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You've Got Clout! Gubernatorial Forum Showcases VEA Political Activism

In a year in which Virginians will elect a new governor and 100 members of the House of Delegates, VEA flexed its political muscle at the annual Delegate Assembly, hosting a first-of-its-kind gubernatorial forum and raising more than $84,000 for the Association's political action committee. Members attending the Delegate Assembly also passed a slew of new business items (NBIs), sent more than 500 postcards to members of Congress, and adopted the Association's budget for 2009-2010.

VEA pulled a major coup by ensuring that the 845 delegates would hear from all four candidates for governor: Republican nominee Bob McDonnell and Democratic hopefuls Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe, and Brian Moran. Candidates delivered five-minute statements and then answered questions from VEA President Kitty Boitnott on topics such as school funding, retirement benefits, and vouchers.

"This was an historic event that allowed our members to see and hear from all the political candidates for governor, and to learn their views on public education," Boitnott said. During the forum, which was taped for later broadcast by public television stations across the state, candidates repeatedly cast public schools as the engine to lift our country out of recession. (Continue story below.)

Photos: Above, VEA President Kitty Boitnott interviews Democratic gubernatorial candidates Terry Mcauliffe, Creigh Deeds, and Brian Moran. at right, Republican nominee Bob McDonnell speaks to delegates before being interviewed. (For more convention photos, go to www.flickr.com/photos/VEAcomm.)

Delegates heard first from Republican candidate Bob McDonnell, who said as governor he'd try to cut the bureaucracy and direct more dollars directly into the classroom. He also proposed increasing the use of technology in schools.

In response to a question from Boitnott, McDonnell said he had advocated the use of tuition tax credits to permit high-risk students and those at "failing schools" to attend the school of their choice. He added that he supported expanding the number of charter schools. Pointing out that his sister was a teacher, McDonnell said educators are central to growing our economy. "You are the links to the kind of Virginia we will have going forward," he said.

After McDonnell left the stage, Boitnott interviewed candidates Creigh Deeds, Brian Moran, and Terry McAuliffe, who will compete in the Democratic primary June 9.

Deeds told delegates he'd be the "education governor," adding that the state's education challenges require "a governor who wakes up every day with an understanding of the challenges you face in the classroom." He said he'd work to increase teacher pay, which trails the national average by more than $6,000. "We can't expect excellence if we don't even pay for average," he said. Deeds also promoted expanding preschool options and creating incentives to attract teachers into high-needs schools and to math and science jobs.

McAuliffe emphasized revitalizing the state's economy, saying that, "to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, we'll need the best teachers in the United States." He advocated substantially increasing teacher pay, saying that, "When I'm done as governor, no surrounding jurisdiction will pay their teachers more than the Commonwealth of Virginia."

Moran, likewise, advocated raising teacher pay and boosting early childhood education. And he urged delegates interested in what he might do for schools as governor to look at his track record as a member of Virginia's House of Delegates. "When it comes to fighting for education funding and raising teacher pay, I have a record of doing that," he said.

Stimulus Funds Go Missing

As the convention convened, some of the dollars the VEA and NEA members worked so hard for-the unprecedented increases in federal education support in the Obama economic stimulus package-appeared to be slipping through the cracks. Several delegates took to the floor to call for more oversight of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars flow to localities.

Presidents of three local Associations-Pittsylvania, Isle of Wight, and Loudoun-told the assembly that their governing bodies have fallen short of the intended goals of the school-aid components of the stimulus package, which was to prevent layoffs and minimize education cuts.

"Our Board of Supervisors is playing games," said Kathryn Buck of the Pittsylvania Education Association. Pittsylvania supervisors, after getting word the county would get $3.5 million in direct aid, chose to reduce real estate taxes and continue with some school cuts. Loudoun faced similar challenges. "Our salaries have been frozen, our health costs are going up…you know the story," said Sandy Sullivan, president of the Loudoun Education Association. "Our budget is over, but yours may not be," she added. "We all need to get to work."

