Survey Coming Today - No Joke

Later today, April 1, DEA members will receive an email with a link to a survey focusing on increasing insurance costs and how to adjust the district budget and insurance coverage to meet the current funding shortfalls. The survey will remain open throughout spring break closing on Tuesday following the break. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions thoughtfully and carefully. This survey will take a few more minutes than recent political surveys we have sent out. Please allow 5-10 minutes to avoid being rushed to finish.

Unfortunately, this survey will once again ask members to choose between bad and worst. The economy is recovering more slowly than any of us had hoped. Although education was treated better than most state agencies during the legislative session, funding did take several hits which need to be adjusted for as we plan for next year. Contrary to some news reports, education was not held harmless during the legislative session.

What Now?

The legislature is over. What happens next? The stress continues as we wait for exact figures from the Utah State Office of Education regarding funding for next year. Although the negotiating team has been formed and will begin meeting before spring break, final figures will not be revealed until after the break. At that time the team will begin meeting with the district in earnest. The Insurance Committee has been meeting all year and will be meeting several times in the next month to analyze our usage patterns and cost increases which must also be addressed during negotiations.

As we await results from the district's survey and budget meetings, we have begun to craft our own survey which will help us fill in any gaps from the district's information.

At the same time, we are gathering final signatures for the ethics petition. If you have a signature book, we ask that you arrange to get it to us before spring break so they can be turned over to Dee Burningham who has been coordinating with us throughout the process. If you wish to sign and have not been able to do so, please visit the Utahns for Ethical Government web site where you can sign on line.

In addition, we must continue to organize for county and state conventions as well as primary elections. We will continue to post candidate responses to our survey as we receive them.

As you can see, the stress and time commitment of your elected and staff leaders does not end with the legislative session. Watch for updates on all of these things on the blog and in your email boxes.

Caucus Meetings Well Attended

Early reports indicate that attendance was very high at party caucus meetings last night. Please take a minute and share you personal experiences. Select comments from below this posting. You must be on Blogspot to post a comment. Click the title above if you are reading this on our home page.

Caucus Reminder

Tuesday, March 23, is your chance to be involved in grass roots Utah politics. Even though DEA PAC has not interviewed candidates yet, it is clear there are candidates who will be more supportive of education funding. Please read the responses we have received from candidates so far. We will post candidates responses as they are received in our office.
We hope you will attend the caucus of your choice tomorrow to Speak for Tomorrow Today. We encourage you to become a delegate to a county or state convention.
For information about the caucuses, click below.

Caucus Information

Current Political Events

As we are made aware of political events hosted by candidates or parties, we will post them to this site. Posting does not imply endorsement. We are only trying to pass along information regarding events our members may wish to attend.

Friday, March 19

Debate between US Senate Candidates at the DATC from 6:30 until 8:30 with opportunities to mingle and talk to local candidates who may be present.

For more information email
agardiner14@gmail.com

Saturday, March 20

John Pitt will be hosting a pre-caucus brunch at 9 AM to discuss issues and explain the caucus process. Follow this link for more details.

http://www.votejohnpitt.blogspot.com

Retirement Reminder

Some of you turned in a letter indicating you planned to retire intending to reexamine your situation following the legislative session. If you did that, this is probably the week you need to make a final decision. Although you should contact the Utah Retirement System or the district regarding your specific situation, here are some general reminders.

• The Davis School District retirement incentives will remain in place through at least the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
• Retire and rehire will be more restricted after July 1, 2010.
• The changes made this legislative session do not impact current employees even if they temporarily suspend employment and return to work later.

Caucus Participation Assessment

Please click the link below and tell us what you are willing to do to help raise awareness of educational needs in both parties.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7XDRNQL