NEA Convention 2010: Internal vs. External Math
Greetings from New Orleans, where the 2010 National Education Association Representative Assembly begins tomorrow morning. There have been committee and caucus meetings all week, and today’s highlight was the open hearing on NEA’s strategic plan and budget.
It has been almost 30 years since NEA has had to budget for a loss in membership, and the figures displayed by the union’s budget committee form an interesting contrast to those surrounding the edujobs bill. The House passed the Obey amendment, which will provide $10 billion to school districts to save the jobs of education employees (if it passes the Senate and avoids a threatened Presidential veto). NEA estimates the amendment will save 138,000 jobs.
But those 138,000 jobs must be overhelmingly in AFT districts, or states with independent teacher groups, or charter schools, since NEA budgeted for a loss of only 35,000 active members (working teachers and support employees). NEA Secretary-Treasurer Becky Pringle called this “a conservative estimate,” which in context meant it might not be that many. She specifically stated the budget did not assume the jobs bill would pass.
If NEA itself isn’t budgeting on the belief that 300,000 education employees will lose their jobs - or 200,000 - or
It has been almost 30 years since NEA has had to budget for a loss in membership, and the figures displayed by the union’s budget committee form an interesting contrast to those surrounding the edujobs bill. The House passed the Obey amendment, which will provide $10 billion to school districts to save the jobs of education employees (if it passes the Senate and avoids a threatened Presidential veto). NEA estimates the amendment will save 138,000 jobs.
But those 138,000 jobs must be overhelmingly in AFT districts, or states with independent teacher groups, or charter schools, since NEA budgeted for a loss of only 35,000 active members (working teachers and support employees). NEA Secretary-Treasurer Becky Pringle called this “a conservative estimate,” which in context meant it might not be that many. She specifically stated the budget did not assume the jobs bill would pass.
If NEA itself isn’t budgeting on the belief that 300,000 education employees will lose their jobs - or 200,000 - or