Current Issues & Events

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November 7, 2006 Neenah School Referendum Information

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Taxes, Economic Development, and SchoolFunding (TEF)

NEA has researched why school funding is STILL inadequate and inequitable? They found the answer by looking at 30-year trends in state and local tax structures and economic development policies.

Schools continue to be held accountable for results but they lack the capacity to do their job. Adequate and equitable funding is the necessary first step toward building American public schools. If the trends in tax structures and economic policies continue the way they're headed, NEA found, we'll never achieve adequate and equitable funding for America's public schools.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? NEA developed the TEF presentation to broaden our audience from the 25% of Americans with school-age children to all Americans. The message that TEF sends is we must make taxes fair, we must level the economic playing field for business, and we must fund public schools adequately and equitably.

NEA is asking UniServ Directors along with local leaders to deliver the TEF message to all union members. Once this is accomplished, the goal is to spread this information to our local communities through informed
members and public TEF presentations. Whether we have Democrats or Republicans controlling state legislatures or governorships, these trends have been moving in the same, wrong direction. If these trends
continue, we won't be able to maintain the quality of life we are so used to as Americans, let alone create great public schools.

We need to have a solid foundation for school success and this foundation rests on three pillars: Taxes, Economic development, and school Funding (TEF).

- Terri Trimbell, WEAC Executive Director