Continually Maintained

Virginia’s Constitution says “The General Assembly 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.”


The Virginia Constitution has strong language related to public school education. Very directly put, the state has the legal OBLIGATION to ensure that public schools are adequately funded. Lately, we've heard that the state wants to cut ANOTHER $720 from the education budget. The impact would be devastating to public schools in our state. In Roanoke County, we're staring at over $9 million in cuts from the state. Such cuts would destroy what we've come to expect from public school education in our locality.


You can read more of VEA President Dr. Kitty Boitnott's (ex-RCEA member) comments to the press on February 8.



Read more at VEA Daily Reports blog.

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Have you ever just wanted to go up to the top of a mountain and scream,

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???????”

When I listen to state legislators callously calling for reductions in state support for public school education with the same emotion as they would use to pass a junked car ordinance, I’m deeply saddened. Unfortunately, we live today in that state. Education has passed from the world of savvy investment to the world of over-cooked commodity. In a floundering economy, we, public school educators, possess the large target that the partisan political warriors have been hoping to detonate for so many years.

Virginia is a governmentally peculiar state. By law, our governors may only serve one four-year term. This arbitrary rule may change in the near future. There is legislative movement to alter the rule to allow a governor to run for reelection. Another bizarre governmental quirk in Virginia is that the governor must present a budget to the General Assembly at unusual times. The new governor’s first budget is due at the end of the second year of the term and the second budget is due as the term expires after four years. How realistic is it to expect a new governor from a different political party to accept and adopt a budget prepared by his predecessor?

Governor Tim Kaine, recently replaced in the position by Bob McDonnell, presented his lame-duck budget in December. In it, Kaine had the audacity to ask for a state income tax increase to help offset the gigantic negative state revenue numbers. Even with the tax increase, Kaine’s budget would UNFUND the state’s share for 14,375 public school education jobs. These are jobs that are mandated by the state‘s own standards of quality (SOQ).

What is this “State Share?” According to JLARC (the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission), the state pays localities about 55% of the cost of each mandated education position. In past years, the battle we generally had at the state level was in determining exactly what positions the state would fund. For years, many necessary teaching positions were excluded from the state formula, leaving the localities to pick up 100% of the tab. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a better reconciliation of state support in relation to the localities’ needs. With Governor Kaine’s budget proposal, all that progress will be permanently erased, if approved by the General Assembly.

However, Governor Kaine has left office and the new governor, Bob McDonnell, has been elected by the citizens to take charge. Governor McDonnell has the opportunity to amend Governor Kaine’s budget. He could choose to lessen the drastic impact on public school education; however, McDonnell has point blank stated that he will not support ANY tax increase. With Delegate Morgan Griffith (Salem), House of Delegates Majority Leader, on his side, McDonnell is in a strong position to carry out his pledge.

So what will happen? Will the state budget be pushed through with no infusion of revenue as suggested by Governor Bob McDonnell? If so, according to the State Senate Finance Committee, funding for 22, 875 education jobs will be abolished. That means 22,875 public school education jobs will go unfunded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

What will localities do? They will have to make tough choices. Can they afford to fund all 22,875 positions? Can they make up the 55% share that the state will vacate? Do they have any untapped revenue sources? The answer to each question is, sadly, no.

Silly Little Secrets.

Virginians, relatively speaking, have it pretty good. According to the latest statistics, Virginia ranks 7^th in the nation in per-capita family income. That’s right…7^th. Virginia also ranks 31^st in teacher salaries and 37^th in per pupil spending. Taxes. You always hear about taxes, right? Well, comparatively speaking, Virginia is a low tax state. In 2008, Virginia ranked 41^st out of all 50 states with 5.7% of personal income devoted to state taxes. The national average is 6.7%. Facts are facts.

We aren’t living in reasonable times. As we approach the 100% line of perfection for NCLB, educators know very well the effort required to make it this far. We’ve revamped everything we do so that our children can meet the federal standards. Yet, the “Average Joe” believes that public schools are a failure. That failure message, hammered into the social consciousness over and over since Education Secretary Bell released the historic “A Nation At Risk” report in April of 1983, haunts the whispered background of today’s public school education discussions. How is it possible for schools to have met every challenge placed before them and yet still be chained with failure?

Without a doubt, we live in challenging financial times. Tough decisions will need to be made by legislators and supervisors on the state and local levels to determine how completely education will be supported. Lost in the discussion is the simple fact that education is the bedrock of a strong, vibrant, and free society. Virginia has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding for our schools.

Today’s children are being torn in so many directions, yet public schools are the one constant in the lives of many children. Gutting our educational program now would have a devastating impact on those we hold dear- our future, our present.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???????”

