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1) Membership Losses, Budget Cuts
Continue to Plague NEA. It may take some time, and
will probably happen under cover of darkness, but soon the claim that the
National Education Association represents 3.2 million members will be
adjusted downward, as the latest figures show the union's total membership
at well under 3.1 million.
Over the last two calendar years, NEA
has lost almost 139,000 total members, and more than 169,000 total members
over the last three years. Since its ranks of retired members have been
growing during that span, it understates the union's losses among working
education employees.
While NEA has
instituted extraordinary measures to bring its budget in line with
reduced revenues, the membership losses will require an additional $9.5
million in cuts at the national office.
Fewer members also means fewer dollars
flowing to the national union's ballot initiative/legislative crises and
media funds, but the $10 per member increase approved at NEA's convention
last July insures that those accounts will contain more money than ever
before.
2) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from December 13-19:
*
"Half of All New Teachers"…Should Read the Shanker Blog. Reporting the
facts, not just what sounds good.
* This
Is What Democracy Looks Like. Wisconsin is the Magic Kingdom.
*
You've Got Mail! Clogging Congressional inter-tubes.
*
History Lesson for Proposed California Tax Hikes. Remember 1996?
*
NEA, Obama Have Work to Do. Hanging on to battleground states.
3) Scheduling Note.
There will be no e-mail communiqué next week. Have a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year and we'll see you again on Tuesday, January 3.
4)
Quote of the Week.
"This impacts student achievement. People don't
understand the value of our role in helping the district function." -
Beverly Ingle, president of the Colorado Education Association, commenting
on the millions of dollars school districts spend on union release time.
(December 18
Denver Post) |
