January Blog Contest

Congratualations to Sherrie Dame, OEA winner of the a 25.00 gift card, in the December contest. WEA will be drawing for their winners today. Legislators will continue meeting in preparation of the Jan. 26 session opening with the goal of proposing cuts that will balance the Billion Dollar deficit. Our goal will be to work to protect people over stuff. We need to fight for enough "growth money" to pay for those new kids who will enroll this fall. Class size is always the first victim of lower funding. We are hearing that there will be no increase in the WPU this year. Finding money for increases in insurance costs will also be a challenge. Lanes and steps (salary increases built into the schedule) will need to be preserved. We need to be aware of any reduction in force policies and make sure they are followed. These are the types of things your association is monitoring. Thanks Rick

Have you read your acceptable use policy lately?

Just a reminder to all teachers that you have all signed a paper or checked a box stating that you have read and understand the acceptable use policy that details use of technology in your district. If you were like me, you signed and maybe scanned the policy. I would suggest you take another look at it (especially the employee part), because failure to follow it can lead to disciplinary actions, termination, and licence revocation by the State Board of Education. Take a couple of minutes and look over it. You are responsible for anything on your school computer and you are responsible to follow the policy. Thanks for all you do. We will have another Blog Contest this month. Please email me rick@ogdenweber.org with the words "acceptable use policy" in the message. Thanks Rick

Legislative Session Begins January 26

Our UEA Lobby Team has already started working on the legislative session that will start January 26. Vik Arnold, head of the team, joins Courtney White, Susan Kuziak, Mark Mickelson, Kim Campbell, and Ellen Thompson up at the capitol working hard for public school funding. This year will be a difficult one because of the economic recession and the deficit in the budget. UEA will work hard to maintain funding, pay for new students and find money for salaries and benefits. We will be asking you to contact your legislators with your stories about class size, workload, and successes. This is a great opportunity to be part of the solution. Thanks Rick

Orientation at Weber State University

Happy New Year. It was nice to start my new year speaking to new College of Ed Level One students this morning at WSU. Each semester I give a short presentation on the benefits of joining UEA as a student member. I get their emails and stay in contact with them through their college career. Hope your holidays were great. Good to be back. Rick

Merry Christmas

As this winter storm blows in from the north, I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am looking forward to seeing grandchildren and family in the Phoenix area. Yes, Dorothy, there are golf courses in Scotsdale. 63 degrees looks pretty good when we compare it to the forecast here for this weekend. I know we all need a break and it will be a good time to recharge our batteries and finish off the year. We are meeting this morning with two of our legislators, Brent Wallis (District 10) and Richard Greenwood (District 12). Susan Kuziak, one of UEA's lobbyists (retired Exec. Director of UEA), is coming down to meet and talk about the upcoming session. We will impress upon them to limit any reductions in public school funding. It will be a tough session for all state government.

Enjoy your time with family and friends and again thank you for all you do to make WEA and OEA so strong. It is an honor and a pleasure to work for you. Rick

UEA Board of Directors

The governing board of the Utah Education Association makes decisions that affect the way your UEA dues are used. Each UniServ unit elects one representative to the board. We also elect a Minority representative. We are lucky to have Mary Courney (OEA President) and Barbera Wayment (Washington Terrace teacher) serve in those capacities. They attend meetings each month and represent our 1600 members very well. We appreciate the dedication and sacrifices that all of our leaders make in serving you.

Last Chance to enter the December Blog Contest

HI, enter today for your chance at winning some neat prizes at our AR meetings in January. The blogmeister will be taking a short vacation (in warmer climes) until after Christmas. Just email rick@ogdenweber.org and use the word "Huntsman" in the message.

Huntsman and the legislature differ on how to deal with the shortage of tax revenue. The legislative leaders want a special session and Gov. Huntsman says no. The legislature wants to meet and make more cuts out of this year's programs (including education). The governor thinks we should wait the five weeks until the session opens Jan. 26, 2009. I think this is a perfect time for the Governor to use some of that political capital he has earned with an landslide victory and 75% approval rating. Plus it is fun to see the political battle.