April 2015 Newsletter - Fairfax Education Association

The award winning newsletter
for Fairfax Education Association
retired members
Affiliated with NEA-Retired
and VEA-Retired
Retired
FEA
April 2015
A Message from the President
The VEA and statewide PTA have
joined forces to rally on April 18 in
Richmond in support of public education. This “Put Kids First” rally hopes
to draw thousands to the capital of
Virginia. Such a rally is important as
today Virginia is ranked 39th among
the states in per-pupil funding, and the
Commonwealth trails the national
average in teacher salaries by $7,456.
To facilitate this, some 50 busses have
been reserved to bring protestors
from all areas of the Commonwealth
to Richmond. If you wish to reserve a
free seat, notify FEA (703-352-7300).
Your name will be recorded, and you
will be notified of the nearest location
for boarding a bus as the date approaches.
Unfortunately, the rally organizers
will not provide food, so a bag/box
lunch is suggested. Bring your spouses, friends, children…make it a fun day
to travel to Richmond and take part in
something important.
If you can’t travel to Richmond in
April, you can help VEA in its struggle
to support public education by participating in EASY PAY. Here, a sum of
money is taken from your bank account each month and divided as you
see fit among the political action committees of the FEA, the VEA and the
NEA. You can give all the money to one
of these, or two of these, or divide it
somehow among all three. Call FEA for
Easy Pay forms.
If we do not elect friends of public education and friends of those who are
supporters of those engaged in public
education, we will go the way of Governor Scott Walker’s Wisconsin. Under
his regime, which fights public
employee unions on every level, NEA
membership has fallen about 30
Continued p. 2
The Fairfax Education
Association-Retired
Annual Luncheon Meeting
Noon, Tuesday, May 5
FEA Office
3917 Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax City
Guest Speaker:
Congressman Gerry Connolly
US House of Representatives
Virginia’s 11th District
Join us for a fabulous lunch, great company and our special guest.
We are asking that members pay $12 to help defray the cost of the
catered luncheon. To reserve a place at the meeting/luncheon,
please send your $12 (payable to FEA) by April 24 to:
FEA-R c/o FEA Office
3917 Old Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22030
Any questions? Contact
Nancy at 703-352-7300
or [email protected]
Attn: Nancy Perkins
FEA-Retired
3917 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030
Tel: 703.352.7300 Fax: 703.359.2982
www.fairfaxea.org
FEA-Retired Council 2014-15
Dennis Pfennig, President
Mimi Dash, Vice President
Barbara Allen
Larry Armentrout
John Duncan
Kathy Davis
Walt Mika
Marlene Parker
Cheryl Perry
President’s Message Continued
percent and AFT membership 50
percent. The same is true for
Wisconsin’s other public sector
unions—nurses, police, etc. And he
wants to be your next president!
As a result of the attack on public
employee unions led by right wing
millionaires and zealots, the NEA like
its Wisconsin affiliate is also seeing
declining membership. So too is the
VEA. Once over 50, 000 members,
today the VEA has but 43,059. FEA
has suffered membership decline as
well. This has meant a decline in income. What can you as a retiree do?
What about a monetary donation to
the organization or putting FEA in
your will?
One final thing I ask of you is to vote
in VEA-R elections. This year with
4738 VEA-R members, only 87 voted
in the election held in January. That
means that VEA-R will be represented at the NEA Convention by elected
candidates that received less than 40
votes! FEA sends notice of the coming
election, sends NEA registration numbers a day or so before balloting begins, and balloting is done on the
computer. It is so simple to vote. If all
400 or so FEA-R members voted in a
VEA-R election, Fairfax retirees
would rule the roost!
Let’s get on the bus; let’s open our
wallets; let’s vote in those elections;
let’s show those still in the classroom
that there is life in the old folks yet!
Mark Your 2015 Calendar!
VEA Put Kids First Rally, Richmond, Saturday, April 18
FEA-R Luncheon Meeting, FEA office, Tuesday, May 5
NEA-R Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, June 29-July 1
(This meeting is open to all members but only elected delegates may vote.)
NEA RA, Orlando, FL, July 1-6
If you have a copy of
the 2006 FCPS Open
Enrollment Benefits
brochure, please
contact Nancy Perkins
at FEA (703-352-7300).
Has your email address
changed?
If you’ve changed email addresses
or are not receiving emails from FEA,
please send an email to
[email protected]
so we can update your information.
We do not share your information
with any outside organizations or
businesses.
FEA-R Council Election Petitions due by Friday, April 24
Four FEA-R Council seats will be up for election in 2015. These two-year seats are currently held by Barbara Allen, John
Duncan, Marlene Parker, and Dennis Pfennig, who are all eligible for re-election should they choose to run. The fifth seat
up for election is the Education Support Professional seat on the council. FEA-R members interested in running should
return the petition below along with their 75-word statement by April 24, 2015. The council meets every other month on
a Tuesday, beginning in September and takes a holiday in the summer months. Candidates will have an opportunity to
present their candidacy at the annual meeting and luncheon on May 5.
TEAR HERE
2015 FEA-R Council Statement of Intention
Intent form MUST be complete or it will be invalidated.
____________________________________
Name as you wish it to appear on ballot
______________________________________
Email Address
____________________________________________________________________________________
Home Street Address, City, State, Zip
I hereby request to have my name included on the ballot for election to the FEA-R Council for a term of two (2) years to
commence September 1, 2015, and to terminate August 31, 2017.
_______________________________
Legal Signature
___________
Date
Election to the council will also include FEA-R’s endorsement should a winning candidate wish to seek election as a retired member to
the VEA and/or NEA Annual Conventions.
A 75 word maximum statement of reasons for election must accompany this petition.