Good Column

The Myth of the Powerful Teachers Union, by David Macaray. It's a great debunking of many of the myths surrounding teachers today.

President's Newsletter, November 7th

Hello again,

Election Results: The education stories that you have coming out of the Tuesday election are numerous: the 2/3rds majority for any tax increase was restored, the candy/soda tax was repealed, and the practical impact is that the legislature will be looking at a $4.8 billion dollar deficit this year.

I've been talking with you for a couple of years about the legislature, but the worst has never come to pass thanks to stimulus money in 2009 and federal jobs money here in 2010. That's not going to happen this year. Governor Gregoire is promising an all-cuts budget, on top of the mid-year cuts we're already having to absorb, which means that levy equalization and the K-3 class size enhancement are once again in the line of fire.

This year, though, and Lord knows I never figured it would get to here, those might just be the beginning. There's going to be a huge push to get teachers into the Public Employee Benefits Board plan (PEBB), which is a major, major change. Those of you who got the National Board certification might be in line to get hosed, but you'll hear about that potential from Jim Meadows before you hear it from me. Get ready for TRS4, where upon retirement you're processed into soylent green.

(I may be joking about that last one, but in these times it's kind of hard to tell)

I'll keep you informed as things come along. The Governor releases her budget next month, and it's going to be ugly.

Evaluations, Observations, and Walk Throughs: I've heard feedback from a number of buildings regarding an increase in the number of walk-through evaluations, particularly "scored" walk-throughs where you're given formal feedback. Additionally, there are increased concerns about the tone some observations are taking.

If you have received a negative observation or walk-through, please let me or your building rep know as soon as possible. This is a trend that we want to keep an extremely close eye on.

Where's Ryan This Week: On Monday the District Reading Festival is from 5:30 to 7:00 at Hallett. Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday the legislators from the 9th LD (Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Susan Fagan, and Rep. Joe Schmick) are coming to the District Office at 11:30 for a joint meeting between us and the Cheney School District. We'll be communicating to them about the sacrifice we've already made, and getting their thoughts on the upcoming legislative session.

On Wednesday the Eastern Washington Uniserv Council is hosting a new member's night at the Council office. I invited a number of you, but if you're interested please let me know and I'll rsvp for you!

Thursday is Veteran's Day. Thank them for their service--freedom isn't free.

On Friday I'll be attending the WEA Small/Rural Locals Conference in Federal Way. It's designed for those locals that have less than 150 members, and it's always an interesting conversation, especially when we get to comparing contracts. I'll let you know what we learn!

Thank you for your time, and good luck going into conferences!

--Ryan--

News on NEWS

Last week the school board voted to make Medical Lake a part of the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools (NEWS), which is probably best known as the leading party to the most recent school funding lawsuit working through the system.

It's a big step for us, and I personally applaud the District for taking it. Now that they've signed on to the network the Medical Lake EA also joins on simultaneously, and you're also going to see many (if not most!) of the other school districts in Eastern Washington take the plunge as well.

What's the issue? For us, number one with a bullet is levy equalization (LEA). The state treats LEA like it's a favor to the property-poor school districts that they don't really have to follow through on, but for us it's a million dollars plus every year that allows us to offer programs, lower class size, and fair compensation. It's the same with the reduction in the Learning Improvement Days--Olympia's one-time savings is something that our near-retirees are going to be paying for as long as they draw a pension.

For more information about NEWS you can check out their website here.

United Way

Just a reminder that you can select the WEA Fund for Children as a part of your United Way donation. We've accessed them several times the last few years to help out families in need here in Medical Lake; if you have a student in your room who could use assistance, let me know and I'll get you the appropriate request form.

Thanks!

--Ryan--