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The Connection
1136 N. Military Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54303
920-496-2440
800-472-5582
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WEAC Region 3 represents public education employees in a large territory stretching from Florence to Port Washington,
and from Menominee to Washington Island.
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Join Early at No Extra Cost
WEAC EARLY ENROLLMENT
NEW THIS YEAR: Former WEAC members can re-join under Early Enrollment.
Did you know WEAC Region 3 is participating in the Early Enrollment program? That means you can sign up members NOW, and they don’t pay until the fall. Have someone pledge to become a member of your local association, WEAC, and NEA and they'll immediately receive the following benefits:
- Pay nothing until September 1st if you complete an early enrollment membership form.
- Enjoy big discounts and savings through NEA Member Benefits (www.neamb.com).
- Save even more with WEA Member Benefits (www.weabenefits.com).
- Beginning September 1st, become eligible for legal services for individual employment-related matters, including representation on unemployment compensation and certification issues.
- Plus, receive the benefits of the WEAC Personal Legal Services Program and get two, free half-hour consultations with a participating attorney every year.
- Get up to $1 million in Educator Employment Liability (EEL) insurance to protect you if a student or parent sues you during the course of employment.
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
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WR3 Committees Looking for Members
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WEAC Region 3 has three committees that are open to all members:
- Legislative -- feed your political soul by helping plan events and member communication around elections and policy.
- Organizing -- public relations, professional development, and member engagement is the focus -- bring your union activism to our table!
- Budget -- if you like numbers and want to help plan where your dues dollars go, this is the place for you!
Committees meet 4-6 times a year. Participation may be available via video-conferencing!
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Apply By June 1 to Serve On A WEAC Committee
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WEAC is looking to tap into our members' expertise! There are openings on several WEAC standing committees and we are hoping you are interested in applying to be a member of one of the committees for the 2019-2020 membership year. You can find the application form
HERE
. Application deadline is June 1.
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Political Action
This is an 11.0101(10)(b)(1) communication with WEAC members.
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As Wisconsin’s educators, students depend on us every day. We’ll keep reaching and teaching, filling unmet needs and going the extra mile in every way imaginable. We’d hope the Legislative majority would do the same, but the all-to-often lack of stepping up is again making the headlines.
Thursday, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee – 11-4 along party lines – voted to advance an education budget providing a fraction of what Governor Tony Evers proposed. WEAC was on hand and we’ll continue to be there as the budget makes its way through the Legislature.
Governor Tony Evers’ budget is rooted in equity. As State Superintendent Carolyn Stafford Taylor says, “… giving students what they need, when they need it, to be successful.”
We recognize the budget proposal for education is an increase, but also that it is far short of what our students need. Here’s what WEAC President Ron “Duff” Martin had to say, “Politicians don’t stand face-to-face with children who need extra help. They don’t spend hours in the evening communicating with families to make the difference for students. They don’t accept declining pay and benefits and increasing stress for the privilege to educate. But we do.
“I am encouraged to see $1.6 million put in for high cost transportation funding that will help our students in rural areas, $12.5 million in funding for student mental health, as well as $2 million for our libraries. The investment in special education is a needed increase after a decade of flat funding.
“From here, however, it is even more important than ever to take up the role as advocates. We must all be educators who fight every day, in every way, for our students.”
Here are some specifics of what the Joint Finance Committee passed Thursday:
- Total $500 million increase over the next two years. This is far below the $1.4 billion increase in funding Gov. Tony Evers proposed for K-12 over the next biennium.
- $97 million raise for special education funding. The governor proposed $606 million. The reimbursement rate was increased to 30 percent, half of the 60 percent requested by the governor. It’s notable that Joint Finance Committee Republicans have supported continuing the 90 percent special education reimbursement rate for private voucher schools.
- Increase for per-student funding by $200 in the first year of the budget and $204 in the second year. The sum would be covered through a combination of categorical aids and revenue limit adjustments.
- Allowance for low-spending school districts raise their revenue limits, which are currently set at $9,400 per student, to $9,700 in the first year of the budget and $10,000 in the second year.
- Increase funding for school mental health services and high-cost transportation aid for rural school districts, although at a much lower level than proposed by the governor.
