Winding up 2009--Looking ahead to 2010

Since my last post, I have been on the go and have traveled much of the state. I started out the first week of December in Abingdon and attended the Legislative Dinner that was hosted by leaders in Districts 1 and 2. Representatives from the House of Delegates and the Senate attended, and a great dinner and dialogue was the result of the evening. VEA leaders used the opportunity to share the VEA's Legislative Agenda for 2010, and legislators each got a turn to share their predictions about how difficult the 2010 General Assembly session is shaping up to be. At that time no one knew what Governor Kaine's budget proposal might entail, but everyone was well aware that the budget of needs far exceeds the budget of available revenue unless some major overhauls are prescribed. It was a great evening of lively discussion, but the gloomy projections could not help but cast something of a pall over an otherwise delightful get-together.

I left the scenic mountain region of far Southwest Virginia on Tuesday morning and traveled I-81, I-77, and Route 58 to Danville where I met with leaders from the Southside of Virginia for the last of the Pre-Legislative Dinners.

On the following morning, after having returned to Richmond from Danville the night before, I traveled with Rob Jones to the Capital and met with members of the Virginia League of Women Voters. This active group of civic-minded women from all over the Commonwealth were holding their annual pre-legislative luncheon. At this event, representatives from a variety of state agencies and associations are invited to share their organizations' legislative agendas. Groups representing the environment, certain state agencies, women's and children's advocacy groups, the PTA, and several others along with the VEA were able to share the highlights from their various 2010 legislative agendas.

I left Richmond that afternoon to travel to Williamsburg where I attended the 2009 annual Virginia ASCD Conference. I heard a number of wonderful speakers and came away from that conference with a brain full of new ideas and thoughts regarding the future of public education and the momentous transition that we are all facing at this particular point in history. I believe it is safe to say that we are on the brink of major change in the way we conduct public education in this country. It is an exciting--if perplexing and somewhat anxiety producing time--to be involved in public education.

On Saturday of that week, I attended the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee meeting--and all of that took place in just one week!

The following week was no less busy. I traveled to Chesapeake on Monday and met (along with representatives from the Virginia Education Coalition) with Governor-elect McDonnell's Education Transition Team Co-Chairs (Dr. Bill Bosher and Delegate Chris Saxman) in Richmond on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I traveled to Washington D. C. for December's Super Week. I attended a number of meetings from Wednesday through Friday, and then on Saturday morning, I took off for New York City for a weekend of fun and pre-Christmas celebration.

Last week (starting December 14), after returning to Washington, D. C. from New York, I attended the December Arlington Education Association meeting, and spent the rest of the week conducting numerous meetings and clearing up end-of-the year activities in anticipation of being away from the office over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

One of the most important activities of last week was that I was witness to one of the last official duties of Governor Tim Kaine as he presented his 2011-2012 budget to the "money committees" of the General Assembly. For the details of the proposed budget, you might want to check our web site: http://www.veanea.org.

As we wind up this year, it is impossible not to be cognizant of the extremely difficult time that we are all facing. The majority in the House of Delegates has already declared the Governor's proposed revenue raising part of the budget "dead on arrival." Given that that is their attitude, things could get even rougher for our members and the students we teach, and, frankly, the cuts proposed to K-12 are already concerning enough.

I don't want to depress us all right here at the holidays with projections of doom and gloom, so I will simply say that the one thing I know for sure is that we will be working as hard as we can to make the most noise we can trying to protect the interests of our members and our students. Indeed, we are the only educator advocacy group who will. If anyone has ever questioned the wisdom of educators being engaged in politics, I believe they are about to learn via a crash course in reality why we need to be active in the political arena.

I'll sign off on that thought.

Happy Holidays to all.

Until next year.

Kitty

The Last Two Weeks

Since writing last on November 8th, I have been busy as usual.

