More Press from the Rally
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Crowds listen as Kathy Burger of the PTA speaks.
Channel 8 in Richmond, had a very good video of the Rally. Congratulations to all of our members and leaders!
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RALLY IN RICHMOND IS A HUGE SUCCESS!!!!!!
By David Oberg, February 27, 2010 8:38 pm
CEA President Ernest Chambers and Past-President Susan Garfinkel
Leaders and members from each of the BRU Locals joined leaders and members from around the State at the OCEA Rally in Richmond to protest proposed cuts to K-12 Education spending. Speakers included parents, teachers, students, and administrators. Hundreds of people brought home-made signs and slogans. The Rally finished with the crowd of hundreds singing the Twisted Sister song “We’re not gonna take it” to the General Assembly and to the Governor.
WE DID IT!!!!!
By David Oberg, February 27, 2010 8:33 pm
BRU officers and members joined our colleagues from around the State to demand funding for schools and stating loud and clear: “We’re not gonna take it anymore!” In addition to the OCEA leaders, speakers included Dr. Kitty Boitnott (VEA President); Robley Jones, VEA Director of Government Relations; Kathy Burcher the PTA legislative director; Dr. Robert Grimmesy, Orange Superintendent; and Senator Ed Houck. Kyle Wormuth (OCEA) spoke eloquently about how the cuts to K-12 wll personally affect him; and several students gave heart-felt pleas to the General Assembly not to dismantle their schools. Our Rally is just the beginning! I hope the Governor and the General Assembly heard us LOUD AND CLEAR: WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!
Check out these sites for more information:
http://www.nbc29.com/global/Category.asp?C=175568&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=4580677&flvUri=&partnerclipid=
Rally in Richmond Getting Positive Press
By David Oberg, February 24, 2010 10:04 pm
The Orange County Review has done a very supportive article regarding the Rally in Richmond, highlighting the contributions by OCEA officers Wanda Jones and Lori Davis. Please read the article at: http://www2.orangenews.com/ocn/news/local/education/article/rally_in_richmond/52703/
There is also a great article on the VEA website; please check it out here: http://www.veanea.org/top-stories/rally-2010-02-24.html
SEE YOU IN RICHMOND!!!!!
BLUE RIDGE REPS STORM THE CAPITAL BUILDING
By David Oberg, February 1, 2010 5:23 pm
Blue Ridge Leaders Meet with Senator Ed Houck
Okay….it wasn’t that dramatic….but it was pretty great. Approximately 20 leaders from the Blue Ridge UniServ braved the snow and ice to attend VEA’s Lobby Day in Richmond on February 1st to meet with our delegates and senators, and to encourage support for public education. Among others, we met with Delegates Bell, Scott and Toscano, and Senators Houck and Deeds. The message from the delegates and senators was VERY scary. Delegate Bell informed us that he would not support ANY increase in funding, and would vote to cut an additional $2 billion from the state budget (on top of the more than $2 billion already cut in the Kaine budget). He has proposed a bill to transfer approximately $2.4 million from the city of Charlottesville to Albemarle County–that would be good news for AEA and bad news for CEA. Senator Houck told us that he will do his best to protect educational funding, and try to limit the cuts to approximately $3 billion. Senator Deeds told us that the next 18 months are going to be VERY difficult for educators and law enforcement officers. It is ESSENTIAL that we continue to spread the word about how much damage these cuts are going to do to our educational system. At last count, if the General Assembly follows through with their promise to cut $4 billion from the last biennial budget, that will result in a state-wide reduction of approximately 34,000 educational positions, including all state support for music, art, and physical education.
SIGN UP TO BE A CYBER-LOBBYIST
By David Oberg, January 31, 2010 12:10 pm
VEA needs your help lobbying the General Assembly to fund the public schools. Sign-up at the following link to be a cyber-lobbyist! VEA will send you updates on events in Richmond, and will assist you in sending emails to your delegates and senators. It couldn’t be simpler: http://www.veanea.org/legislative/cyberlobbyist.html
Virginia Could Lose 34,000 Educational Positions
By David Oberg, January 31, 2010 11:31 am
According to today’s word out of Richmond, with additional pending cuts by the General Assembly, we are now looking at possibly 34,000 lost positions state-wide. Meanwhile, the GA is still proposing increased funding for pet projects such as a program to promote commercial film-making in Virginia. VEA has created a new website to keep our members updated on events in Richmond. Please check it out at http://www.veadailyreports.com/
Message to Leaders, Reps and Members
By David Oberg, January 27, 2010 8:50 pm
Dear Leaders and Reps,
Thank you SO much for your service to VEA and your respective locals. I know that much of the word from Richmond, from VEA, and from your local Boards has been negative gloom and doom; and there isn’t any doubt that budgets are challenging. But I see a lot of reason for hope each time I interact with our members and our leaders. We are strong when we are united, and if we work together, I strongly believe that we will come out of this process stronger on the other side.
I want to let you know about some of our recent successes in the BRU: AEA had a very positive meeting this week with their assistant superintendant which I believe is going to result in an official policy, allowing our members to take a fellow member into meetings with administrators. OCEA had an excellent meeting recently and is planning a large gathering before their school board meeting next Tuesday. FEA hosted a debate prior to their school board election, and have upped their visibility in the community. CEA and CCEA both had very large membership growth this past year. And BEA is having an organizational meeting tomorrow evening and seems primed to start effective lobbying actions to support their schools. And I’m getting positive feedback and messages from Madison, Greene and Nelson. Our UniServ is strong and getting stronger. In fact, our UniServ membership numbers are higher than they have ever been. And we have more people attending VEA’s lobby day on Monday, than have ever attended from BRU.
I owe huge debts of gratitude to each of you, especially Michelle Minor and Martha Wood who have been pivotal to all of our efforts and I am very proud to work with you.
Please let me know how I can better serve you as your director, and please let me know any ideas that you have on how we can work together to support each other.
Thank you again for all you do.
-David
OCEA has a plan!
By David Oberg, January 15, 2010 10:14 pm
On Friday January 15th, members of the Orange County Education Association met at Orange County High School to make a plan for how to deal with the budget crisis. After discussing the state and local budget crisis, they succesfully made a plan: They will be meeting again on February 2, 2010, and taking their concerns to the Orange County School Board. What is your local doing? Contact the UniServ office for help in organizing your local effort! Now is the time.
Evaluate your local RIF policies — Now is the time
By David Oberg, January 15, 2010 10:05 pm
Given the Governor’s proposed budget which promises to cut deeply into funding for our school systems, and given the shortfalls locally, there is a STRONG possibility that our locals will be facing reductions in staffing for the 2010-2011 school year. If you have not done so, the BRU recommends that you review the RIF policy in your individual local. If you have any questions/concerns about your RIF policy, please contact the UniServ office.
Themocracy