Arizona appropriations bill includes language to curb teacher protests.

The extreme right wing legislators who are in control of Arizona's House and Senate were so incenses and embarrassed at the outcry by their actions to decimate public education, slipped this into the appropriations bill that just passed the State Senate. I don't understand the first point about union reps -- does that mean our district/building reps don't get teaching contracts? They won't allow us to use personal days to visit the legislature and tell our side. This is clearly retribution for our efforts in the past couple of months to save public education funding.

Our AEA President testified in committee and was attacked by the Senate Appropriations Chair who claimed that cuts to the inflation factor and building renewal funding were not cuts to education. The Chair had to be "restrained" by another committee member so that the AEA President could continue his testimony.

Policy changes that affect teachers and association members:

Requires the governing board to remove union representatives from the school district payroll.

Includes language that requires a teacher to repay a school district for the cost of a substitute teacher if the teacher engages in a lobbying activity. (This is aimed at AEA's lobbying grassroots efforts.)

Removes current statute that requires a school board to notify a provisional teacher of nonrenewal by April 15; thus, there will be no date in statute set for this notification.

Removes the contract dates (between March 15 and May 15) in which districts are required to offer teaching contracts for those teaching over three years. Thus, there would be no date in statute set for contracts.

Unbelievable. Do they think this will stifle protests and keep teachers quiet? Quite the contrary.

Reference: http://www.arizonaea.org/politics.php?page=445

The Repugs run the risk of a real strike against the state. People are sick and tired of their petty games.

I wish it would but I just think most teachers are gutless when it comes to protesting. We've tried to have a "work your contract" week but people won't go along. I guess it won't do any good. Our district admins are very sympathetic and supportive. It's the Leg.

I've refused to lend students pencils lately. I went off on them yesterday about how $100 a year from each family would keep our funding the same, save the job of our social worker and other riffed people, etc. The kids were shocked when I told them we didn't have money to provide school supplies so they'd better plan on bringing their own. "And next year will be worse."

Oh... back to strikes. I think they'd fire us all and hire non-certified personnel to teach our classes. Remember PATCO?

I do remember PATCO.

I got my contract on Monday. I will be making $3,000 less next year after 29 years of teaching. Thank goodness that the association is strong in my district.

but there's a provision that, depending on Leg. funding, it could be 3% less. And we're losing a good chunk of the 301 funds. When all is said and done, we'll be down about $5k.

Do they think we're so meek and mild we'll just slink away and do nothing?

2 favorite scapegoats of the center-right.

Put them together and the attacks increase exponentially.

I think the whole charter school effort is primarily one aimed at destroying teacher unions and taking away collective bargaining. Preschool and daycare workers are paid squat because the facilities are scattered and small, run by individuals or business interests. I really think the AZ Leg. wants to bust public education down to the same sort of system: very small schools, very little pay, and very little achievement. No really I think they want to eliminate it altogether.

We'll be like California in two years.

in public ed in CA.

By the time I left I was willing to take a full 1/3 cut in salary, plus much higher costs for benefits, to get out.

I think you are correct, for the most part.

I LIKE small schools. I think we'd be better off with smaller schools, and more flexibility, more local control.

WITHIN the district, with union support, not outside of district or union regulation.

De-regulation: we've seen the effects in so many publicly held services in my lifetime. :(

:kick:

The neoLibertarians here want to give huge corporate tax credits to private schools and of course the Leg. is going along with it at the same time they're slashing, and I mean SLASHING public education funding.