-PAC again.

I know there are many of you who would like to run the other direction when you see me or your building rep coming with a WEA-PAC form.

I know there are just as many more of you who would like to tell me to put that WEA-PAC form in a place the sun doesn't shine.

But, all that said, I am as proud as I can possibly be at how the first round of our WEA-PAC drive has gone, and thank with all my heart those of you who signed up to be members. We're doing great:

• If you look at just the raw numbers, we've got more WEAPAC members than Deer Park and Pullman.
  
• We've also got more WEAPAC members in Medical Lake than the Community Colleges of Spokane do, and they're three times our size.
  
• We have more WEAPAC members in Medical Lake than Pullman, Newport, Colville, and Riverside combined!
  
• On a percentage basis, we're ahead of East Valley and Cheney.

I'll have more information to send out to all of you shortly (probably after conference week and Thanksgiving) about some of the projections the WEA is making about the coming legislative session. I'll warm you up with the big news of the day, that we're facing a $5.1 billion dollar budget deficit now, and there's a ton of evidence to suggest that this legislative session is going to be one where we have to fight like mad to defend the gains we've made.

Your WEA-PAC money makes a difference in that fight. The next time you see your building rep coming with the sign-up sheet (we'll be having another drive this winter), please give it your thoughtful consideration.

With thanks,

--Ryan--

It's a Busy Time in the World of Education

Busier than you'd think, given the time of year, but the floodgates really opened right after the election, as noted by one member:

I am completely baffled. Since the results of the election, there has been regular negative news in the Spokesman starting with auditor suggesting an overhaul of the education system with specific details and suggestions. Today, district expense accounts are under scrutiny. I've already forgotten the third one I saw. Has WEA said anything about all this coming now? Was Bergeson hiding this or protecting us from this negative publicity? Is there more you hear coming down the pipe? Do you know how this kind of investigation has been funded or who has been asking for it?

And I'll share with you all the answer I shared with the member: we live in interesting times.

Well, we live in interesting times. :-)

Basic Ed Finance Task Force: This was the front page article about the commission lead by Dan Grimm. Last year the big discussion was about the Washington Learns commission that Governor Gregoire made to look at education in the state; Washington Learns didn't really accomplish anything except to punt to the Basic Ed Task Force and tell them to study things more. Pretty useless, really.

Dan's made it pretty clear that he's no fan of unions. Under his proposal collective bargaining would be done at the state level, there would be no per diem (because in his world, having per diem in some districts is unfair to those districts that don't have any), and salary would be differentiated based on different areas of the state, not on degrees or years of experience.

The WEA has presented to his task force a couple different times in conjunction with the Principals and the School Administrators. Every proposal--every single one--has a price tag of at least a billion dollars; the WEA proposal alone would require about $2.5 billion in new spending. I don't think that any of them have any chance of succeeding, because of the big budget hole we're already facing.

It's something to keep an eye on, though, because Dan Grimm is a pretty dynamic guy and if he can convince the legislature to take money from one area (the carve out, per diem, what have you) and put it somewhere else, that could be dangerous for us.

The State Auditor: A couple of years ago initiative something-or-another passed, mandating that the Auditors Office do more performance audits of state spending. Brian Sonntag, the state auditor, immediately took a look at the schools, because we're the biggest piece of the pie. Last summer they released a 400+ page audit of all the ESD offices around the state, last month they released their audit of the 10 largest school districts in the state (Spokane included), and this week it's the audit of travel practices at those 10 large districts + OSPI.

It's an interesting piece, because if the audit had come out before the election it would have been even worse for Dr. Bergeson; there are tens of thousands of dollars of waste identified from her office alone, including 400+ hotel rooms reserved for a conference that weren't used but that OSPI had to pay for anyhow.

What's Coming? Next month Governor Gregoire will release her proposed budget, which is almost certainly going to include some cuts to education. The big number there will be to see if she proposed a COLA for teachers at all or puts it on hold; I'm willing to bet the chance of us getting the COLA this year is slim to none. For a preview of what could be cut check out this website...

