Read the NEA Education Insider (a review of progress on the Quality Public Schools Agenda and other legislation that impacts students, classrooms, and public education) for:
March
16, 2007
(Contents: Tell Congress to Provide the Resources Necessary for Great
Public Schools; Reminder: How Connected Are We?)
February
9, 2007
(Contents: Tell Senate to Act on Funding Resolutions; Contact Your
Senators Today)
January
26, 2007
(Contents: Urge Congress to Help Fund Schools Near Federal Forest Land;
Tell Congress to Provide the Funds Necessary for Great Public Schools)
January
12, 2007
(Contents: Urge Congress to Help Make College More Affordable; Social Security
Offsets Legislation Reintroduced; Your E-Mails Needed to Build Support; You Did
It! (update re federal minimum wage))
ESEA > BENEFITS > POLITICAL ACTION
NEWS:
May 23, 2007 - Governor Gibbons Turns His Back on Public Education. More here.
March 15, 2007 - NSEA Commends Lawmakers for Introducing Legislation to Enhance Public Education. More here.
March 6, 2007 - Governor Gibbons wants to raid the education budget to pay for the empowerment program. More here.
NEVADA'S TEACHERS ASK GIBBONS ADMINISTRATION TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT EDUCATION
The new administration has answered very few
questions regarding proposals put forward in the State of the
State and the proposed budget. The NSEA,
representing more than 28,000 teachers and support professionals
throughout Nevada, is raising a few more questions regarding
Governor Gibbons’ proposed Distributive School Account
(DSA). When considering the Governor’s recommendations
for appropriations to the DSA, we urge lawmakers and citizens
alike to seek answers to the following questions:
1) The amount of money Gibbons is allocating to education is at least $53 million less than the proposed Guinn budget. Why the decrease?
2) The Gibbons budget recommends cutting the following one shot monies:
• Performance pay for teachers ($10,000,000)
• Alternative classroom settings for disruptive students ($1,000,000)
• Incentives for speech pathologists to become nationally board certified ( $1,106,028)
• Programs for limited English proficient pre-K students ($175,000)
Why cut these important and effective programs?
3) The Governor is proposing to do away with the funding for the 1/5 Service Credit Incentive Program, which encourages teachers to work in at-risk schools and hard to fill positions such as math, science, and special education. When there are nearly 500 teaching vacancies in Clark County alone is it really responsible to be cutting incentives to attract and retain quality teachers to our state?
4) Why is Governor Gibbons proposing to cut over $22 million for “innovation and remediation;” a program that allows schools to apply for funds that go directly to the classroom?
5) Why have the Governor and his staff insisted that the Edmonton Empowerment plan be used to implement merit pay for teachers when there is no merit pay in Edmonton? And, if this glowing example of education excellence does not use merit pay, what does that say about the concept?
6) The Governor, as far as we can see, has completely ignored any of the recommendations of the recent study that investigated the adequacy of school financing in Nevada—instead, choosing to cut the amount of funding going to education. Why?
7) Why has the Governor chosen to ignore Nevada’s school district superintendents—three of whom are on his own transition team—and not use any of the recommendations from iNVest?
“The Governor has left the parents, teachers, and support professionals of Nevada with far more questions than he has answers,” said Terry Hickman, Executive Director of the Nevada State Education Association. “Why is the Governor offering tax breaks to banks while the needs of our kids are ignored? Why is the Governor cutting taxes instead of cutting barriers that will allow all our kids to get a quality education? Parents and educators deserve answers to these questions.”
"For the past four years Governor Gibbons has lead the charge for ‘Education First’," Hickman continued. "That shouldn’t mean education is the first budget to get cut."
Read the NSEA Member Matters E-Newsletter for:
May
23, 2007
(Contents: Legislative Session Nearing End...Hopefully - Governor
Gibbons Turns His Back on Public Education; Immediate Action Required;
SB 544 - Retiree Health Insurance)
May
16, 2007
(Contents: Action Required; SB 544 - Retiree Health Insurance;
NCLB Action Guide - It's Time for a Change; NEA President Reg Weaver
Meets with Local Media)
April
20, 2007
(Contents: NSEA To Testify on AB 280; NSEA Delegate Assembly...Big
Event Next Week; NEA President Awarded MALDEF Excellence in Leadership
Award)
April
5, 2007
(Contents: Budget Shortfall in excess of $100 million)
March
27, 2007
(Contents: Empowerment Bills SB 238 vs. SB 304; Presidential
Candidate Bill Richardson Visits NSEA Board of Directors; ESEA Picnic...a
Day
of Fun in the Sun; NEA: Calling All Cyber Lobbyists! How Connected
Are We; Take Action Now)
March
21, 2007
(Contents: Action required: Contact Committee Members; Presidential
Candidate Bill Richardson to Visit NSEA Board of Directors; NEA Issues
Report on Status of Hispanics in Education)
March
15, 2007
(Contents: Action Required - Full-Day Kindergarten Bill Passes Out
to Committee; Urge Lawmakers to Pass AB 280; NEA Testifies Before
Lawmakers - Instrumental in NCLB Reauthorization)
March
7, 2007
(Contents: Action Required! Full-day Kindergarten hearing set for Monday;
Board Lobby Day a Success; Read Across America a Seu-ccess; Staying Connected)
March
2, 2007
(Contents: America Celebrates Read Across America Day; NSEA Testifies
on DSA; NSEA Board of Directors to Lobby in Carson City; NSEA... Your
Voice for Public Education)
February 26,
2007
(Contents: Sen. Hillary Clinton Speaks to NSEA Members; Legislative
Weekly Advance; NEA: Calling All Cyber Lobbyists! How Connected Are
We; Take
Action Now)
In Nevada, funding for salary increases and insurance are negotiated by ESEA and the CCSD. The funding for the increases comes from the State Legislature.
ESEA lobbys full-time for increased funding during every legislative session.
Each political candidate is carefully interviewed by the TIP Committee to select the candidates that will be representing the interests of ESEA members.
You can make an important investment in your future with the ESEA/NSEA/NEA by contributing to the TIP fund through authorization of a payroll deduction of $1 or more per month.
For more information, contact ESEA.
