Lobbying in Olympia

Hi MLEA Friends,

Last Tuesday the 27th I went over to Olympia with the WEA-Eastern Members Lobby Team (MLT) to meet with the legislators from the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th legislative districts, which essentially covers Spokane and all points north.

It was an ugly day on the hill in more ways than one. This picture that I put up on my Facebook profile was the view from the hotel room that morning; the sort of skiff of snow that we would all shrug off but had districts over there opening two hours late. Later in the day the snow turned into that familiar western Washington rain/mist combination that is absolutely miserable for someone like me who wears glasses. Fun times! :-P

The meetings with the legislators were very rewarding. The day opened with Rep. Joel Kretz, a Republican out of Okanogan County who is also the deputy leader of the House Republicans. He was very interested in hearing our thoughts on levy equalization, which is a funding source that means an awful lot to districts here in Eastern Washington. Rep. Kevin Parker (R, Spokane) is new to the house and listened very intently to what we had to say about class size, why HB1410 deserves to fail, and the importance of de-linking the WASL from graduation.

Towards the end of the day we went to visit with Sen. Bob McCaslin (R, Spokane Valley), where we found that his Chief of Staff has a local connection to us here in Medical Lake. Senator McCaslin has been working to pass SB5212 for a couple of years now, which would help military parents who have to make changes to parenting plans while overseas. He's highly interested in military families, and I thank him for his commitment!

I also was in on the meetings with Rep. Shelly Short and Sen. Bob Morton (both of the 7th LD), Rep. Timm Ormbsby (3rd), and Rep. John Driscoll (6th); Matt Shea (4th), Alex Wood (3rd), and Lisa Brown (3rd) were all covered by other members of the MLT. The only local legislator we weren't able to meet with was Rep. Larry Crouse out of the 4th, so we'll redouble our efforts to meet with him the next time around.

It's an interesting time, with the state budget deficit getting that much worse but with potential for federal money on the horizong that could help a big piece of the situation. I'll keep you up-to-date as things evolve!

With thanks,

--Ryan--

The Levy Committee is Meeting Wednesday, January 21st at the Lutheran Church in Medical Lake

Hello MLEA Members,

The levy committee will be meeting at 4:00 this Wednesday, January 21st at St. John's Lutheran Church in Medical Lake. If you have the ability to come to the meeting it would be appreciated; the levy election is under 2 months away, and there's a lot of work yet to be done.

Thanks!

--Ryan--

Snow Days and Other Issues Upcoming

MLEA Members,

We hope that you enjoyed your extended Christmas vacation; it's funny how often these once-in-a-lifetime storms come any more, isn't it? :-)

With regards to how the days will be made up, your Exec Board will be meeting with Dr. Veltri next week to talk about the calendar and where we want to go. Ryan will be meeting with the Uniserv office and the other local presidents beforehand to make sure we all have the WACs and RCWs straight, and then we'll most likely do an on-line survey to get your opinions. We're waiting for a week to see what the Governor does regarding a state of emergency, as well as to get some direction from OSPI.

The executive board met over the weekend to discuss the current state of issues regarding the association and potential cost-cutting measures as well as our working conditions. More information is coming.

If your building had leaking/flooding issues, please remember that page 25 of the contract provides for reimbursement of personal property damaged in a "disturbance". We haven't had to use that language in a while, but if you did have anything damaged beyond repair we're here to advocate for you if you need it.

If you have any questions please feel free to email your building rep, an exec board member, or call Ryan on his cell phone.

Thank you for all you do, and here's to hoping for good weather from here on out!

--Cheryl, Carol, Kate, and Ryan--

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2008: A Look Back

Locally, we had the worst snow in 40 years last January, and then we had the worst snow in 40-something weeks this December. We negotiated a new three year contract with the district, raised our WEAPAC membership to the highest level it's ever been, and used our money wisely to keep our local dues among the lowest in the region. If there's something more that you'd like to see out of the MLEA, just ask and we'll do what we can!

For a national perspective check out this article from USA Today; it's a well-written overview of the big stories of the last year, and it gives some good indicators of where we could go in 2009.

I hope to see you all again soon, and here's to a great 2009!

--Ryan--