Delivering the message…
and making it stick

Today’s students may be the last to experience “public education” as we know it. With the current political climate and the ideas rumbling in the halls of Missouri’s and the nation’s Capitols, a tremor that could shake the foundation of the country’s public school system is imminent, according to Missouri NEA’s Legislative Director Otto Fajen.

An attraction to private school vouchers (referred to this year as “charitable scholarships”), a refusal to increase revenues and a denial of the relationship between funding and quality public schools all contribute to the movement away from the public school system that has historically made this country strong.

Counsel the new leadership
MNEA Education Day at the Capitol offered members a day to inundate the Missouri Capitol with their message that quality public schools need to be a priority. But one day is not enough at this time when public education is under attack in a political environment that leans toward privatization and away from a system that focuses on providing for all children, whether wealthy, poor or somewhere between the two.

“With term limits finally making their impact, today’s legislature is the least experienced the state has seen since its founding in 1821,” Fajen says. “That creates an important duty for MNEA and its members. We must provide leadership and counsel on the education issues in which we have expertise. MNEA will lead that effort, but we cannot be effective without the strong support of our membership.”

Bring on the conversations
MNEA’s strategy calls for members to initiate on-going conversations with legislators, school board members, school administrators, school staff, family members and friends. These conversations must be respectful and should always begin with the value of providing a quality public education for children, Fajen explains.

“The entire state of Missouri needs to have a renewed, positive conversation about public education and its importance to each Missourian,” says MNEA Director of Government Relations Leila Medley. “Legislators are grappling with important issues now, and they need to hear from their constituents.

“Conversations between educators and legislators are just the beginning,” Medley adds. “We need those conversations to extend to communities, to people who are not in touch with the day-to-day political pulse and who are not aware of the movement away from providing quality public schools for every child.”

Understanding outside influence
Out-of-state interest groups play a more significant role than ever as an influential force in the Missouri General Assembly.

According to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, All Children Matter, a Michigan-based group supporting public funding for private, religious and for-profit schools, gave more than $400,000 in 2004 to help elect candidates in Missouri who support their agenda.

Currently about 120,000 Missouri students attend non-public schools in Missouri. If the state were to provide funding for each of those students equal to the current average total state funding of about $3,000 per pupil, that would divert to private entities an additional $360 million from general revenue. The current version of the bill would divert $40 million from public schools.

Defining the message
First, you need to understand the message. Start with these talking points.

1. Quality public schools and quality teaching require adequate funding. Major state and federal tax cuts in the last decade have left the state with a structural deficit that limits the state’s ability to fund public education. Missouri ranks 44th in the nation in teachers’ salaries. Low salaries are a key factor in the growing flight of teachers from the profession within the first few years of employment.
2. Providing public funds for private school vouchers or tax credits is a move toward destroying the public school system by diverting public money to private, parochial and home schools rather than supporting the schools that were established to provide an education for all students, regardless of their race, religious preferences or economic status.
3. Quality public schools benefit everyone. Communities with quality public schools thrive. Successful public schools provide skilled workers and safer communities.

• Don’t hesitate to talk to colleagues about these issues. Make sure other educators understand the threats to public education.
• Make and take opportunities to talk to community groups about the importance of supporting public education and about what’s at stake during this legislative session.
• Keep up to date on the happenings at the Capitol by subscribing to the Legislative Update. To request a free e-mail subscription, contact Judy Glover at (800) 392–0236 or Judy.Glover@mnea.org.
• Write letters to the editor to explain how these threats would affect students and public education in your community.
• Write your legislator to explain the importance of protecting public education and what it means to your community. Specifically, explain the value of providing adequate funding and qualified teachers. Diverting money away from public schools will not strengthen Missouri communities. Visit www.mnea.org/capitol/contactleg.htm to e-mail your legislator.

Story and photos by Debra Angstead / MNEA communications director