On November 9th, I testified before the Joint Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education for the purpose of maintaining the VEA position that in spite of the revenue shortfall that continues to get worse rather than better, we urge our lawmakers to protect K-12 classrooms as much as possible. It is important that we not shortchange our students at the very time when they need a high quality education that will help to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century global economy. Specifically, one of the recommendations that I offered was as follows:

"VEA supports the policy direction adopted by the Virginia Board of Education on October 22, 2009, to 'Advocate against permanent structural changes to the Standards of Quality that result in decreased funding for K-12 public education.' The Board adopted this position following extensive study of the issue of funding our schools and following extensive public input. I urge you to base your decisions on this important policy direction."

In short, we continue to urge that lawmakers make every attempt to make cuts to K-12 education minimal and temporary. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, however. There are those in the House of Delegates who fail to appreciate their responsibility to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth which requires that they " shall provide for a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained."

Rest assured, we stand ready to remind them at every opportunity of their responsibility, but we will need the help and support of every educator in the Commonwealth as we enter this General Assembly session.

On November 10th I attended the Brunswick regional Pre-Legislative Dinner with Director of the Office of Government Relations and Research, Rob Jones and his Assistant, Doris Boitnott. We had a great turn out for that event, and we have one more dinner to attend next week in Danville.

On November 11th, I served as one member of a panel discussion sponsored by the Atlantic in partnership with Altria. The topic of discussion was "Beyond the Classroom: Collaborating to Leverage In-and Out-of School Efforts for Student Success." Joining me on the panel were Sherrie Brach, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, Karen Pittman, Executive Director of the Forum for Youth Investment, and Ellen Winn, Director of the Education Equality Project. The event was moderated by the Deputy Managing Editor of Atlantic Monthly, James Gibney.

On November 12th, I left for New Orleans in order to attend a national conference of elected officers and executive directors from each of the state affiliates. This group which identifies itself as the National Council of State Education Affiliates (NCSEA) meets quarterly for the purpose of sharing with one another and networking around the various issues that are affecting us all. Topics of discussion included the most recent released regulations that are part of the Race to the Top funds, charter schools, and performance pay just to name a few. We listened to two dynamic speakers, and we had a great time networking with one another and sharing issues of common concern.

I returned to Virginia on November 17th and traveled the next day to Alexandria to celebrate ESP Day and American Education Week at John Adams Elementary School. I was joined by NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan along with NEA Executive Committee member, Paul Monroe and ESP of the Year Debbie Axtell. We had a great time. We were entertained by the musical performance of students who played for us and we had 4th graders join us in the library media center so that they could help celebrate and recognize several of the ESP employees in their building.

After a brief ceremony in the library, we moved to the cafeteria where Dennis, Secretary Duncan, Paula, Debbie and I served lunch to 2nd graders who were pretty awestruck by the number of cameras that surrounded them while they chose between chicken or grilled cheese for lunch.

On Saturday, November 21st, I chaired the second and final meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Dues and yesterday and today I spent some valuable but rare time in the office for the purpose of catching up on mail, meetings, and routine business.

Next week I will be headed for Abingdon for a Legislative Dinner with the southwest legislators and leaders from Districts 1 & 2, and then I will meet Doris and Rob in Danville for the 9th and final Pre-Legislative Dinner of 2009.

Other important events that have occurred include the hiring of a new Director of Human Resources and Finance and a new secretary for the Office of Government Relations and Research. These new hires are the result of long time VEA employees who are retiring and leaving us next week. Brenda Cloyd who has been a part of the VEA landscape ever since she became vice president back in the early 1980's and Betty Wright who has worked for the VEA for 40 years are both retiring and their last day will be next week. It is going to be hard to think of their not being part of the VEA family...but we look forward to working with the individuals who are coming on in their new roles. We welcome them and hope that they will find the VEA a place where they can stay for the next 40 years.

In a couple of days we will all be celebrating Thanksgiving. I would like to sign off by offering my heartfelt wishes for a happy Thanksgiving for all who read this post. We have much to be thankful for in spite of the many challenges that are presenting themselves to us. Most specifically, we have each other, and for me, at least, I am thankful for that every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Until next time.

Kitty



Looking Ahead

The 2009 gubernatorial election is now behind us, and it is time to turn our serious attention to the problems and challenges that face us as a commonwealth. Many of our members and their families are going to be dealing with the challenges brought about by the gloomy economic forecasts which will impact our schools in the coming months and years.

