Sen. Warner’s Town Hall Meeting on Education October 9th
U. S. Senator Mark Warner will hold a town hall meeting to discuss education issues on Thursday, October 9th. This event is now scheduled to be held at 5:30 PM in the Cedar Run Room in the McCoart Building, 1 County Complex Court, Prince William, VA 22192. All PWFT members are encouraged to attend as Sen. Warner addresses issues of vital concern to our profession.
Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education by PWFT President Bill Hosp
School Board member Lisa Bell deserves credit for observing that all education professionals are teachers. Bus drivers, food service workers, librarians, nurses, counselors and all school personnel play a role in educating students about something important. Regardless of your job title you are a teacher living up to the name of your union of professionals.
State Legislative Agenda
AFT Virginia has announced its legislative goals for the next regular session of the Virginia General Assembly. We will be supporting restoration of fact finding panels in dismissal cases because they lead to more judicially appropriate decisions. Moving to a statewide health insurance option for local school divisions could save millions of dollars and participating in Medicaid expansion will allow more state funds to be used for public education. Abolishing the A-F grading of schools would protect our schools and the neighborhoods they serve from stereotyping. Finally, we are asking for a study of accountability for and reporting on the high cost of teacher turnover.
Member of the Month
Kathy Russell served on the PWFT executive board for many years and she is currently our office manager. She is also representing us on the School Calendar committee again this year. Prince William County recently recognized the work that Good Shepherd Housing has done in our community and Kathy was among those honored.