That’s what I scream in my quiet moments when I have time to think.

Thom Ryder

RCEA Executive Board

So you stayed with this editorial so far…want more information? Visit some of these websites and learn more about the politics of money that will affect everything we do for children.

VEA Daily Reports: Follow the actions at the General Assembly as they relate to public school education. Updated regularly! http://www.veadailyreports.com/

VEA: The main site for the Virginia Education Association. Full of excellent information and member benefits. http://www.veanea.org/

RCEA Blog: Updated when time permits with stories and commentary. http://rcea4.blogspot.com/

VEA Keeps You Informed

VEA has launched a blog that will address important General Assembly legislative issues.

Hot off the press is VEA's Rob Jones' first look at the various bills that, if passed, will drastically reshape VRS for educators. The legislative attack on VRS is serious and should be of great concern to all educators who plan to make education their life's profession.

Check out VEA's legislative blog at

VEA Daily Reports
http://veadailyreports.blogspot.com/

Teachers and Staff Slated to Receive Surplus Funds

An unusual story for the times has been developing in Roanoke County over the past month or so. The Roanoke County School Board, at a school board retreat in Williamsburg, initially approved a one-time monetary award for each full time teacher and staff member. Initially, teachers were slated to receive $750 while support staff would receive $500. The money for disbursement was to come from an over-funded insurance reserve account.

When the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors learned of the award in the local paper the next day, they denied a public hearing that was needed before they would have to vote their approval of the matter. Usually, when a school board requests a public hearing, one is respectfully granted.

School employees who had learned of the award, were disappointed by the supervisors decision and decided to visit the supervisor meeting in which the hearing would have been held. Just minutes prior to the regular supervisor meeting, with a room packed with school employees, the supervisors and school board announced that they had come to a compromise that would extend the award to all county full time employees but would cap the award at $500 per employee.

The matter still will need a public hearing and final vote approval by the Board of Supervisors on December 15.

On Thursday, December 3, The Roanoke Times published an editorial critical of the "Bonus" for education employees. What follows is my personal response to the Roanoke Times editorial.

Thom Ryder

Now, in regard to The Roanoke Times Editorial

Times are tough. I do understand the point that was being made in a recent Roanoke Times Editorial. We are staring down the barrel of an unprecedented state budget deficit. More than likely, our pay will be frozen at least for the next two years. Positions may be affected. However, I know that the School Board will do everything to minimize that. Plus, the General Assembly is considering weakening our Virginia Retirement System. We are already seeing more students, enduring reduced supplies, spending more out of our own pockets, and facing ridiculous academic expectations. We are testing, testing, testing so that our children do well on tests. The job seems endless and almost insurmountable.

The way I see it, the $500 I will receive in the deal recently agreed to by the School Board and the Board of Supervisors, is a generous gesture that tells me people out there care about schools. Honestly, I don't think I'm alone in sometimes feeling that the general population views public schools more as four walls to stuff the children rather than as places where learning takes place. In the day-to-day relentless rigor of the classroom, teachers can feel as if they are alone in fighting for a quality education for their students. I appreciate what these two boards are attempting to do for us.

At the recent Board of Supervisors meeting on December 1, one of the supervisors reportedly suggested that the money may be a double-edged sword and might come back to bite us at budget time. Perhaps it will, if we let it. Ultimately, the public will have to come to realize that the way schools have been funded up to now will not be adequate in these troubled times. If we want good schools, we will have to pay for them. That means hiring needed personnel and paying a livable wage for all staff.

One other thing that I've heard repeatedly from the Supervisors and School Board is that ONE-TIME MONEY, like the money from our health insurance reserve account, can't be used to fund positions or to support salary raises. During the past few budget development cycles that I’ve monitored, the ONE-TIME MONEY rule has been pounded into my head. Delivering the surplus insurance reserve account money back to the employees in a one-time disbursement is an allowable and just use of that fund.

As a person who will receive the $500 should it be finally approved, I am thankful. Never before in my life, except for the first year I taught school in 1982, have I needed that money more. With several unplanned and unavoidable expenses, times are extremely tight in my family. I don't think I'm any different from anyone else in that regard. I make no bones about it; I need that money, and I am grateful that the School Board thought of this and fought for it.

The Roanoke Times says that we should show up on December 15. * That sounds like a fine idea.

~Thom Ryder

Elementary Representative

Oak Grove Elementary

*The second Supervisor meeting of each month is held in two sessions. The first goes from 3pm until approximately 5:30. The second begins at 7pm and runs until business is concluded. At this time, we are unsure when the public hearing on our matter will be scheduled. The official agenda will most likely come out about a week before the meeting.

