We at the Network for Public Education hope that you had an opportunity to relax and re-energize this summer. It is now Back to School time. For those of us who love and cherish public schools, that means back to the fight for public education.
Right now our friends in Arizona are fighting for the right to have a say in whether or not they want more tax dollars to leave their public schools to finance an expanded privatization scheme. They are battling the dark money of DeVos’s Federation for Children. Meanwhile the Governor of Illinois signed that state’s first voucher “tax credit” bill, a bill few in Illinois knew about.
Even as battles occur in all of our states, the U. S. House of Representatives’s budget strips funding for smaller class sizes, teacher training and after-school programs while increasing funding for charter schools. The budget guts Title II. That represents a whopping 2 billion dollar cut to public education. That budget goes to the Senate this week.
TELL CONGRESS: DO NOT STRIP FUNDING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION
Tell the U.S. Senate to restore the deep cuts to public education that are contained in the House Bill.
Send your email TODAY by clicking here.
This is what EdWeek says about Title II.
The money for class-size reduction has helped pay for the salaries of nearly 9,000 teachers nationwide, according to the report.
Meanwhile the House budget also increases spending on charter schools, raising funding to $370,000,000 a year, while it cuts funding for after-school programs.
Send your email TODAY by clicking here.
Then call your senators. You can find their phone numbers here.
NPE RELEASES FILM SERIES THIS MONTH
Beginning in September, the Network for Public Education will release a series of important short films. Each will feature a great friend of public education talking about the topics you care about the most–the threat of privatization, the tragedy of school closures, high-stakes testing, ample funding and so much more. Each will have a call to action. We will ask you to use these films to spread the message–our children deserve safe, well-funded public schools in their neighborhoods. Children also deserve an enriched, not test-driven, education.
Watch this short excerpt from our first film featuring Diane Ravitch.
Now sign up to be a part of our social media team. Help us spread these wonderful films far and wide. We need your help.
Later this week we will be sending out information on speakers, schedules and more. If you have not registered, do not delay! Get your ticket here.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THE FAMILIES OF HOUSTON
Our heart goes out to those in Houston who have lost so much due to Hurricane Harvey. There are schools that are flooded and children without homes. Charity Navigator lists those charities that are working on the ground to help Houston families. You can find their list here. You can then use the link to the charity’s website to find out how they are assisting Houston families. Please be as generous as you can.
Thank you for all that you do. I hope to see you in Oakland next month!
