| SEARCH OnWEAC |
|---|
"They've been taking bites out of the apple since 1993," WEAC
President Stan Johnson said in an address to the 2005 WEAC Representative
Assembly.
Photo
gallery.
Nearly 900 delegates who attended the 2005 WEAC Representative Assembly April 22-24 in La Crosse approved four New Business Items, including one creating a Take Your Legislator to School Day.
That item, presented by Stephanie Kessler of Albany, is intended "to promote a more thorough understanding of education in Wisconsin."
The RA also approved a 2005-06 budget and elected Shelly Moore of Ellsworth as a new NEA director. Delegates also re-elected Bob Fitzsimmons of Beloit as an NEA director, and elected Laura Vernon of Milwaukee as an alternate NEA director.
In an address to the delegates, Governor Jim Doyle applauded Wisconsin's tradition of supporting great schools, but cautioned that that tradition is in jeopardy with a Legislature that supports larger class sizes, cuts in education programs, and layoffs of teachers and education support professionals.
Doyle said he would continue to use his veto pen to protect schools, and will continue to fight to repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law.
Today's generation must provide future generations with the same educational opportunities that past generations provided for us in Wisconsin, Doyle said.
"We need to be focused on the future, and it's pretty simple. We need to make sure our kids are going to great schools," he said.
It boils down to investing in the future, he said.
"At the core of it is a classroom with students actively engaged in education with a great teacher to lead the way," Doyle said.
WEAC President Stan Johnson said anti-education forces are whittling away at public education, and he used an apple with a bite out of it as an illustration of his point.
"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired," he said. "Don't let anyone take another bite out of the apple without facing the wrath of our 94,000 members."
For more coverage of the RA, go to the Photo
gallery.
New Business Items
Posted April 25, 2005