H1N1 and Me

H1N1 and Me

After about ten days, I think I’ve finally come out the other side. Two weeks ago or so, I began having fourth graders coming to me with dour faces, saying, “I don’t feel good.” One look told me that the children were sick, and I sent them along to the school nurse. I’m guessing that I sent perhaps 8-10 kids home over the span of the week from my classes. All had a high fever and spraying cough. Fourth graders don’t always cover their cough very effectively, and I found myself the victim of cough spray on several occasions. I began almost intravenously feeding my hands and body with hand sanitizer, but I knew I was doomed.

Interestingly, I read recently from a UVA medical study that hand sanitizers are effective against germs, but not against the common rhinovirus. In fact, viruses rather love the alcohol in the sanitizers.

According to the Center for Disease Control, “the symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea.”

My experience with H1N1 went something like this.

Two Fridays ago, I felt myself coughing a bit while I was watching the Northside vs. Allegheny football game. The next morning, I was coughing more than normal. I figured, however, that I was simply experiencing seasonal allergies. So I went to the Virginia Tech vs. Boston College football game. I coughed my way through. Later that evening, at a friend’s pre-wedding event, I began to cough more intensely and frequently.

The next morning, I crashed. My cough instantly deepened, and I felt my head explode. My temperature bolted to 102 degrees, and I found myself staggering through the house.

Being the dedicated, foolish teacher, I pasted myself in front of a computer for about four hours Sunday afternoon and began writing lesson plans. By this time, I had figured out that I had caught it, and I was doomed. Interestingly, my cough became more sporadic. When I coughed, I coughed hard. But I didn’t cough very often. In fact my nose wasn’t even stuffy.

Early the next morning I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 and drove to school to set my room up for the day. That accomplished, I drove home and collapsed for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. My fever hovered around 102 and lowered with Advil. Monday afternoon well after school was over, I went back to school and spent about 2.5 hours making lesson plans for Tuesday. I came home and crashed for the night. Tuesday was a carbon copy of Monday except I was able to sleep in since I had already done the plans. Later in the day, again, I went in after school to make plans for Wednesday, another 2.5 hours.

By Wednesday, I detected some lessening of my fever and my headache had gone away. The cough was a bit more intense, however. The fever left me mostly for good by midday. I decided that I would be able to return to school for Thursday. In retrospect, I should have stayed home both Thursday and Friday. Never have I been so spent at school. I found myself sitting and dragging myself from task to task with absolutely no energy. I was miserable. On Friday afternoon, my fever came back, and I was into regression.

Luckily the weekend came, and I was able to sleep and do nothing for an entire day. No planning. No thinking. Nothing. I did finally go to the doctor on Saturday morning, and he assured me that I had no signs of a secondary infection although he told me it would take a while for me to get rid of the cough. I began to feel stronger and better. Sunday was an even better day. While the cough continued, I began to feel like my old self.

Now that I’m on the backside of this health event and now that I have the official symptom list for H1N1, I realize that I got off relatively easily. I never developed a sore throat, runny nose, or upset stomach. For that, I’m thankful.

While I battled H1N1, I knew of several other teachers who were also experiencing it. One friend was dealing with her hospitalized child. Thankfully for her, the child is on her way to recovery.

So when people ask me whether they should get the vaccine, I tell them without hesitation that while I am not a doctor, I believe strongly in the vaccination. I’m thankful that the county is providing it free of charge to children and staff. Even though I’ve most likely had a personal relationship with H1N1, I plan to get the shot.

~Thom Ryder

Cash Cow

http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/products/images/cash-cow.jpg

Cash Cow

Rob Jones, VEA's Government relations director, sent an email out today calling attention to a dire threat facing every one of Virginia's educators during the next General Assembly session.

In the General Assembly session ahead, one thing we can count on is that the benefits offered by the Virginia Retirement System will be under attack. In these tough times, legislators will be looking under every rock to find ways to cut costs.

Thanks to a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission(JLARC) report released a year ago, seven proposals are up for consideration, including eliminating the current traditional pension plan and replacing it with a 401(k) personal risk account.

According to Rob, many of our members simply do not understand the true benefit and promise of our current system. Why? Perhaps they haven't experienced the real ebb and flow of investment life. More likely, they have never invested at all.

Do you realize that before Roanoke County Schools revamped our 403-b investment program last year, about 18% of our employees took advantage of the program? When we switched over to the Hartford management team after an intense selection process necessitated by IRS tax law changes, participation has dropped to 9.6%. Folks, the industry average for 401-k (similar to 403-b) participation in the business world is 79%. Given time and a strong effort by our Hartford representatives, Kyle Scully and Rob Mangano, this percentage should slowly grow back.

