Where Do The Candidates Stand On Education?

This letter came from Rob Jones of VEA regarding the upcoming gubernatorial primary in June and election in the fall. Rob gave his blessing for this work to be shared here.


Dear Members,

I have carefully watched gubernatorial candidates in Virginia weigh in on education issues since Miles Godwin narrowly defeated Henry Howell by 15,000 votes.

Not since Governors Robb and Baliles have I seen any real effort on the part of Virginia Governors to keep their promises to Virginia's educators. Wilder, Warner and Kaine all promised to bring us to the national average teacher salary but not one of them made any significant progress in moving us in the right direction. Kaine told us fully funding the Standards of Quality was his top priority, and now he is working to permanently change the formula by reducing funding by $340 million dollars a year. (Incidentally, not one of the four gubernatorial candidates embraced this plan when asked about it by Dr. Boitnott.)

So, I take the candidate promises with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, we have little other than what they have done and what they say they will do to guide us as we decide how to cast our votes.

The VEA Fund (formerly known as VEA-PAC) has not recommended a candidate, so I find myself in the delightful position of being able to discuss the positions the candidates are taking from a policy rather than a political perspective. I won't judge the candidates, but I will tell you where they stand, with an emphasis on those areas that offer a contrast. I am fortunate to have our questionnaires from all four candidates and the tapes of our forum in which all four participated (http://www.veanea.org/vea-on-your-side/gov-forum.html).

First, if you examine the candidate's VEA voting records you will see that Deeds, McDonnell and Moran have a clear history based on many sessions. Only McAuliffe lacks legislative experience and, hence, a legislative history. In 15 regular and 2 special sessions Deeds VEA voting record is 93.5%. In 11 regular sessions and 2 special sessions, McDonnell's VEA voting record is 52.4%, and in 13 regular sessions and two special sessions, Moran's voting record is 91.8%.

Deeds = 93.5%
McAuliffe = NA
McDonnell = 52.4%
Moran = 91.8%

The most obvious contrast in positions is over the issue of public funds to private schools via vouchers or tuition-tax-credits. All three Democratic candidates oppose vouchers and tuition-tax-credits, while Bob McDonnell supports tuition-tax-credits. While he alludes to Constitutional concerns regarding vouchers, he will not say that he opposes them.

All three Democratic candidates promise to oppose efforts to eliminate or weaken Virginia's continuing contract laws. McDonnell refuses to answer "yes" or "no" to the question and alludes to Michelle Rhee in Washington, D.C., who is "making comprehensive reforms in the school system ...."

While the three Democrats all support expanding the retiree health care credit to educational support professionals, McDonnell says he "will need more information on the fiscal impact and our current budget situation."

All three Democrats support permissive meet-and-confer legislation, while McDonnell opposes.

Perhaps, McDonnell's strong support for "performance based incentives," too, is a matter of contrast? I just heard him espousing linkage of test scores and pay at an event this morning and he lists this item as one of his top priorities on his questionnaire, but I have not heard the Democrats react to a question on that topic.

When every candidate has a dear relative who is a teacher and all see public education as the "top priority" it is difficult to determine "Who's for kids, and who's just kidding?" I hope this overview is helpful as you begin to decide which candidate deserves your support. If you are a Democrat, I urge you to vote in the June 9 primary. I urge all to vote on November 3.

Thank you,

Robley Jones

VEA GR

FYI Rob has worked for VEA as the person in charge of our legislative agenda. Before that, he was one of the most popular VEA presidents of our generation. There is no greater expert on Virginia education legislation.

NEA Convention Report

NEA Convention Report

by Thom Ryder

The NEA Convention was held this year from June 30 through July 6 in Washington D.C. The RCEA was represented by a trio of members; Bud McWhorter, Linda Hogan, and me.

It’s hard to describe how amazing this convention is. The Washington D.C. Convention Center takes up about three square city blocks. The NEA set up shop inside virtually the whole complex. It was like a miniature city. Delegates from around the United States and territories all came, along with education dignitaries from across the world. Ex-NEA and VEA President, Mary Futrell, sat with our delegation during one stretch.