With that thought in mind, I wrote the following letter of congratulations to Governor-elect McDonnell. It is a sincere message of congratulations. He ran a spectacular campaign. I hope he will have an equally spectacular term because his success will mean success for Virginians and ultimately for the children of Virginia.

For those who might be interested, I am including the text of the letter that I sent to Mr. McDonnell this week. That letter will make up the content of my blog posting for this time.

Until next time.

Kitty

Dear Governor-elect McDonnell:

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your election to Virginia’s highest office. Your campaign can only be characterized as disciplined and highly organized. Your hard work and ability to inspire voters ultimately won the day.

As you move from campaign mode into the realm of governing the commonwealth of Virginia, I would like to extend not only my congratulations but an offer to work with you for the betterment of public education in Virginia. In your acceptance speech on Tuesday evening, you said, “Give me a chance to earn your trust to work with you for the betterment of the commonwealth of Virginia.” I will certainly do that, and I respectfully request that you give me that same chance.

You also said that you plan to keep the promise as governor that you made as a candidate and that is to create more jobs and opportunity “so that every Virginian can use their God-given talents to pursue the American dream and liberty....” I would like to offer my assistance in helping you keep that promise.

The campaign is behind us. You will undoubtedly face many great challenges in the four years ahead. Ultimately, your success will translate into Virginia’s success. I look forward to working with you. In the meantime, please accept my warmest congratulations on your hard won victory.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kitty J. Boitnott, President

Virginia Education Association

Seven Stops in Seven Virginia Locations for Deeds Educational Opportunities Bus Tour

Photo: The first bus stop on the Deeds Educational Opportunity Bus Tour
Charlottesville, VA, October 19, 2009

I have just finished three of the more intensive days of my presidency so far. I stumped around the Commonwealth traveling almost 1000 miles in those three days trying to reach out to our members and the state's secondary media markets with the message that we have less than two weeks before the Virginia election for statewide offices and all 100 House of Delegates seats, and we are in need of pumping a little excitement and enthusiasm into our otherwise voter fatigued citizenry.

My appeal is especially to my VEA members and education colleagues who have much riding on this gubernatorial election. We have two clear choices. Creigh Deeds who has been a proven friend of public education and the 93.5% voting record to prove it, or his opponent, who is a champion of merit pay, vouchers and tax credits, and whose own voting record from his days in the House was only 52%.

Hmmm. 93.5% = A. 52% = F.

Could our choice for electing a friend of public education--one who believes in the opportunities to be afforded to Virginia's citizenry through public education--be any clearer? I don't see how.

I started out our statewide trek in Charlottesville on one of the most beautiful autumn mornings we have had so far this fall. From there, we headed back east to Petersburg for an afternoon stop in front of the Petersburg Courthouse. We wound up the first day of our tour with a stop in Richmond.

On the bus, we had First Lady of Virginia, Anne Holton, who is committed to helping Creigh Deeds become our next Governor of Virginia. We also had Creigh's son, Gus, with us in Charlottesville before he peeled off for other campaign duties.

While Gus needed to be somewhere else, we met up with others throughout the day who helped us to carry our message from differing perspectives. In Charlottesville, for example, we had Dr. Fred Diehl, a professor from the University of Virginia with us. He spoke to his understanding of Creigh's commitment to higher education in Virginia as well as his well-known record in K-12 education over the course of his 18-year history in the General Assembly both as a Delegate and as a Senator.

In Petersburg, we were joined by parent, Stella Edwards, a long time friend of the VEA, and Senator Henry Marsh who shared his own experience working with Creigh over the years.

In Richmond, we continued on with the First Lady and Senator Marsh, and we were joined by Mayor Dwight Jones and several other city and state officials and candidates for office. The neat thing about the Richmond stop is that we were joined by school-aged children who attend the Peter Paul Development Center's after school program. How appropriate to have children with us since it is for the children that we teach that this election is the most critical regarding its outcome.