As a career educator, I fully understand why it’s easy to let retirement thoughts slide. We face so much in our daily PRESENT lives serving others that it's hard to carve out time to think about our own futures.

My wife and I are that unique educator couple. We both teach elementary school and have been investing in 403-b's since the mid-1980's. We began investing simply because we wanted a full retirement option when we decided that teaching was over for us. We wanted the ability to live comfortably and maybe travel a bit.

We were confident to develop an investment plan because we knew that we had two components in place already, the defined benefits offered by Social Security and VRS. With that security in mind, we scrimped and saved pennies from our meager salaries (I started at $10,500 a year) and strode out into the investment world. We developed a relationship with a financial planner in whom we have grown to trust implicitly. We knew that, between VRS and Social Security, we could expect a constant sum of money that would allow us to live. Our 403-b’s would just be icing on the cake and allow us to experience life.

Like many others, the 403-b dream has been mixed. We’ve invested faithfully for over 20 years in solid funds but the inherent risky nature of the product doomed us in the down times. The technology bubble burst bashed our accounts and the recent crash sank us.

Here’s what I’m getting at. We knew the risks and were willing to take them because we had security in our hip pocket. Now, some legislators want to take my security away. They want to turn my DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN into a PERSONAL RISK ACCOUNT.

On top of switching VRS from a defined benefit plan to a personal risk account, the General Assembly is eyeing the giant pile of money being held by VRS in our name. They covet these billions. Even though these billions were earned by us and were kept in guarded trust for us, sometimes in lieu of salary increases, this money is a very tempting pot of gold that could cure the state of what ails it in the short-term, so they believe.

According to Rob’s analysis of JLARC’s report, a retiring teacher can expect a 48% REDUCTION in benefits from VRS. 48% . I’m trying hard to understand why someone could possibly think that idea is acceptable or advised. Perhaps such people are taking advantage of Math SOL 4.5 (Front End Estimation). 48% written as a decimal would be 0.48. Using the front-end method, underline the front digit and drop the rest 0.48. Hence 0.48 can accurately be estimated as 0 or 0% using front-end estimation. Of course, most of the rest of us would simply round off 48 to 50 and advertise the 50% reduction in benefits (Also Math SOL 4.5).

That’s right, there are people who don’t care and may even be blind to the fact that educators will endure a 50% cut in benefits if we go to Personal Risk Accounts. I fully expect Rob to share more information in the coming weeks of how exactly these accounts will impact us.

We need to educate our colleagues about both the benefits of the current system, which provides a guaranteed benefit for life following retirement, and the shortcomings of the 401(k). The current issue of Time magazine includes an excellent article entitled, "Why It's Time to Retire the 401(k)."

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1929119,00.html

Please read this article and share it with friends.

Our current pension system is worth fighting for.

What Rob said. Some things you just have to fight for. But, hey, maybe you think we should all just be thankful to have a job.

New Holes Cut in the Belt

You can read our current newsletter by visiting our drop.io space. RCEA News

New Holes Cut in the Belt

“We will continue to identify and implement cost-saving measures and frugal spending as a means of focusing the available resources on classroom instruction.”

~Penny Hodge, Assistant Superintendent of Finance

Do those words resonate with you? If so, welcome to the 2009-2010 school year.

Schools all across the county have redoubled efforts to pinch every penny and to scrape every scrap of savings out of the local school budget. Most schools have instituted strict copying policies in order squeeze out any savings they can. Some schools have gone to copy number limits while other schools now require prior approval for each copy. Most schools have also halted discretionary spending for office supplies and professional activities. High schools are reallocating human assets at athletic games by stepping up the use of teachers and reducing the number of paid security officials. All of these and a myriad of other local school cost-saving measures are being implemented all across the county.

You no doubt already are experiencing the byproducts of last spring’s round of cuts. Teachers in middle school are now teaching an extra period thus increasing their workload and reducing their planning time. All schools are suffering from markedly increased class sizes. This is especially felt in the early grades. Numbers in some kindergarten classrooms have skyrocketed and class sizes in all grades are at levels not experienced in over thirty years.

While no doubt the cost-saving measures and personnel changes save the school division real money, they do impact the instructional program, profoundly. Quite simply, teachers are being required to do much more with much less.

As an association, we remain dedicated to advocating for our members at the local level. We will continue to be a strong presence at the School Board level while increasing our visibility at the county supervisor level. As always, you can take comfort that you have someone who has your back, our Uniserv Director, Pat Wood.