VEA Supports Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia

The VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee and VEA Fund Directors voted on July 23, 2009 to recommend to our members the candidacy of Creigh Deeds for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the November 2009 election.

Our choice was based in large part upon Creigh’s proven record as an advocate and friend of public education and the public education professionals who work in our public schools.

Unlike the previous two governors who had no voting record to look to as a predictor, Creigh has a proven VEA voting record. His voting record of 93.5% compared to his opponent’s 52% voting record was just one factor that was taken into consideration, but in addition, the VEA Fund leaders took into account that in 2004, Creigh voted for Governor Mark Warner’s budget which provided an additional $1.5 million for public education. In 2008, Creigh sponsored SB267 which supported bringing Virginia teacher salaries to the national average; and Creigh also supported the ESP Health Care Credit which has been a part of our VEA Legislative agenda.

Creigh sees funding for public schools as an investment, not an expense. Unlike his opponent, he is absolutely opposed to vouchers and tuition tax credits.

Additionally, in recent days, Creigh's opponent released a proposal for addressing Virginia’s dire transportation problem with funds that would literally pit the need for road construction against the need to fund Virginia’s public schools.

The choice was clear. Virginia needs strong leadership to address the transportation crisis without pitting it against the education of our children.

I hope that our members will join me in supporting Creigh’s campaign in every way that they can. I am asking that they work in his local campaign by walking neighborhoods, working phone banks, contributing much needed VEA Fund dollars, and ultimately, getting out the vote in November.

I would also ask members of the general public to consider voting for Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He is a man of principle, and he will work hard to move Virginia forward.

This is a critical juncture for public education in Virginia. The VEA could not afford not to weigh in on this campaign, and I believe that we must help Creigh become the next Governor of Virginia.

Commentary on Transportation and Education

The following essay was published yesterday in a variety of formats including the Huffington Post in response to the McDonnell transportation proposal. The essay sums up how the VEA feels about the proposal:


By Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT & President of the Virginia Education Association

I have to admit that the last thing I ever thought I would be writing about is transportation. As Virginia Education Association (VEA) President, my main concerns center primarily around funding for Virginia's public schools and advocating for the children of the Commonwealth. Given the problems that Bob McDonnell's proposed transportation plan would cause Virginia's public schools, however, I feel compelled to speak out.

The McDonnell plan is cause for concern on two grounds. First, the plan reopens the debate regarding taking funds from the General Fund to build roads. McDonnell's plan destroys the line between the state's General Fund, which has traditionally supported schools and other core services, and the Non-General Fund, which has historically been used for our roads.

McDonnell's proposal is particularly troubling given that it is a fact that current revenues are already insufficient to fund our public schools and other core public services such as public safety. The Board of Education, the Governor, and the General Assembly are, in fact, considering permanent cuts of $340 million per year to Virginia's school funding formula. This is absolutely the wrong time to pit the interests of the construction industry against Virginia's school children.

A second concern is that, once again, Virginians are being served up a plan for solving a critical problem that our economic future absolutely depends upon, with a plan that is largely based upon highly speculative assumptions. Let me offer some questions for readers to consider:

Can we really assume either a budget surplus or new revenue growth in the near future? If you answer, "No," subtract $136 million from the McDonnell plan.

Do you think that Pennsylvania's unapproved federal application to toll I-80 in that state establishes legal precedence and, therefore, a clear path to Virginia tolling I-81 and I-95? If that's not clear, subtract another $50 million.

My understanding is that the cost of extracting offshore oil is $100 a barrel. When the price of oil is $64 a barrel, what investor is going to go drilling off Virginia's shore looking to make a profit? Aside from that, both the Navy and NASA oppose offshore drilling in Virginia for defense related reasons. And let us not forget that there are environmental issues to be considered as well. If that plan doesn't pan out, subtract another $177 million a year from McDonnell's proposal.

Without a doubt, Virginia's transportation needs pose serious problems that deserve serious proposals. From my perspective, the problem with McDonnell's proposal is that a major portion of the money to be used would be taken away from our already financially strapped public schools. Virginians want and deserve a serious solution to our transportation crisis. I do not believe that they want to solve the transportation crisis by taking revenue from Virginia's schools and its children.