Immediately upon the conclusion of the Richmond bus stop, I took off for northern Virginia where I stayed in Falls Church in order to be positioned for the first stop of that day at the VT Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church. By Wednesday, I was the only person on the tour who had completed the first day of traveling. The First Lady had to deal with other responsibilities, and Gus Deeds and Dr. Diehl and the others were replaced on the tour by former Delegate Jim Dillard, Republican, from Fairfax.

Many of our members know Delegate Dillard not only as a retired delegate from the House and a long time friend of public education, but he is also a retired educator from the Fairfax County Public Schools and FEA-Retired. Jim's message was powerful because as Chair of the House Education Committee while he served in the House, he had opportunities to work with both of the candidates for Governor. In spite of his long time standing with the Republican party, Delegate Dillard supports the Democratic candidate, Creigh Deeds, and he laid out clearly the reasons for doing so.

In addition to having Delegate Dillard join me in Falls Church, we were privileged to be joined by Congressman Jim Moran who also spoke quite eloquently and forcefully to the reasons for electing Creigh to be the next Governor of Virginia.

From Falls Church, we traveled to Leesburg where we were joined by Senator Mark Herring and House of Delegates member and candidate for re-election, David Poisson. Both men joined me and president of the Loudoun Education Association, Sandy Sullivan, in speaking to why we need to work hard between now and November 3 to get out the vote for our candidate.

From Falls Church, we traveled to Winchester and there, in front of the Charlotte Dehart Elementary School, we were joined by former Senator Russ Potts, a long time friend of the VEA and a fierce advocate for education. Senator Potts chaired the Senate Health and Education Committee. He, too, is able to speak straight from his experience in working with both candidates for Governor, and in spite of his long time stance in the Republican Party of Virginia, Senator Potts is endorsing Creigh Deeds for Governor.

It should be hugely telling to our moderate Republican friends and Independent voters that the judgment of Delegate Dillard and Senator Potts along with the endorsement of former Senator John Chichester and others that they are backing Creigh Deeds for Governor. They are crossing party lines and breaking ranks with their own party for the good of Virginia. We at the VEA need to help them get that message out. It is an important message that has been largely lost in the campaign rhetoric until now, but we still have over a week to get the message out among our members, their families, and their neighbors.

From Winchester, I headed south on I-81 and spent the night in Roanoke where I wound up our three-day, seven-stop tour in front of the Jefferson Center, joined by Sarah Patton, NEA Director from Covington and former Delegate and current Chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, Dick Cranwell. We were also joined by parent activist and public education advocate, Butch Johnstone.

For my closing remarks about just how critical I believe this election is, please click on the link below and you can hear first-hand my plea to the assembled crowd to help get out the vote. Time is running out, but it's not too late for us to make a difference in spite of what the polls say.

The only poll that matters is the one that is taken on Election Day, and we can make the critical difference if we turn out in sufficient numbers!

Kitty Boitnott appearing in Roanoke, Virginia, October 22, 2009 with a message to Virginia voters.

As I write this post, we have 11 days to make a difference. Everyone who cares about the future of Virginia is turning out from President Obama to Governor Kaine to Senators Warner and Webb along with Creigh's Republican supporters and dozens of other organizations that have committed themselves to Creigh's success.

No one is more committed to Creigh's success, however, than I am, as president of the Virginia Education Association. I understand the significance of this election on the three core values that I have and that drive me as I perform the duties of president of the largest association of educators in the Commonwealth of Virginia--preserving public education, promoting the education profession, and advocating for the students we teach every day.

I know that Creigh shares those goals and values with me.

I urge you to get out and help Creigh in these last days of the election.

Volunteer in these last days and you could win an opportunity to meet President Obama when he makes his Virginia appearance at ODU Tuesday, October 27th. For more information, click here.

I'll be leaving Richmond again in just a couple of days. I have a breakfast scheduled with members in Staunton Monday morning, October 26 before my VP, Meg Gruber, and I head west for Abingdon for our fourth Pre-Legislative Dinner and budget and resolutions hearings. From Abingdon, we'll head back to Salem for the Pre-Legislative Dinner scheduled there, and then back to Staunton where we will complete the sixth of our nine scheduled Pre-Legislative Dinners combined with the hearings on the 2010-2011 budget and resolutions.

