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"Fight the fight for quality public education," NEA President
Reg Weaver said in the keynote address at the 2003 WEAC Summer Academy.
More
than 300 WEAC members underwent what NEA President Reg Weaver called a
"mental tune-up" this summer (July 27-30) at the 2003 WEAC Summer
Academy in Wisconsin Dells.
Think of the academy, Weaver told participants, as the "preventive maintenance you and your members need to be the driving force of change in your schools and in your communities."
Participants attended sessions designed to help them better understand key education and political issues and how to better organize members, bargain contracts and reach out to the community.
"If we are to be successful in our aim to achieve adequate and equitable funding for all schools, ensure compensation that reflects our worth, and realize our dream of a quality education for every child, then we will need all the creative thinking, creativity, and energy that we can muster," Weaver said in the academy's keynote address.
"Harnessing our power by building strong locals and state affiliates has never been more important," he said. "If we are to be successful in our efforts to support children and public education – if we are to be successful in framing education reform – we must work together to become the strongest and most effective voice that is out there speaking about education."
Weaver focused on the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was one of the main topics of discussion throughout the conference.
He said the law is severely underfunded, even though the federal government has proven time and again that it can come up with money when it wants to. Weaver cited huge tax cuts for the wealthy and massive foreign aid programs. Meanwhile, financial crises are forcing local school districts to cut programs and lay off the very staff who would help children meet the goals of the ESEA, Weaver said.
"But we can't afford to hang our heads about what's happening," he said. "We need to use these types of inconsistencies to a true commitment to public education as an energizer! Use them to energize us to fight the fight for a quality public education – for great public schools for every child."
The NEA, he said, is filing a lawsuit to challenge the unfunded mandates of the ESEA and has developed the Great Public Schools for Every Child Act, which contains 47 amendments to fully fund those mandates.
Weaver repeatedly emphasized the importance of creating strong local and state associations and the need for members to “speak up and speak out” for public education.
He applauded WEAC for developing “one heck of a slogan” in “Every kid deserves a great school.” He said “Team WEAC” is out ahead of other states and the NEA, and “it is making a difference.”
The dynamic NEA president concluded by walking through the audience, shaking hands and reminding members that they must keep their heads up and fight for quality schools no matter how many times they get knocked down.
“Things don’t just happen. We make things happen,” he said.
ESEA
In one of the academy's two general sessions, WEAC Collective
Bargaining Director Mike McNett said the federal Elementary and Secondary
Education Act imposes punishments and sanctions instead of solutions for
schools in need, and the federal government has failed to provide promised
funding.
That, in a nutshell, is why this law – often erroneously
called the “No Child Left Behind Act” – is bad for schools,
for educators and for children, McNett said.
McNett handed out a booklet titled “ESEA and You”
that summarizes the act’s provisions and timetables. (More information
is available on the OnWEAC ESEA Resource
Page.) It is important, McNett said, that all members understand this
law that affects each of us.
The law requires high-stakes testing rather than multiple
measures of assessment; sets impossible goals such as 100% student proficiency
by 2013; and imposes “government meddling” in the schools while
undermining local control. Ironically, the law, which emphasizes “accountability,”
provides severe sanctions that ultimately may close certain schools and
send students to schools that are not subject to any accountability, such
as charter and voucher schools. It also includes new standards and training
requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals.
McNett said the law is the result of “a false diagnosis
and a toxic prescription.” Not only are the provisions illogical,
they are costly and will result in a much narrower curriculum, “teaching
to the test,” increased student “failure” and lower morale.
In addition, McNett said, “This law is an assault
on our collective bargaining rights” by attacking provisions related
to just cause, subcontracting, layoffs, and involuntary transfers.
Members must work to inform the public of the law’s serious flaws, build a groundswell of support to change the law, and work with policymakers to implement changes, he said.
McNett offered these suggestions for what members can do about the ESEA:
Health care reform
In the conference's other general session, the WEA Trust's Fred Evert warned members about the impact of rising health insurance costs and outlined the Trust's plan for addressing the crisis.
In 1970, Evert said, health insurance premiums accounted
for 4.7% of teacher salaries. That rose to 8% in 1980, 14.5% in 1990 and
21.6% in 2000. Unless this trend is reversed, health insurance premiums
will represent 43% of teacher salaries by 2010 and 88% by 2020. It’s
a crisis that’s even worse than most public officials realize, Evert
said.
“It will take fundamental reform of the health
care delivery and finance systems to fix it,” he said.
The WEA Trust is not standing idly by as this health care cost crisis accelerates. Instead, it has taken a bold step to protect members, proposing a comprehensive plan – dubbed the New Wisconsin Idea – to rein in health care cost increases. It’s a complex plan that has four essential pieces:
As a first step in supporting this type of reform, Evert said local associations
can bargain for the Trust’s three-tiered drug card, which is designed
to steer consumers into making the best decisions when purchasing prescription
drugs while lowering overall costs.
More information is available at www.weatrust.com.
'Spread the word'
At the conclusion of the academy, WEAC President Stan Johnson urged members to take the knowledge and skills they picked up there and "spread the word, organize, educate and energize our colleagues back home."
"As association leaders, we need to organize our colleagues so that
our unified voice becomes louder and stronger and more persistent,"
he said. "The more people we have educating the public and putting
pressure on our government officials, the more effective we will be.
"We can change the ESEA and actually turn it into a good law; we can win increased funding for public education; we can strengthen our collective bargaining rights; and, yes, we can get the QEO and revenue controls repealed," Johnson said.
"We have the power."
Posted July 31, 2003