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/pog/finalreport2009-11.asp

...from the state Office of Financial Management, wherein they talk about the things that should be funded and the things they think should be cut to make this coming budget balance. There are a lot of good ideas that are going to go away.

WEA-Eastern Council Meeting, December 10th @ 6:00

The WEA-Eastern Uniserv Council will be having their annual Christmas celebration on Wednesday, December 10th at 6:00 at the Council office in Spokane. Senator Chris Marr will be there to speak and take questions, so I'm expecting some great insights into what we can expect from the coming legislative session. The December meeting is always a fun one to attend; if you're interested in coming, please let Ryan or Wendy know.

Thanks!

--Ryan--

It's American Education Week!

The report cards are done, Christmas is on the horizon. The Cougars and Huskies are soon to fade into the blessed oblivion of the off season, and conferences are next week. And, best of all, it's American Education Week 2008!

Feel good about what you do, because it makes a difference. Thank you for your work, and please know that your Association is always there for you when you want us!

With thanks,

--The MLEA Exec Board--

It's Not Funny, Because It's True

From The Onion: Majority of Americans Never Use Physical Education After High School.

"I don't know why they bothered teaching us all that stuff," said Higgins, who since graduating has not once encountered a situation that required him to move his body at a sustained pace or keep himself in healthy shape. "I mean, come on—when will I ever need to physically exert myself for an extended period of time?"

Higgins is not alone. According to a recent poll, nearly 85 percent of all Americans admitted that, since entering the real world, they have found very few reasons to utilize the concepts they learned in physical education. In fact, most high school graduates claim that despite their gym teachers' insistence that this knowledge would come in handy later in life, they have still never used bending, breaking a sweat, or coordination.

"I remember my gym teacher droning on and on about this thing called 'physical well-being,'" Higgins said. "I still don't even know what that means."

God bless ya, PE teachers--you do a hell of a job in the face of increasingly long odds. :-)

In Loving Memory: Thelma Spillman

Hello MLEA members,

On Tuesday night Thelma Spillman passed on after a long battle with cancer. She spent many years at Blair Elementary teaching kindergarten down in the old Botteen Annex building, retiring right before the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year.

Thelma was a woman of faith--faith in the Lord, faith in other people, faith in the kids that she taught. She personified grace, dignity, and kindness in everything that she did, and the hundreds of kids she taught are all better for having known her.

We'll miss you, Mrs. Spillman.

--Ryan, for all the MLEA--

Remembering Veteran's Day

One of the most well known poems of the last century, In Flanders Fields:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Thank you, Veterans, for your service and sacrifice.

The Transportation Budget is Feeling Gassy

From a piece earlier this year in the Seattle Times:

The state funds only a portion of the district's transportation costs. The rest is paid for with levy money. So rising costs affect programs regardless of whether a district budgets enough money, said Susan Stoltzfus, spokeswoman for the Northshore School District.

"Revenues to support schools are not keeping up with the increased cost of many things, including fuel," said Stephen Nielsen of the Puget Sound Educational Service District's construction services group. "To the Legislature's credit ... on the occasion they have allocated money for those needs, but it's not a regular adjustment."

This is one of those issues that effects everybody, and it’s certain to be a high legislative priority when Olympia gets going again in January. Larger districts like Mead struggle with the costs of driving thousands of students every day, while a district like Reardan (which covers as many square miles as East Valley, West Valley, Mead, and Spokane combined!) has to account for long rural routes that add up the mileage in a hurry.

Don Johnson did some figuring and found that it now costs $4.13 a mile to operate a school bus. That’s a pretty incredible number, and a large part of it is diesel being $4.00 a gallon. Consider, too, that the district has to supplement what the state gives us by using almost $200,000 a year out of the general fund, money that could be used for staffing and programs, and you start to see the scope of the problem.

Dan Cools does a superior job of running our bus barn; it’s just a shame that the state hasn’t risen up to the challenge of funding transportation the way it should. You'll be hearing more about this come January when the Legislature goes back in session.