325 Members Get a 'Mental Tune-Up'

"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:

• Increase member awareness of the ESEA changes and their impact. Possibilities include general membership meetings, building meetings, local newsletters, and presentations at special events.
• Distribute copies of “ESEA and You,” the fact book for WEAC members, to all your officers, building reps, and members.
• Encourage members to get additional information on ESEA through weac.org and nea.org.
• Bargain contract language that strengthens protections from subcontracting, involuntary transfer, and dismissal. Use the grievance process to make sure districts adhere to all member rights. This law does not supercede the contact!
• Insist through bargaining and other forums that your district uses the Title II-A funds to implement PI34, including mentoring, training, release time, and pay for after-hours work.
• Discuss the problems of the ESEA with the editorial board of your local newspaper.
• Establish a speakers’ bureau of members who can present ESEA problems and needs to civic groups.
• Write letters to the editor.
• Contact your congressional representatives.
• Help elect a pro-education president in 2004.

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:

• Statewide, evidence-based prescription drug purchasing. A larger drug-buying pool will lower costs for everyone, and a system that prescribes “the best drug at the best time at the best price” will save millions of dollars.
• A centralized processing center for all insurance plans. This center would credential providers, reducing duplication of effort, and would verify that claims are accurate and procedures are appropriate. “There is a lot of administrative fat in the system that could be wrung out and save us money,” Evert said.
• Transparency of health care costs. This plan would create a standardized fee schedule for each procedure, such as Medicare does now. Providers could charge a standard fee based on a percentage of that schedule, such as 100%, 120% or 150%, that would apply to every procedure uniformly. Insurers would provide plans that cover specific percentages of the fee schedule across the board, giving consumers choices.
• Health care accessibility. The state would develop a health program that provides every resident a basic level of preventive health care, covering such procedures as immunizations, pre-and post-natal care, physician exams, and maintenance medicines. At the other end, the state also would cover catastrophic care, such as transplants, neonatal care, and advanced cardiac and cancer treatments. Private insurance would cover the routine procedures that fall in the middle.
  

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