From there, I will be heading to the Tidewater area next weekend, I think, to help with the GOTV efforts for some of our friends in the region as the last days of the election season wind down.

I'm doing all I can to help our friends finish a successful bid for their respective offices. Please join me.

The VEA CAN make a difference in this election--I just know it.

Until next time.

Kitty

VEA Members Walk for Friends of Public Education

Saturday, October 17th was the day that the Virginia Education Association selected to walk for our friends who are running for office in the General Assembly, for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General. We might have been able to pick a worse day weather-wise, but we would have had to work at it. In spite of the drizzly rain and chilly temperatures, however, dozens of our members turned out to canvas neighborhoods for our friends.

In Fairfax, we kicked off the day with a Rally for Creigh Deeds, our recommended candidate for Governor. Creigh joined us at the FEA Office and dozens of volunteers were there to cheer him on and gear up to either walk neighborhoods or work phone banks.

A huge thank you goes out to the FEA for their offering of the FEA office for the event. It was a great collaborative effort as not only did the FEA step up, but I was able to attend representing the state affiliate, and we were honored to have our Immediate Past President and current NEA Executive Committee member, Princess Moss who joined us for the event.

In addition to having Princess with us, another NEA officer also volunteered his Saturday. NEA Executive Committee member, Len Paolillo of Massachusetts walked with House of Delegates representative, Paul Nichols and members of the Prince William Education Association. I know that there were other walks that were being conducted all over the state, and I look forward to receiving reports from folks as to how their day went.

In addition to attending our own Rally for Creigh Deeds on Saturday morning, I also attended a rally at the Mason District Park in Fairfax where Governor Tim Kaine was traveling with Creigh and Jody Wagner, the candidate for Lt. Governor. We are also recommending Jody for that office along with Steve Shannon who is our recommended candidate for Attorney General.

The day was miserable weather-wise, but the good feeling being generated by our hopes that Creigh can come from behind one more time and prevail in this election was palpable. As Creigh himself said yesterday, we have 17 days and he's only 7 points down. As I have been saying for weeks now, I believe that our VEA members can make the difference in this race. We must make the difference. We know that Creigh is committed to taking Virginia forward--not taking us backward. We know that Creigh is committed to making Virginia's public schools the best in the nation. We know that his rhetoric matches his record. We know we can count on Creigh.

The day was topped off with the great news that the Washington Post has also recognized that Creigh should be the next Governor of Virginia. They offered an endorsement for Creigh in their "Mr. Deeds for Governor" article late last night.

We have just over 2 weeks to go.

Election day is November 3, 2009.

We have a lot of work to do, but we CAN do it.

Until next time.

Kitty

Pre-Legislative Dinners Begin Along with Budget and Resolutions Hearings

The past couple of weeks have been such a blur of activity that I can hardly remember everything I have done and everywhere I have been. This week, Meg Gruber, VEA Vice President, and I started our round of the state in conjunction with VEA Director of Government Relations and Research, Robley Jones, and his Assistant, Doris Boitnott for the purpose of gathering input on the budget and resolutions and presenting the VEA's 2010 Legislative Agenda. We were in Hampton on Monday night, Norfolk on Tuesday night, and in NOVA on Thursday night. I would like to thank everyone who turned out for these important events. It's always appreciated when our members take time out of their busy schedules in order to demonstrate their commitment to the association.

I am proud of our Legislative Agenda. We have worked hard to create a balance of issues that are important to all of our members. We address funding, we continue to address parity and the lack of it for our ESP members, and we are committed to opposing legislation that would be detrimental to public schools. We have also come to recognize that we need to prepare to fend off any and all attacks on our Virginia Retirement System (VRS). We are very concerned that the downtown in the economy is going to serve as too great a temptation to our legislators who may see that pot of money as a convenient fund to raid. We at the VEA will not allow that to happen, but our members need to understand the importance of protecting that benefit for the educators of Virginia.

