Calendar of Events for BHEA Members 2004-2005

If you did not see the Free Press article Monday on all the cuts that school
districts in the tri-county area are making, take a moment to read it (link
below). Several of our active Bloomfield Hills parents have e-mailed
Representative Palmer expressing concern about his attitude toward education
funding and also sent letters to the Free Press editors. Feel free to do
the same. Brian Palmer is chair (R-Romeo) of the House Education Committee:
bpalmer@house.mi.gov. Phone 517-373-0843.

MEA News Release

Teachers Tell GOP Education Officials to Address Real Issues Facing
Public Schools


East Lansing, Mich., Aug. 13, 2004 - Today, Michigan teachers welcomed U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Congressional Affairs Karen Johnson and Congressman Mike Rogers to Lansing to address voters about education. The teachers hope DOE officials will address the many impediments created through the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act including lack of funding and unsupported requirements to public school students and teachers.

"We agree with the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. In Michigan, we've had the same ideals all along - trying to close the gap and make every child successful," said Sid Kardon, a school social worker and president of the Royal Oak Education Association. "The mandates of President Bush's and Secretary Paige's No Child Left Behind Act policies have hindered Michigan students. The Administration hasn't kept its promise to adequately fund the program and in reality has made it much harder for many Michigan children to succeed."

Over the last four years, George Bush has underfunded the No Child Left Behind Act by $26.6 billion. Bush's FY 2005 budget proposes $24.9 billion for Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs, $9.4 billion less than was authorized under NCLB. While George Bush said, "As we ask more of our teachers, we must take their side," he has repeatedly failed to live up to his promises to increase funding for teacher quality initiatives. A May 2004 Office of Management and Budget memo reveals that FY 2006 spending for the Department of Education will be cut by $1.5 billion.

Of Michigan's 1,459,240 children ages 5-14, the Center for Tax Justice accounts for 282,000, or 19.3%, who are not included in the No Child Left Behind Act because their household income is between $10,500 and $26,625. Nationally, that figure is more than 11.9 million children abandoned by George Bush's education policy.

Five-Minute Activist
Tell your Representative
http://capwiz.com/nea/utr/1/LZMPDBLYHG/IKVWDBLZDM/:
"I'm speaking up for my students. They need a budget that truly meets the needs of America's families and children."

ESEA/NCLB - Political Rumblings Shake Up the Law
NEA members and parents are partnering with state legislatures in taking
the message to the White House: "This law needs fixing and funding."
Resistance Growing Among State Legislatures
The impact of the law's changes is settling in with state legislatures and
resistance is snowballing. Some 25 states have considered resolutions or
bills taking issue with provisions of and/or the lack of funding for
ESEA/The No Child Left Behind Act.

"I'm [beginning to] Hear You"
While protesting that the law provides flexibility and its critics are
guilty of misrepresentation, the Department announced a series of changes
in quick succession. They affect testing and AYP provisions first for
special needs children and then for Limited English Proficiency students,
and 'highly qualified' teacher rules for rural school and science
teachers. And the Department promises more to come.

NEA Was and Is on Target
The issue is no longer whether the law needs fixing, but crafting the
fixes. NEA welcomes the changes - changes that NEA advocated even when
ESEA/NCLB http://capwiz.com/nea/utr/1/LZMPDBLYHG/DJOMDBLZDN/ was on the
drawing table. But the changes make only a dent in the illogical
regulations this law has created.

Reality 101
Stories of your experience under the law are the most effective way to
help lawmakers understand the law's flaws and the needed corrections.
You've won the Administration's attention. Don't stop now.

Five-Minute Activist: Send your story to mwright@nea.org


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