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1) 15 NEA State Affiliates Ran
Budget Deficits, 25 Saw Decline in Dues Income. An
Education Intelligence Agency analysis of Internal Revenue Service filings
reveals 15 NEA state affiliates experienced budget deficits in the 2010-11
school year, while the dues revenues for 25 state affiliates dropped off
from the previous year.
The union as a whole
lost 2 percent of its active membership that year, but increases in dues
rates were able to limit the revenue losses to 0.3 percent (about $3.7
million). It's likely that the losses accelerated in 2011-12.
EIA created a table,
now posted on its web site, that lists the financial figures for NEA and
each of its 53 "state" affiliates (50 states plus the directly affiliated
Federal Education Association, which represents NEA teachers overseas and on
military bases, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, and the Utah
School Employees Association). The numbers include each union's dues
revenues, revenues from sources other than members' state dues (advertising
income from union publications, grants from NEA, et al.), and the amount
devoted to employee compensation. The statistics do not include the income
of any of NEA's 14,000 locals.
The numbers in the table include not
only salaries and benefits for current teacher union staff, but set-asides
for their pensions and post-retirement health care. Twenty affiliates were
able to reduce spending on staff compensation, partially through a reduction
of 111 people, but the overall total still increased 1.2 percent from
2009-10. Dues revenue collected by the Michigan Education Association and
the Oklahoma Education Association was insufficient to cover the costs of
their employees' and retirees' pay and benefits.
The 15 affiliates that spent more than
they took in from all sources were Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia,
Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode
Island, Wisconsin, UHPA and USEA.
Despite these financial hardships, it is
important to note that total dues income for NEA and its state affiliates
still exceeded $1.4 billion for the year.
These figures provide a single-year
snapshot of the union's budgetary health, but next week EIA will also
provide statistics and analysis of the long-term trends and outlook for the
state affiliates. Which states will weather the storm and which are in
serious financial straits? What's the single largest threat to NEA's bottom
line? The answer might surprise you.
2) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from October 16-22:
* Democracy
Needs "Stupidity." Pay attention to the experts, but don't give them
veto power.
*
Need a Break from Teaching? Call CTA. Where's your kid's regular
teacher?
*
Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana. Here comes the refrain.
*
Guerrilla War Over Merit Pay in Michigan. Work to rule.
*
"…and ultimately you run out of money." Who's suffering in California?
3) Quote of the Week.
"It's kind of beautiful. In the end, maybe it ends up helping me more that
they didn't endorse me." - Nicole LeFavour, former teacher and Democratic
nominee for Idaho's 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives. LeFavour claims the number of teacher volunteers and
donations to her campaign increased after the Idaho Education Association
endorsed her opponent, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Simpson. (October 17
KIVI-TV) |
