January RA remarks

Representative Assembly
January 6, 2010
President’s remarks

You may notice that I am not doing my usual outline of remarks this month- I’m actually working from a script. There are a couple of reasons for that- not a lot of new news since the December RA, as the extended Winter break intervened. The other is that I want to emphasize a theme to you in keeping with both the New Year and what we face over the next five months in bargaining and MCPS budget processes.

That theme is positivism. Tom is going to give you an update later in the RA so you know where we are right now in both of these processes. You will hear a great deal in the press over the next few months about the revenues at both the county and state levels and much of may be doom and gloom. There may be dire warnings about cuts to services, furloughs, and layoffs. Nonetheless, I want you to maintain a sense of positivism about two things in particular- the work that you do and our commitment to get every penny and every win we can for you. I was at a PTA meeting last night for my daughter’s school, and the MCPS budget was being discussed. The group was focused on how to lobby to avoid having further cuts made to positions and services at the school. One of the things I said is that the real fight will be at the County Council to get the MCPS budget funded. That is absolutely the case for every school, every office, and most importantly, every member of MCEA.

This is where your sense of positivism about the work that you do comes into play. I know that some folks are a little put off when Dr. Weast talks about student achievement and runs through sets of data on AP scores, reading and math scores, etc. It feels as if the data doesn’t present a full picture of the work that we do and how complex it is, and it does not. It does serve a purpose, however. It emphasizes to the community as a whole that the dollars spent by MCPS are going toward the most valuable asset this county has- its schools. As you talk with your neighbors, your friends, the checkout clerk at Giant, I want you to emphasize to them just how important your work, our work, is and how successful we are in doing that work. Talk about your success with a student who was struggling, who did not believe that the effort needed to be successful in school was worth it, and how you were able to get that kid to see her potential. Talk about a class when the students made a connection between “Hamlet” and their own lives in a way that you had not thought of in ten years of teaching that play. Talk about the student who came to your classroom halfway through the year and made friends with you and his classmates so that, in a matter of days, he felt welcome and at home. Talk about how school is a place in which students feel cared for by adults who recognize their needs, strengths, and individuality. I’m not saying to ignore what needs improvement, and there are many things that do. The RA, the Leadership Team at your school or workplace, and your colleagues should hear about how things can be improved. But the community needs to hear about why the schools in Maryland were rated #1 in the nation and we’re the best of the best.

We need support for the MCPS budget from every possible corner in April and May. Those folks you talk to about your work may well send a letter or an email or make a phone call that add up to the convincing factor as the Council works to craft the final county budget. Your voices will, of course, be a crucial part of that process as well, as will our demonstrated ability to mobilize votes for our recommended candidates.

I also want you to be positive about the bargaining process. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but know that our team is committed to meaningful improvements. The result of the county budget process and the results of the bargaining process are inextricably linked, so you’re helping yourself in both regards by spreading the good word.

Thanks again for all that you do for the students and each other. My daughter Olivia told one of her cousins over break that she wishes she could go to school every day, even Saturday and Sunday, and I didn’t even pay her to say that. Have a great January.