Posted on 08/17/2009 1:54:24 PM PDT by Gopher Broke
August 17, 2009
Dear xxxxx:
The Caps Hurt Kids rally is at the Bell Tower in Richmond's Capitol Square (9th and Franklin Street) at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
Certain rules do apply to events at the Capitol:
No parades are allowed on Capitol Square (We'll be playing music, but resist the temptation to form a Conga Line).
No stick-holding placards will be permitted (bring a sign, but no stake).
No food may be served.
No parking will be available on Capitol Square.
No signs or other items are permitted to be placed on the Capitol Square fence.
Please remember these rules as you prepare to participate in the rally.
Concern grows regarding the Obama administration's promotion of charter schools and efforts to link student test scores and teacher evaluations. You might want to check out what was written in yesterday's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/education/17educ.html
Finally, I have provided information regarding the candidates for statewide offices as we prepare to cast an informed vote on November 3. I recently researched Lieutenant Governor Bolling's VEA record.
Lieutenant Governor Bolling had a 49.66% VEA voting record in his ten regular sessions and two special sessions in the Senate of Virginia. Notable votes include:
Voted against investing $1.5 billion in public education (SB 635)
Voted against paying Virginia's teachers the national average salary (2004 - SB1285)
Voted against planning time for elementary school teachers (2002 - SB 52)
Voted against contracts for ESP (2004 - SB 520)
Voted against state funding for elementary guidance counselors (1998 - HB 303, 2000 - HB 245, 2002 - HB 1136)
Voted against state funding for reading specialists in elementary schools (1998 - HB 427)
Voted against establishing Family Life Education in Virginia's schools (1998- SB 206)
Voted to allow non-public school students to participate in public school extracurricular activities (1999 - SB 1316)
Voted to eliminate the requirement that persons providing home school instruction have a baccalaureate degree (2004 - HB 675, 2004 - HB 5001)
The 2004 Special Session, which led to an additional $1.5 billion for public education, was probably the most consequential session in the political lives of the two candidates. In that session Wagner stood with Governor Warner, Senator Chichester and VEA in support of restoring structural balance to the budget of the Commonwealth, protecting Virginia's AAA bond rating, and investing in public education. Bolling was dead set against us.
Thank you, Robley Jones VEA GR
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