Today, we held our All Committee Day at the Crossings in Glen Allen. We hosted just under 100 of our committee members and staff who convened for the purpose of reviewing their various committee's charges and creating recommendations that will be taken to the VEA Board of Directors for consideration.

We also got an update on the upcoming election. It is only a few weeks away, and I am increasingly concerned that our members are suffering from election fatigue. We worked so hard last year for President Obama, and it has been hard to work up the same kind of enthusiasm this year even though the state election in Virginia in 2009 is a critical one.

It hasn't helped that both campaigns have taken a negative turn. Unfortunately, negative campaigns work which is why candidates use them.

At the VEA we have stuck to the facts, and we are proud of the ads that the VEA sponsored and aired in the Richmond and Tidewater regions. The polls have demonstrated that our ads have been effective, and they have stuck to the facts.

I wish I knew what magic words to use to get our members energized enough to work as hard as they can in these final days. I also wish I could count on everyone going to the polls on November 3 and taking their family, friends, and colleagues with them to vote for Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner, and Steve Shannon along with our other friends of education.

Somehow our members have got to start making the connection between politics, education policy, and the association's political power. We have talked about it to some degree, but we have a long way to go before we are ready to fully embrace our full potential as a political power player. Our friends and opponents see it...but our own members fail to understand and/or appreciate their own important part in developing the political landscape of Virginia.

Having said that, I urge every individual who is reading this post to volunteer to do something for one or more of our recommended candidates between now and November 3.

Next Saturday, October 17 would be a great place to start. All over Virginia, the VEA will be sponsoring walks for our candidates. In Fairfax, I will be joining Past President and current NEA Executive Director Princess Moss at the Fairfax Education Association building in downtown Fairfax for a rally for Creigh. Others will be convening at different locations around the Commonwealth for walks, canvassing, and drumming up support for our recommended candidates. Please consider participating. It will only take a few hours, and it could be the effort that we need to turn the tide on the polls and tip the advantage toward our recommended candidates.

No matter what you do, please plan to vote for our recommended candidates on November 3. For Governor, we recommend Creigh Deeds. For Lt. Governor, we recommend Jody Wagner. And for Attorney General, we recommend Steve Shannon. For specific targeted races, please check out our election related web site at http://www.veaelection09.com.

Until next time.

Kitty

Future Prospects for Public Education in Virginia and Why the VEA Supports Creigh Deeds for Governor

Since my last posting, I have turned my attention to several different issues and important events in a variety of arenas including politics, policy, and association business. Last weekend, for example, I attended a VEA Board Retreat at Mariners Landing in Bedford County on beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Our VEA Board of Directors embarked on a new membership year with an important training on diversity followed by a discussion of the need to create a new vision and mission statement for the VEA followed by the conduct of business with a full board agenda before adjourning at noon on Sunday.

Midweek, I went to Washington, D. C. in order to attend part of NEA's "Super Week." Quarterly, the state presidents and national officers and all of the NEA Board of Directors descend upon our nation's capital for the purpose of conducting the association's business between Representative Assemblies. It's called "Super Week," I suspect, because it involves a super human effort to cram as many meetings into four days as possible.

I came home from "Super Week" earlier than usual this time because I wanted to meet with the UniServ Directors who had been conducting their own staff meeting on Thursday and Friday; and today, I convened a brief meeting of our VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee and PAC Directors in order to finalize some of our local candidate recommendations in preparation for the November 3rd state election.

With regard to the upcoming state election, we at the VEA have launched a series of political messages and mailings including a television ad that I hope will help to communicate to the public and to our members that the gubernatorial race that looms ahead is one that warrants their serious attention. We have made a recommendation for Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia because of Creigh's excellent 18-year-record of support for public education. His record in contrast to his opponent's legislative record made our choice fairly easy this time. Creigh had a 93.5% voting record (compared to his opponent's 52% voting record) over the course of his tenure in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. He has been a champion for the goal of bringing Virginia's teachers' salaries to the national average, and he recognizes the importance of providing every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an opportunity for a great public school and a highly qualified teacher. Creigh's own history is a testament to the power of a public education and the importance of every Virginia student being given an opportunity to succeed.

