Change Utah's Nomination Process by Richard Heath, DEA Executive Board
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Richard Heath Published in Deseret News
Friday, March 11, 2011
Legislative Session Ends
During the last 45 days the legislature passed over 500 bills. More than 240 were passed just this week. Probably even the legislators don't understand completely what they have done.
The UEA and DEA staffs will go to work analyzing how the bills impact schools, teachers and students as we begin preparations for negotiations. What we do know is that it could have been worse. Because our legislature has been frugal over the last two years and has not overspent in anticipation of an economic recovery (silver lining?), we are beginning to see improvements in funding rather than continued declines as in many other states. We still face some economic challenges caused by two years of unfunded growth, increasing retirement and social security costs, continuing increases in health insurance costs, and other pressures caused by the recession and other factors.
The UEA lobbying team will be posting legislative summaries over the next few days. Please continue to watch UEA Under the Dome for those updates. DEA will work closely with the District Administration to determine how the changes impact Davis School District. The final budget numbers will not be available to us until after spring break.
Monday, March 7, 2011
UEA President Speaks Out in Deseret News
Some Utah policy makers only view public education from the 30,000-foot level. The advantage to this perspective is that "bombs" can be dropped on our children and teachers without regard to the consequences to those on the ground.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Rotten Apples for Teachers - Paul Rolly
With just four days left in the 2011 legislative session, the annual assault on public school teachers is just about over for this year.
After Thursday, teachers can lick their wounds, hobble into their classrooms and continue to try to teach kids to the best of their ability, despite relentless attacks from the tea party movement that they are overpaid, lazy and socialist.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Misconceptions about Teacher Evaluation
Here is another great letter to the editor from the SL Tribune regarding teacher evaluation.
Let Lawmakers Do It All
This letter from former DEA VP Dave Van Langeveld appeared in the Deseret News.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Utah Foundation Quick Poll
Follow this link to include your opinion in a quick poll being done by The Utah Foundation. Even though the legislature often chooses to ignore polls that indicate citizens want more emphasis on schools and would be willing to increase taxes to reduce class sizes and pay teachers, this is a chance to express your opinion. The Utah Foundation is an independent source of information as expressed in their mission statement:
The mission of Utah Foundation is to promote a thriving economy, a well-prepared workforce, and a high quality of life for Utahns by performing thorough, well-supported research that helps policymakers, business and community leaders, and citizens better understand complex issues and providing practical, well-reasoned recommendations for policy change.
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