On April 4th, IRTA is sponsoring a Legislative Brunch. Members will be speaking to legislators in the morning about retired teachers' pensions/stipend check and other concerns of retired public schoolteachers. Carpools will be organized and members should contact AREA President, Barb Kanning, if you would like to attend.
CELEBRATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
The following is an excerpt from Vic's Statehouse Notes, written by Vic Smith of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education.
You can reach Vic to subscribe to the notes by emailing him at: vic790@aol.com
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #274 – February 10, 2017
Dear Friends,
Here is your chance to stand up for public education! Come to the Statehouse on Presidents’ Day to support public education!
On February 20th, you along with your friends, family and colleagues are invited to a “Celebration of Public Education”.
Lunch is available at 12:30 (register by Feb. 15). Student choirs begin at 1:30. Speakers begin at 2:00 in the North Atrium.
These are difficult times for public education, an institution that has undergirded our democracy for 180 years:
- On Tuesday US Senators voted to confirm a private school voucher advocate with no professional experience in public schools as US Secretary of Education.
- Governor Holcomb has recommended a meager 1% budget increase in general fund tuition support during a time when inflation is now running at 1.7%. Public school programs would have to be cut just to keep up with inflation. His recommended increase in the second year of the biennium is only 2% but his budget would keep a surplus of $2 billion.
- Bills filed in both the House and the Senate seek to end the concept of public education and common schools written into Indiana’s 1851 Constitution and give public money directly to parents without accountability or oversight, using the deceiving name “Education Savings Accounts.”
Public education has been under attack for a long time. For an even longer time, public education has been a tremendous cornerstone to the progress in Indiana that we celebrated in last year’s bicentennial.
- House Bill 1004 would use the high-profile and popular pre-kindergarten expansion bill as a tool to expand private school vouchers, giving a lifetime K-12 voucher to students who have received a pre-K grant “at any time.”
It’s time to celebrate and support public education!
Public officials in the Statehouse need to put a higher priority on PUBLIC education. Only constituents and voters can get them to do that. That’s where we need your presence in the Statehouse. I hope to see you there!
Partners and Details
Many groups are in the coalition partnering to support the “Celebration of Public Education” on Presidents’ Day. Others may be added. In alphabetical order, they are:
AFT Indiana
American Association of University Women
Concerned Clergy
Indiana Coalition for Public Education
Indiana Parent Teacher Association
Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association
Indiana State Teachers Association
Indiana Urban Schools Association
Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education
Speakers at 2:00 pm in the North Atrium are being coordinated by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, and Joel Hand will serve as MC.
Displays highlighting a sampling of great things happening in public schools are invited. If you want to reserve a display table for your group or school, go to: ista-in.org/celebration
Lunch will be available on the 4th floor courtesy of the ISTA. A lunch count is requested by February 15th by emailing: dcrum@ista-in.org
Bring new and gently used classroom supplies for ISTA ReSupply and book donations to celebrate Read Across America.
I hope to see you as we celebrate public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
###
No comments:
Post a Comment