All told there were about 10,000 delegates in attendance plus another 4,000-6,000 visitors. Each convention session was filled with debate over education issues brought forth from members in every state. The debate was frequently spirited, but in the end democratic principles reigned supreme and discussion gave way to decisions.

You may have been told that NEA is a liberal organization or perhaps you remember when the former Secretary of Education Bell referred to the NEA as a terrorist organization. Well, I can give testament to the fact that the NEA was most concerned about the education of our country’s children and the working conditions of our educators and support staff. Much of our discussion centered on dealing with the constraints of NCLB. I left feeling assured that NEA will work diligently to revamp the in such a way that the act accomplishes its challenging mandate.

One of the highlights of the convention for me was the address by North Carolina Governor Mike Easley. Governor Easley was the recipient of the first “America's Greatest Education Governor” award from the NEA. Governor Easley understands it. He gets it. He knows what needs to be done, and he has a plan. It was delight to hear him speak. If you have a few minutes, watch the video (you may need to register on the NEA member site) of his presentation, you will be invigorated. Senator Obama also spoke to the convention delegates after the delegates voted (electronically) to endorse his candidacy, and there was a lot of dancing in the aisles.

There was dancing in the aisles after Obama spoke.

Each morning of the convention, the Virginia delegation would meet in the ballroom of our Marriott Wardman Park (across from the National Zoo) and hash out our state positions on the issues of the day. We even had entertainment by our own Virginia Delegate choir (Bud of course sang in that). They were incredible.

The highlight for our delegation was the election of ex-VEA President, princess Moss to the NEA Executive Board. Her election was no small feat. We campaigned hard for her at all public functions. I personally held a sign and screamed “Vote for Princess for several hours as delegates entered the convention hall on Election Day. Princess was the top vote getter and was one of two members elected to that prestigious position. As a person who has known Princess Moss for over twenty years dating back to when we were both presidents of tiny locals in Central Virginia, I can honestly say that the NEA delegates made a sound choice.

There was fun to be had in D.C. I was fortunate to pull some family strings and get access to a July 4^th celebration on the roof of the Willard Hotel and Office complex right beside The White House. The Willard Hotel is a Washington landmark. In fact the term “Lobby” is said to originate there. According to local lore, U.S. Grant would step across the street to the lobby of the Willard for beverages and cigars with his high-powered Washington friends. These encounters soon became known as “lobbying.” Anyway, the fireworks were awesome, and I enjoyed meeting people I would have never dreamed of meeting.

By far the most important thing I did at the NEA Convention was to join Bud in the annual Habitat for Humanity project. I will share that story in a separate article.

If you ever get a chance, you should really consider attending an NEA Convention. You will leave on fire for your profession.

Obama on Education

The following You Tube clip is from Barrack Obama, a candidate for President of the United States.

Obama speaks to important issues in education. While the RCEA has not nor will it endorse a candidate in the Presidential election, Obama's message does not fall on deaf ears with educators.

(If I should run across similar video from any other Presidential candidate, I will post it here.)

Fair and Balanced

Imagine you just walked in to have your hair cut. You sit in the seat as the stylist works miracles with your hair. When all is done, you whip out your wallet and carefully consider a sizable tip in addition to the $20 she charged. When you fork over the money, she stops you.

"No, no...I can't take all that. You need to give $19 to the owner and $1 + tip to me. Sorry :) "

So you walk over to the scowling owner and get a grudging dollar back from your twenty, then you guiltily hand the stylist the $1 bill plus another $2 as a guilt tip.

That's sort of the way education funding works in this country right now.

The Federal government has laid down the rules (aka NCLB-Elementary and Secondary Education Act). The rules are backed by law but not by funding. Typical local school budgets in Virginia only get about 6% of the total annual budget from the Federal government, yet they get about 75% of the regulation from the same source.

This past summer, several Presidential hopefuls addressed the NEA Representative Assembly. Most of them had similar messages. "Testing" and "bubbles" were popular word choices. Yet which would-be President would do the best job for our children and the American public school teacher? Please view this link to determine who you think has the best and clearest vision for public school education.

Candidates Address the NEA