Virginia Delegates Attend the 2009 National Education Association

Over two hundred Virginia delegates from all over the Commonwealth of Virginia attended the 2009 NEA Representative Assembly in San Diego, California from June 30-July 7. We joined almost 10,000 other delegates from all over the country for the purpose of conducting association business. We had about half of our delegates who were attending their first ever NEA Convention, and from all accounts, they had a great time, learned a lot, and have returned home eager and energized, ready to promote the good work of the NEA and the VEA.

This was a special RA for a variety of reasons. It was the first for Dennis Van Roekel as president of the NEA. It was the last for Bob Chanin who has served as the general counsel to the NEA for 40 years and he is retiring at the end of this year. It was also my first NEA RA as the VEA President, and it was held in one of the greatest cities in the country.

We accomplished much during the activity packed week starting with a special town hall meeting with Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Virginia was honored to have one of our own serve on the panel who asked the Secretary questions about the reauthorization of ESEA (otherwise known as No Child Left Behind). Frank Cardella, the new president of the Chesterfield Education Association and Chair of the NEA National Board Certified Teachers Caucus was invited to serve as one of eight panelists. We also had Sarah Patton, NBCT from Covington and NEA Director on stage representing Virginia, and in addition, Jim Livingston of Prince William was allowed to ask a question of Secretary Duncan.

In addition to having an opportunity to interact with Secretary Duncan, Virginia was honored to host three international guests including former NEA and VEA president, Mary Hatwood Futurell who was one of the founders of Education International. Additionally, we hosted the General Secretary of EI, Fred Van Leeuwen of Brussels and Bob Harris of Australia.

Each morning, our Virginia delegates met to discuss the business of the day. Then we spent long days in the San Diego Convention Center going over more than 80 new business items, a number of Legislative Amendments, and a host of Bylaw Amendments.

In short, it was a great convention. Our new delegates were inspired by what they learned about the NEA, and they were given the charge of going home and sharing with their friends, family and colleagues what they had learned about the work that we do for our profession and for the children we teach.

For pictures of the convention, see the link on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23812434@N04/sets/72157621313418222/.

Until next time.

Kitty

"Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT" Web Site in Transition

If you are a regular follower of the blog that I have been maintaining as President of the Virginia Education Association, you will notice a transition taking place in the next few days. I have asked that the original site that I have been using be taken down for a while so that I may use my iWeb program for campaign purposes (it is time to run for re-election if you can believe it) and I will be switching out for this Blogspot web site as the link from the VEA web site for the purpose of chronicling my duties and activities as VEA President. I'll apologize right now for any inconvenience or confusion that may be caused during the transition. The iWeb site is the one that I have advertised as my campaign site, and it seemed to me that I should ask that it not be provded as a link from the VEA web site while I'm in campaign mode.

In the meantime, I haven't had time to post anything on the iWeb site regarding our 2009 NEA Convention in San Diego, but I have posted pictures on my Facebook page.

This week, I am headed for Portland, Oregon for a meeting of state presidents, so I am not sure when I might get a chance to post reflections on the NEA Convention. I sincerely apologize for the delay. It will seem like "old news," I know, before I get a chance to write anything about what we did in San Diego, but between catching up on work after being out of the office for 9 days and getting ready to leave town again for another week, finding the time and energy to write anything coherent has, so far, escaped me.

I have been busy on our behalf, however, as I have posted a response to a criticism of the NEA NBI E that the Family Foundation decided to post last week, and I wrote an article for the Washington Post in response to their unabashed (and unwarranted) enthusiasm for charter schools. It was published in the Sunday, July 12 edition.

I was also interviewed this past week by a reporter who wanted to know more about the damage that vouchers could do to our public schools system. In short, I have been pretty busy since arriving back from California, and while I haven't had time to post to my blog, I have been hard at work on behalf of our members.

If you are interested in today's article from the Washington Post, just follow this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102327.html

Until next time.

Kitty