I Hope You Had a Great Holiday!

It started earlier than it was supposed to, with the two snow days wiping out last Thursday and Friday (and the Christmas parties that were supposed to go along with them), but it's nice seeing that we have a week in front of us now to recharge, travel, and enjoy.

A couple of things that I'd like to share here as we go into the new year:

• A belated but enthusiastic congratulations to Courtney Strozyk and Linda Sexton, who received their National Board Certification when the scores were announced earlier this month. I'm glad that the hard work paid off for them!
  
  
• There were about 30 teachers who attended the informational session about the National Boards last month at the High School. I'm getting some blog posts ready to go about that process; you can look for them to roll out in early January.
  
  
• I know one of the concerns expresed at the meeting, and it's a legitimate one, is that the $5,000 bonus for achieving the Certification could go away given our state budget crisis. When Governor Gregoire released her draft budget last week there was no mention of touching the program, which I think is a pretty good signal. Things could still happen in the legislative session, but right now I'm feeling pretty optimistic about that piece.
  
  
• The weather prevented a lot of us from attending his retirement party, but all of us in the MLEA give our best regards to Bruce Ottmar as he begins this next chapter in his life. Thank you for all your years of service to the Medical Lake School District, Bruce!
  
  
• There will be another WEAPAC drive coming your way soon, because even though the Governor's budget protects the NBPTS bonus it goes after the I-728 money for class size reduction and (even more importantly) the levy equalization money (LEA), which for us is several hundred thousand dollars a year.
  
  Dr. Veltri and I are planning some joint communications to talk about what the proposed cuts could mean for the MLSD, which I'll post here on the blog. It's a critical time for our schools, and I'll pass on any information as soon as it comes my way.

Thank you for visiting, and here's to a great 2009!

--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--

Why WEA-PAC Matters

Hello again,

If you haven't been approached yet about joining WEA-PAC you will be soon. WEA-PAC is the political action arm of the WEA, set up to promote candidates and legislation that support education here in Washington State. Some things to know about WEA-PAC:

• In the 2004 and 2006 elections, WEA-PAC supported 12 new pro-education candidates. Without their support the Simple Majority proposition for school levies would have died in the legislature, like it did for the previous 25 years.
  
  Why that matters for Medical Lake: We have a maintenance and operations (M&O) levy coming up this February. Given the state of the economy, 60% would be an almost impossible hill to climb, but with the Simple Majority we have a much, much better chance.
  
  
• Without WEA-PAC supported candidates, the COLA plus .5% would not have happened. How much has your pay increased this year?
  
  Why that matters for Medical Lake: Last year a beginning teacher made $32,746; this year it's $34,426, a $1,680 difference. Similarly, for those of you at the very top cell of the salary grid, last year you made a base salary of $61,720; this year it's $64,887, a $3,167 increase. Without action in Olympia, that wouldn't have happened.
  
  
• WEA-PAC has had much success that directly affects you, such as salary increases, I-728 funding, Pro-Cert improvements, pushing for enhanced retirement, maintaining funding for National Boards, full day kindergarten, and additional funding for health benefits.
  
  Why that matters for Medical Lake: With the National Boards project we're getting started, that $5,000 increase will really make a difference. 2/3 of our members pay out-of-pocket for health insurance; getting the state to pick up more of those costs is just like a COLA. With our poverty numbers we're still a far shot away from getting full-day K for our elementaries; it's legislative funding that will help us get there.

Joining WEA-PAC costs $2.25 a month--$27 for the year--and it can make a great difference for us right here at home. Please consider joining; it's an easy way to be involved.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via the Association email to the right, or call my cell.

With thanks,

--Ryan--

A Good Stat for Us All to Know

The Simple Majority helped 70% of the recent school levies pass. That’s a lot of districts that don’t have to worry about trying for a second run, because they were able to pass on the first try.

It was the work we all did on 4204, the Simple Majority initiative, that made it possible. There’s a lot of power in what we do, and it’s always nice to see it pay off!

Why WEA-PAC Matters and our Local WEA-PAC Drive

In the next few days one of your building reps will be coming around to speak to you about WEA-PAC and asking you to join. This year we have payroll deduction available for $2.25 a month; fill out a form, and you're good to go forever! You can also sign up the traditional way and write a one-time check; either works and is greatly appreciated.

It's been two good years for WEA-PAC. If you remember the bad old days of getting 0%-0%-4%-0%-3%-0% for our cost-of-living raises in a six year period, then you know just how great getting 3.5% last year and 4.2% this year really is. The battle over gainsharing didn't go the way we wanted it to, but getting the retirement age lowered to 62 and allowing new teachers to choose between TRS2 and TRS3 were gains when we could have lost gainsharing and gotten nothing in return.

This year it's a short 60-day legislative session, but with the next gubernatorial election on the horizon and a host of initiatives going on statewide it's also a critical time to make sure the teacher's voice is heard.

The work we do in Olympia is important, and it's your WEA-PAC dues that make that possible. When asked if you'd be willing to join, please give it your thoughtful consideration.

If you have any questions you can contact Ryan, Wendy, or your building rep. Thank you!

We're back!

Hello MLEA friends,

First, we apologize for the lack of updates on the website the last few months. Last year was the year 1, let's get it worked out phase, but we have a ton of good ideas for year 2. We'll also send out updates to let you know when there's new content, so check back often!

To catch up, though, here's the links to the past few month's worth of articles in the Cheney Free Press regarding our Medical Lake school board meetings. We always have an association representative in attendance, and if you ever have questions about the meetings or clarification from the article you can email me here and I'll try my best to give you what you need!

Cheney Free Press articles: August July June May April March

Other projects that the MLEA will be working on this year include supporting the Simple Majority campaign, our WEA PAC membership drive, and working on the next renegotiation of the contract this coming June.

As always, please feel free to contact your building rep or a member of the exec board if you have any questions!