"The stimulus package is falling off the truck, and we need your help to pick it up," quipped Stephanie Bailey, president of the Isle of Wight Education Association.

After the presentations, delegates filled out more than 500 postcards to their members of Congress asking stricter oversight of the federal funds to ensure they truly prevented school cuts. They also signed a large postcard to Governor Kaine asking for his help making sure dollars for education go to schools. And, later in the proceedings, they passed two new business items (NBIs) reinforcing the need for greater oversight of the stimulus funds.

Retirement Concerns

With the economy sunk into recession and many members' pay frozen, it's no surprise that delegates addressed retirement security in several adopted NBIs. One proposes working for legislation to raise the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) "multiplier" used to calculate retirement benefits from 1.7 to 1.8, which would increase one's monthly pension check. Another seeks to expand the compensation considered by VRS to include all income on the W-2 statement. A third calls for VEA to initiate legislation to expand the retiree health care credit to education support professionals. And another will ensure that VEA assists local Associations in evaluating retirement health savings plans.

Instructional issues surfaced as well. One of the approved NBIs commits VEA to planning and implementing a statewide instructional conference, to be delivered in a fall month, by 2010. "Our focus should be instruction," said Liz Goodson of Fauquier, maker of the motion. Another calls upon VEA to work with the Virginia Department of Education to establish reasonable class size limits for English as a Second Language classes.

In other action, delegates:

• Kicked off the Association's first-ever online voting initiative. More than 500 delegates used computer stations to access information about VEA candidates for NEA Director and cast their votes. They had previously heard speeches from the three candidates: Charlotte Hayer (Richmond, District 16), Tommie McCune (Campbell, District 12), and Ramon Moore (Chesterfield, District 15). Videos of the speeches, as well as other candidate material, are available on the VEA web here.  This link will also take you to our partner site at Votenet where you can cast your ballot online.
• Were interviewed by a large pool of reporters covering the gubernatorial forum. Among the print, radio and television, and blogging outlets filing stories were the Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot, Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press, WAVY-TV, Public News Service, and blogging sites vivianpage.com and Blue Virginia. (For links to the coverage, go here.)
• Adopted the 2009-2010 budget after a presentation by Budget Committee chair and VEA Vice President Meg Gruber. It was one of several times that member dues and VEA expenses were considered by the body. Earlier, after spirited and respectful debate, delegates defeated an NBI that would have required a dues rebate to all members. They also defeated a proposal to create a task force to identify cost savings for the Association. Several times during discussion of those NBIs, delegates proposed potential cost savings. Boitnott assured delegates that, "I promise you that as your president, we will make a sincere effort to address these concerns."
• Heard from VEA Executive Director Bob Whitehead, who called on local officials to use education funding in the federal economic stimulus package as intended to prevent layoffs and protect school programs. "If our public schools are truly the priority that these officials say they are, they would find a way to protect public schools" by using stimulus dollars as intended, Whitehead said during his report to delegates. "How can we deliver a 21st century education with 19th century funding?"
• Approved changes to the VEA charter and bylaws. The bylaw change clarifies the operations of the VEA-Retired. (At convention, VEA-Retired also proved its mettle by recruiting 28 delegates as new pre-Retired members.)
• Saluted VEA's Brenda Cloyd, director of business administration and VEA Treasurer, who is retiring later this year after 42 years in education as a teacher, Association leader and VEA president, and staff member responsible for the annual convention. "It's time to sit back and relax," she told delegates.
• Heard from Dennis Van Roekel, president of the 3.2-million member National Education Association. Van Roekel pointed to the scale of the federal economic stimulus package as evidence of the organization's power. NEA members sent more than 35,000 e-mail messages to members of Congress during the debate on the economic stimulus plan, and legislators responded with the biggest one-time boost in federal education spending in history. "That's going to make a difference in communities across the country," he said.