Read Across America

SAVE the DATE  March 2, 2012

Invite special guests to read in your classroom.

If you would like to have a special guest read,

 LEA staff or leadership, senators, school board members,

LPS leadership, NSEA leadership or others,

please contact jenni.absalon@nsea.org  to help step up a time.

If you would like a visit by the Cat in the Hat please email 

Pat Etherton to set up a time. pether@windstream.net

LEA will also be hosting a book fair at the

Southpoint Barnes and Noble all day March 2.

All proceeds will benefit the Harvest of Books.

What Is a Surplus?

Just what does it mean if you are surplussed and what are the procedures? This special issue of the LEA Insider is devoted to this topic so members are well informed.

It's TAX time

A Message from the NEA President

Save the Date April 20-21, 2012  

Dennis Van Roekel will be our guest at the NSEA Delegate Assembly

See the Elections information above about being an LEA Delegate

Wednesday night, we convened a great tele-townhall meeting from the White House hosted by NEA Vice-President Lily Eskelsen.  I would like to thank the thousands of you who were able to participate.  The questions were insightful and the discussion with Lily and our special White House Administration officials, Cecilia Munoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council and Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President on Education, was informative.  

Now is the time for all of us to mobilize and grow the middle class.  Putting people back to work, giving students the opportunities they deserve, and making sure our profession is respected and strengthened must remain a priority for the country.  You can learn more about what NEA is doing to advocate on these issues and how you can be involved by joining Education Votes (www.educationvotes.org).

A lot is at stake. We must advocate for a country where we will have a voice on the issues that impact us, our schools, and our communities.  We must make the choice between making sure the students we serve get more help and are offered the opportunities to excel, or if they will be forgotten by those who do not make them a priority.  Now is the time to fight for a country where there is shared responsibility and everyone gets a fair shot and plays by the same set of rules. 
 

We need your help to make sure that President Obama can continue the path of progress for America.  Please join Educators for Obama at www.neafund.org and become an activist. 

The voice of educators will be a strong and growing voice and we need you to join us. 

Thanks again for your commitment to public education.

Sincerely,

Dennis Van Roekel

Trouble viewing this email? See it online at: http://nsea.org/policy/LegisUpdates/LegUpdate.htm

****If you are receiving this message at a public school email account, or on a computer connected to a public school server, do not save, forward, print or reply to this message. ****

IN THIS NSEA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

• NSEA OPPOSES THE LB970 TAX SCHEME
• NSEA SUPPORT $880 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
• NSEA LEGISLATIVE DINNER WAS A SUCCESS

NSEA OPPOSES THE LB970 TAX SCHEME

The Revenue Committee will soon discuss LB970 in executive session. Please contact members of the Revenue Committee and urge them to vote NO on LB970. Share your experience of what happens to student learning opportunities when funding is cut from the classroom.

The LB970 tax scheme does not make changes that will improve Nebraska's tax system. Two specific examples:

The corporate income tax rate reduction does not help small businesses.

GOVERNOR: Our proposal reduces the corporate income tax rate to help small businesses grow. This change will reduce small business income tax liability by 13.1 percent.

FACT: Small businesses are primarily organized as S-corporations, limited liability partnerships, and other forms of sole proprietorships. The LB970 proposal lowers the corporate income tax rates only for those C-corporations with net profits of more than $100,000, and reduces those rates from 7.81 percent to 6.7 percent. These are not small businesses: WalMart, TD Ameritrade, Union Pacific, Gallup and ConAgra, among others.

LB970 would allow the wealthy to pay lower tax rates and to receive a greater benefit than would middle class families.

GOVERNOR: If your adjusted gross income is more than $54,000, you are taxed at the same marginal rate as Warren Buffett. That is unfair to middle class families.

FACT: The LB970 income tax proposal does not address this problem. LB970 means that if your adjusted gross income is more than $60,000, you are taxed at the same marginal rate as Warren Buffett or Pete Ricketts. That continues to be unfair to middle class families.

If there were real interest in making the tax system fair for middle class families, LB970 would add tax brackets and tax rates for all tax filers. Instead, the proposal would continue to tax middle class families at the same rate as the rich, and thus the rich would receive more benefit than middle class families.

Contact Revenue Committee members and encourage them to put kids first by voting no on LB970!

NSEA SUPPORT $880 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS �LB 947

The Education Committee will take public testimony on two school funding bills on Monday, Feb. 13: LB913 and LB947.

NSEA supports LB947, introduced by Kearney Sen. Galen Hadley and co-signed by 18 other senators. LB947 ensures that school funding stays at the budgeted amount of $880 million for 2012-13. The proposal maintains the $880 million in state aid to schools by making adjustments to the state aid to education formula, including moving the averaging adjustment from 0% to 0.5% and increasing the basic allowable growth rate of the school district's budget from 0.5% to 2.0%.

NSEA opposes LB913, introduced by York Sen. Greg Adams. LB913 would reduce the current $880 million in state aid to schools and help fewer school districts as it only changes the basic allowable growth rate from 0.5% to 1.0%. LB913 does not change the averaging adjustment.

Contact the Education Committee to express your support for LB947. Inform the committee of what the students in your classroom need to be successful and to graduate prepared for college and/or the workforce.

The 2012 NSEA Leadership Institute (formerly New Leader) will be held Tuesday, June 19^th - Thursday, June 21^st, 2012 at the NSEA office headquarters in Lincoln.  Any current and/or potential local leader is urged to attend this fun yet informational training.  The training is available for every NSEA K-12, Higher Education or Educational Support Professional member who is currently a local leader or has interest in becoming a local leader.  The 3-day program focuses on developing a leader's knowledge of the Association as well as providing training on Member Rights, Organizing, Membership and much more.  Participants will also develop relationships by networking with other local leaders from around the state.

Please submit names and email addresses from members in your local who are interested in this training opportunity to Jan Anderson at jan.anderson@nsea.org or call 1-800-742-0047.  Potential participants' names must be received by March 1^st, 2012.  There is no cost for the training and meals and hotel accommodations are provided.  Class size is limited so submit the names of potential participants immediately!

An LEA Member needs help from colleagues in the form of donated annual leave. As per the provision in the negotiated agreement pertaining to the voluntary transfer of leave for catastrophic illness, I am forwarding this appeal on to LEA Members.

Individuals may voluntarily transfer any amount of their annual leave (not accumulated leave-- IRS regulations won't allow that) to a colleague in need within the bargaining unit. Leave that is not used by the individual this school year will be returned to the donors.

Please contact LPS Human Resources directly by calling Kyla Jensby at 436-1593 to request a Voluntary Leave Transfer Donor Application or e-mail her at kjensby@lps.org.

*** When you contact Kyla, be sure to let her know what site you are at so she can send you the form.

 I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and have had difficulty tolerating chemotherapy. As a result, I have spent time in the hospital and will be unable to teach during third term. I am asking for donated leave so that I can make it to fourth quarter while keeping my health insurance. If you are able to help, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Never to Late, Never to Early 

Planning for Retirement

==========================

NSEA's  Retirement Seminar

with

 Roger Rea

Thursday March 8th

6:30-8:00 PM

Lefler Middle School

1100 South 48th

Cafeteria

CLICK HERE to RSVP

========================== 

Nebraska Retirement System

Information Sharing

with

Candy Specht and Bryan Nieman

Thursday March 29

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

LEA Office

4920 Normal Blvd

CLICK HERE to RSVP

Save With Member Benefits

Click Here to save $$$$$