|
Greetings!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK TO FIGHT ISSUE 2/SB 5
A big THANK YOU to each of you who did anything to help defeat this legislation that is unsafe, unfair and hurts us all. Every individual effort helped whether you signed a petition, attended a rally, contacted legislators, phone banked, canvassed or just contacted friends, family and neighbors. It shows what can happen when we stand together and do the one-on-one contact that is so much more effective than media ads, putting a face and a story behind this overt attack on public workers and their unions.
A big THANK YOU to all the other partner organizations who stood with OEA throughout the fight against this bill from introduction, to passage, to referendum and now to defeat.We also owe a big THANK YOU to the everyday citizens who favored many aspects of the bill but recognized the folly in the overreach of many other parts of the bill and voted no on Issue 2.
Despite accusations to the contrary, I don't think any of us are totally against educational reform if it is intended to really help students do better and it is based on quality research. Many of the premises upon which provisions of the bill were based were rooted in opinion and skewed data generated by conservative think tanks funded by big money contributors to conservative causes.
It is interesting that I received the following reply from a member in reference to the last newsletter. It is quoted as written (name withheld).
"PUBLIC employees should be judged on their abilites not longevity.....
wow, Now we have seen everything. Not only do the OEA and NEA spend spend spend valualbe dollars on this effort, now the SEOEA is doing the same.
JUST IMAGINE if all these dollars were spend on the what we should be focusing....
our children and students.......
NOW dont you feel wasteful? DO not expect to pass any more levies for school districts, unemployement is rampant with democratic issues , houses re being vacated because they cannot afford to pay for the payments and taxes.... there will be less monies collected.... so I HOPE this is not too late for you to realize that when you have less, you cannot afford as much. It affects individuals, families businesses and yourself."
Merit(performance) pay sounds really good on the surface but several quality studies by reputable research groups have shown that pay incentives don't really work to improve quality in professions like education. In other public professions you have opportunities for advancement based on performance by becoming team leaders, supervisors, etc. Our only chance for advancement would be to go into administration where few positions are available. Legislators are putting the cart before the horse. Come up with a fair and equitable system that is not weighted so heavily toward test scores that were never intended to evaluate the impact of the teacher and perhaps it would be more easily be considered.
Yes, just imagine if the money and energy spent on both sides of Issue 2 had been directly invested in our schools, how much more could have been accomplished on behalf of our students and communities. NEA, OEA and SEOEA and our affiliate locals did not draw the line in the sand to start this fight, but we were compelled to take on that fight by those who did start it.
No, I don't feel wasteful for battling to keep my rights to fight for my working conditions that will benefit my students and community in the long run. However, I am very angry with the governor and the party in power for pursuing this agenda which does nothing to promote job growth and the overall welfare of the state.
Let me be clear that these comments are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SEOEA. To our conservative members they may seem like liberal Democratic ramblings so let me say that I am a long-time Republican who is extremely disappointed in the actions of my party both in Ohio and Congress that seem more aimed at making Obama a one-term President and promoting the 1% instead of doing what is best for our country, state and the 99%. Our democratic principles are supposed to guide us to do what is best for the whole, not a select few. Compromise is a big part of that, something we have not seen from either party for quite some time.
Jeff Slattery, SEOEA Communications | 
Upcoming Events