NEA Teacher Union says call Congress, May 8, with NO TAX CUT message

[Gopher Broke]

Education Insider

Special Edition - May 6, 2003

May 8, 2003 -- Education Day

Educate Congress on Tax Cuts vs. America's Public Schools!

Across the nation, schools are suffering. Tens of thousands of education employees have received pink slips and looming state budget deficits promise more to come.

Yet Congress seems oblivious to the unfunded mandates it is imposing on our schools, to crowded classrooms, to course offerings cut, to schools in need of repair and renovation, to parents facing increased fees, and more.

The proposed tax cuts jeopardize not only critical federally-funded education programs, but also state revenue.

Advocacy groups across the country are educating Congress this week on how the proposed tax cuts affect real people in every state. On Thursday, May 8, the message is education.

Action Alert! On Thursday, May 8 send Congress a message: Do the right thing. Don't put tax breaks before the real needs of our states and our schools!

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Government Relations 202-822-7300 http://www.nea.org/lac 1201 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036

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[Eva]

The quality of public school education is inversely proportionate to the growth of the NEA.

[roderick]

Tens of thousands of education employees have received pink slips

Sure. Wish it was true.

[LiteKeeper]

bump

[Darksheare]

Let me get this straight:
They're actually honestly saying with a straight face, "I want my taxes to be higher! I don't want to keep any of my paycheck!"

[hattend]

Let's all call congress and demand higher taxes so union teachers get more money...it is "for the children", don't you know?

If only it were true. The gov't money is mostly going to the "administrators". The teachers see very little of it. We keep increasing the money given to the Dept of Education and very little trickles down to those who need it. Why would I want to go to college for 4 years and jump through hoops to get $24K a year? No wonder good teachers are hard to keep in the profession.

[kcvl]

www-feedback@list.nea.org

[RobbyS]

Except it is not the teachers who get the money. Educational spending goes up far in excess of the rate of inflation, but teacher salaries, adjusted for inflation are about the same as they were in 1972. Or did you really think that that main goal of the NEA is to benefit teachers?

[babaloo999]

They're actually honestly saying with a straight face, "I want my taxes to be higher! I don't want to keep any of my paycheck!"

Yes, there are many among the libs who think more money in the hands of a benevolent and wise government is what we need to form a more perfect union. After all, our tax rates are lower than most of the Euros
You darned conservatives are just afraid of a perfect society, anyway.....I know I am.

[RobbyS]

A NYC teacher called the Curtis and Kuby Show on WABC this morning and complained that he had eight textbooks for 150 students. NYC spends about $10,000 per kid per year. How come kids don't have textbooks for each one of their classes? Where exactly does that money go? No more money until every single last penny can be accounted for even if it takes years to do it. Forget about raising taxes for public schools.

About twenty five years ago, I read an article in the New York magazine about the Catholic archidocesan schools. I kept it until a few years ago but finally threw it away when I retired from teaching. Anyway, I remember one revealing fact: The paperclip budget for the New York Public schools was greater than the total administrative budget for the archdiocese. Yet the two systems are comparable in size. But I also remember a conversation that the reporter had with a nun-principal of an elementary school. He/she asked the principal if she was in favor of putting public money into the Catholic schools. She smiled and said,"Not really. We wouldn't get much of it. If you gave it to the archdiocese, they would just spend it on other things." It is the nature of centralized administration that they skim the cream off the crop.

[Darksheare]

I think I'm gonna be sick.

[Eva]

I have a proposal to do an end around play on the NEA, that would end the excessive influence and take back the public school system. It involves a two tier teaching system, a professional level teacher and a union teacher. Professionals work a regular work day, year around and the union lackeys fill in with the union schedule. There would be no tenure and professionals would teach all AP and remedial classes, as well as the arts and athletics. AP as well as remedial classes would be open registration. There would be at least one professional in each dept, who would act as head of the dept and be responible for the union level teachers.

[ladylib]

You can't win with either system, I guess. I heard about a wealthy woman in the Baltimore Archdiocese who wanted to give a huge gift to a Catholic grammar school ($1 million) but was told she would have to give it to the Archdiocese. She refused. Guess she knew better.

That paper clip thing is amazing.

[kcvl]

bttt

[anniegetyourgun]

As close as water is to a fish. They are all pushing basically the same agenda items. I'll start the list....and I'm sure others will add to it.

AAUW
NEA
PTA
MOVEON
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Greenpeace
PFAW
PFLAG
HRC
DNC
CPB
PBS
NPR
CNN
NOW
U.N.
PETA

[MonroeDNA]

Useful idiots in bed with communists.

[abclily]

You are exactly right! Isn't the union tax exempt, because it is supposed to be non-political?

[RAT Patrol]

crowded classrooms, to course offerings

More like crowded adminstration offices and liberal course offerings. Save money by cutting funding environmental, sex-ed, multiculturalism, etc...classes.

[RobbyS]

I worked for the overseas school for the Department of Defense. We had tuition paying students, each paying about $10,000 a school year. But the money did not go to the school but to the US Treasury. The unjust thing was that the extra students did not cost DoDDS a single extra nickle since they were all space-A.

[RobbyS]

And sports programs. :-)

[gunnedah]

They are affraid they wont have enough left to steal for their union leaders.