The Bergeson Vote

You may have seen the article in the Spokesman today about the vote of No Confidence in Terry Bergeson that was taken at the WEA Representative Assembly on Friday. Just to be clear, based off of the polling that we ran a few weeks ago your Medical Lake delegation abstained from the vote; we didn't feel that it would be appropriate to put our name to the motion.

If you have any questions Ryan Grant, Wendy Stewart, and Dona Wagner were this year's delegates.

Pictures to follow soon!

The Budget Crisis--It's Not Just Us

The Washington State School Director's Association does a great job with their daily E-Clippings of collecting all the education news from papers around the state. Many of the articles in recent weeks have been highlighting the budgetary problems that districts have been having; taken in the aggregate, it's a pretty bleak picture. Below are links to stories that have appeared in E-Clippings in the past few weeks, from all around the state, on this year's budget woes:

Friday, May 9th:

• The Kitsap Sun: South Kitsap School District Joins Those With Budget Woes
  
• The Bellingham Herald: 3 school boards (Blaine, Ferndale, Meridian) OK staff, program cuts

Thursday, May 8th:

• The Tacoma News-Tribune: Teacher raises put pressure on Bethel district budget
  
• The Aberdeen Daily World: 15.5 fewer teachers in Aberdeen next year

Wednesday, May 7th:

• The Vancouver Columbian: Faced with a projected $2.4 million deficit next year, Vancouver Public Schools may eliminate 26 staff positions and make other cost-saving changes next year.
  
• The Kitsap Sun: Tough Choices Ahead for Bremerton Schools
  
• The Olympian: Olympia School Cuts Draw a Crowd
  
• Peninsula Daily News: Port Angeles Schools Cut Budget, Keep Full Day Kindergarten

Tuesday, May 6th:

• The Everett Herald: Cuts Loom for Schools Across Snohomish County
  
• The Olympian: Olympia parents look to compromise on budget cuts

Monday, May 5th:

• The Spokane Spokesman-Review: Central Valley School Board still mulling budget cuts
  
• The Kitsap Sun: Unexpected expenses force Bremerton Schools to cut back
  
• The Bellingham Herald: 'Perfect storm' batters state, county school budgets
  
• The Aberdeen Daily World: Hoquiam cuts won't be easy

Friday, May 2nd:

• The Peninsual Daily News:Port Angeles school officials tell why they'd forgo pay raises

Thursday, May 1st:

• The Spokane Spokesman-Review: Mead schools face cash shortfall
  
• The Spokane Spokesman-Review: School look to trim budgets
  
• The Walla Walla Union Bulletin: Dayton Schools to cut seven positions

Tuesday, April 29th:

• Tacoma News Tribune: White River Schools forced to make cuts
  
• The Olympian: North Thurston OKs budget cuts

Monday, April 28th:

• The Peninsula Daily News: Port Angeles school leaders offer up pay raises to aid district

Friday, April 25th:

• The Kitsap Sun: As NK schools face $2.8 million shortfall, will pool be closed?
  
• The Walla Walla Union Bulletin: Dayton schools face $300,000 shortfall

Wednesday, April 23rd:

• The Bellingham Herald: Blaine schools face budget cuts

Monday, April 21st:

• The Abderdeen Daily World: Are Harbor schools headed for a “Waterloo”?
  
• The Ellensburg Daily Record: School districts grapple with finances

Olympia, Bremerton, Vancouver, Aberdeen, Bethel, Blaine, Ferndale, Meridian, South Kitsap, Port Angeles, Edmonds, Central Valley, Mead, Dayton, White River, Sumner, Puyallup, North Thurston, Cle Elum, Ellensburg, Central Kitsap, North Kitsap, Medical Lake. North, east, west, south, all in the same house of budgetary horrors. And those are only the named districts; there are many, many more out there in the same boat.

At least we're all in it together. Yay?

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Today, May 6th, is Teacher Appreciation Day, a day to celebrate all that we are and all that we do in the classroom. I hope that you enjoyed your trinket from the district, the lunch catered by the PTA, and the other shows of appreciation that will go on today and this week.

The thing I appreciate most about the profession is that it’s family friendly. I’m working half-time this year so that I can be at home to help with my daughter, and it’s been a great thing for her, my wife, and I. I’m looking forward to the upcoming summer where I can spend even more time taking her out and watching her grow, and that’s not an opportunity I’d have in many other professions. If you'd like to share why you teach in the comments below, feel free--it could make for fun reading!

Speaking on behalf of the exec board, we’re all happy to serve you, the MLEA membership, in helping to make teaching here in Medical Lake all it can be. We thank you for your help on the various initiatives we’ve had this year; it's your voice that matters the very most. Feel good about yourself on this Teacher Appreciation Day—you’ve earned it.

With thanks,

--Ryan for the MLEA Exec Board--

A Couple of Interesting Articles

One of the more interesting stories in teachers unions right now is that of the Rubber Rooms in New York City. In New York if you're accused of impropriety in the classroom you're sent to a holding facility where, for the duration of the investigation, you sit and wait for your case to be figured out.

Some teachers have been waiting for two years or more. They collect a salary the entire time. Hundreds of teachers are sitting in these rooms right now. You can read about it in the New York Village Voice, here.

Also from the east coast, at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland they've gone from "leaves of grass" to kicking ass over comments students are making about each other on Facebook. This month's NEA Today magazine has an article on cyberbullying that's full of resources; if this is something that you've had to address, it's a great read.

--Ryan--

Stopping Summer Learning Loss

There's an article on the subject in this month's NEA Today. It's full of the usual advice; I'm mainly passing it along because I love the accompanying graphic that came with the article. Remind you of any kids you've had?

Have a great week!

--The MLEA Exec Board--

Free Comic Book Day is Coming!

On Saturday, May 3rd area comic book shops will be opening their doors for Free Comic Book Day, a yearly celebration of graphic literature. The name is sincere; if you go to either of the stores listed you’ll be able to walk away a handful of free books, and in the past both have also had great sales in conjunction with the event. The area stores having events for Free Comic Book Day are:

• Merlyn's, at 19 W. Main Street in Spokane, one block west of the Globe Restaurant, 1 block east of Division.
  
• The Comic Book Shop, at 1401 N. Division (which is actually the part of Division that goes south, but OK), across the street from the Army Recruiting Station and Zip's Restaurant. They also have a place at Northtown Mall.

Enjoy!

Terry Bergeson/WASL Survey--Thank You!

There were 41 responses to the survey on the WASL and Terry Bergeson, and I'd like to thank everyone who responded. Your opinion matters to us, and I appreciate the time and guidance.

In the comments section there were some questions asked about the WASL fact sheet that was sent out to the buildings, mainly along the lines of "Where the hell did this come from?" It was created by the WEA as part of the larger OSPI/WASL project; we passed it along to you, but it was not developed locally. There wasn't proper attribution on the sheet, and I apologize for that oversight.

If you would like a copy of the survey results, or if you have any other questions about the survey, please let Ryan know.

Thanks!