Creigh Deeds has a long road on the campaign trail ahead of him, however. The economy continues to create worries about the future. President Obama's popularity has taken some serious blows as the result of the health care debate which has, unfortunately, reached new lows as far as public discourse and debate. People are afraid and uncertain about their own futures, much less the futures of the Commonwealth and the nation. It's a tough time to be in public office or to be seeking public office.

One thing I know for sure, however. The future of public education in Virginia hangs in the balance as this political race heats up. We have on the one hand a candidate who clearly and unabashedly supports public schools and public school employees. We know that not just from his rhetoric but from his accumulated actions over the course of an 18 year legislative record. That candidate is Creigh Deeds.

We know from Creigh's opponent in this race for Governor that he is not so much a fan of the opportunities to be found in a system of high quality public schools. Instead, he is a proponent of vouchers and tax credits, and he claims to be a candidate in favor of "bold reforms" such as charter schools. The odd thing about that claim is that when asked for specifics about his plan for charter schools, he had nothing to offer with regard to any specific proposal or outline. He also admitted that given our current laws in Virginia, pursuing an expansion of charter schools in Virginia might be "problematic" but he dismissed the "problem" as being something that he would work out later.

The "problem" is that in Virginia, we have legislation already in place that addresses how charter schools can be established. Furthermore, Virginia's Constitution requires that public schools--including public charter schools--be established, operated, and overseen by local school boards.

For more on how and why charter schools are not the answer for Virginians, please see the following article that was printed in the Washington Post last July: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102327.html. (To see the article, click on the link.)

What has become increasingly apparent in recent weeks and months is that the line between politics and public policy--including education policy--has become blurred. What used to be relegated to the realm of policy--the establishment of schools and the rules they are run by; the development of "alternative" forms of public education; the discussion of what constitutes educational innovation, creativity, experimentation, etc.--these are increasingly included in the political debate about schools. Worse, the debate is increasingly driven by ideology as opposed to what is research based, considered best practice, or is in the best interest of the children whom are in need of the education.

The fact of the matter is that the research is mixed regarding the success of charter schools in the nation. You can find examples of great ones; but you can also find examples of failing ones, many of which are being closed down daily.

The same can be said of our neighborhood's public schools. There are some great ones, and there are some that are in need of support.

So why the push for charter schools as the silver bullet that will solve the problems that are being faced in some of our nation's poorest public schools? The media has certainly helped to create the sense of crisis around the current public school system in this country; and it's been egged on by our current Secretary of Education and our President who are familiar with one type of charter school that they have seen succeed in Chicago. I respectfully disagree with their point of view that what may have been good for the troubled schools in Chicago's urban centers necessarily translate to what would be good for the rest of the nation.

The fact of the matter is that most parents are satisfied with their own public neighborhood school! And aren't they the ones to have the best idea as to what is really going on in their kids' schools? For the research on that finding, see http://www.gallup.com/poll/122432/parents-rate-schools-higher-americans-overall.aspx. (To see the article, click on the link.)

Furthermore, just a few days ago (September 23rd), Forbes once again announced that Virginia is the best state in the nation for business, and included in that ranking is a comment on the quality of life in Virginia which includes an index of schools. (For the article, clink on the link: http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html.)

What Creigh Deeds promises to do is to continue to move Virginia forward. His opponent would like to take us back to the Leave to Beaver days. If you don't believe that, you need to read his thesis (see full thesis, click this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758) which he has alternately denied and then refused to retract. For his latest comment on the content of his thesis, see the following link entitled "I'm Not Apologizing:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR_KGwcGOSY#watch-main-area.

Moving forward? Taking us back? The choice for me is clear. The choice for our VEA Fund Directors was clear. Creigh Deeds is our recommendation, and I encourage each and every one of our VEA members to get informed and then get involved so that we can make the difference for Creigh Deeds. We at the VEA want to move Virginia forward.

We will need your help. Creigh will need your help.

Until next time.

Kitty