In addition to scaling back investments in public schools, the Republican majority opted not to overhaul the state’s school funding formula to set a minimum level of funding per student and add a poverty component in allocating funding, which would weigh families’ abilities to support schools in their district.
There will be more negotiations at some point because the governor has to sign any budget into law. What that looks like, and what the result could be, nobody knows.
Get involved:
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In addition, nearby Regions will hold their workshops on August 6, 7 and 8 - - any member can attend any meeting in any Region. See below for dates, times, and locations!
Why Go?
You and a team from your Local can acquire some basic skills and have time to create a plan for a FANTASTIC back-to-school membership drive.
Start talking about this in YOUR Local! Get some friends together to join you in this project!
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Visit a Region near you for great professional development opportunities!
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Any member working in any school represented by Regions 3, 5, 6, and 7 can attend workshops that help build membership.
"Power Locals" Summer Workshops are a combination of Region 3's "Membership Drive Workshop" on June 20 and "Solidarity Seminar" on August 8. Offered in different places on different days, choose what works best for you!
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Location Selection - Thursday, June 20, 2019 - 8:30 am - 4:00 pm.
- Green Bay - Region 3 Office, 1136 N. Military Avenue (Membership Drive Workshop)
Location Selection - Tuesday, August 6, 2019
- Baraboo - Region 5 Office, 135 3rd Avenue
- Watertown - Watertown Public Library, 100 S. Water Street
Location Selection - Wednesday, August 7, 2019
- Brookfield - Region 7 Office, 13805 W. Burleigh Road, Suite 200
- Janesvillle - Sidelines, 731 S. Wuthering Hills Drive
Location Selection - Thursday, August 8, 2019
- Madison - Region 6/WEAC Office, 33 Nob Hill Road
- Oshkosh - UW Oshkosh Reeve Union, 748 Algoma Blvd.
- Green Bay - Region 3 Office, 1136 N. Military Avenue (Solidarity Seminar - Advocacy & Leadership)
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Developed by a team of Nationally Board-Certified Teachers (NBCTs) from across the country, NEA Jump Start is a comprehensive, three+ day seminar designed to provide early support to National Board candidates. Jump Start lays the groundwork for understanding the certification process by deeply examining component and assessment center requirements. Time is dedicated to gathering resources and information needed to become successful in certifying. All of this is provided in a supportive, constructive, and collegial environment. This Jump Start training is Sunday, July 28, through Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at UW-Stevens Point. The registration fee is just $300 for WEAC members and $150 for drive-in WEAC Members (the full fee for non-members is $1000 / $850 drive-in).
Find out more and register now.
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Freshen up your Financial Knowledge
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Spring has sprung and with it our mood for starting things anew. If you haven’t given your finances the once over yet, WEA Member Benefits can help you clean up with a basic guide to budgeting, saving, and investing.
Start cleaning up your finances.
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Hello all,
I've been thinking about leadership lately. What does it take to be a good leader? What do we expect of leaders?
Many teachers and support professionals have specific expectations of their principal (or other supervisor). They want them to be inspirational - have a vision for the mission of the school and be cheerleaders for the employees as we try to fulfill the mission. They want them to be clear communicators - if we do something wrong, we want to know what it is - if there's a complaint, we want to know who it's from (so we can address it). Most importantly, we want them to have our back when things go wrong. Support us! Acknowledge our hard work! Cut us some slack during difficult times!
At the core of all of this is the ability and willingness to have difficult conversations. After 35 years in education (Oh my! Has it been that long?!) I can tell you that many, many supervisors do not have the ability or the willingness to have difficult conversations. It's hard work, no question. But it's so very necessary.
I read a lot and find great ideas in unlikely places.
This article from Real Simple magazine has a lot of great points about delivering bad news. It's written for supervisors, but I think you can use it in your work with students and co-workers when difficult discussions are necessary. AND, you might get creative and when next time your supervisor tries to deliver bad news to you [badly], you might be able to turn these suggestions around and use them to get your supervisor to deliver the bad news more effectively.
--Peace
Kathy Rohde
Regional Director
Region 3 WEAC
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WEAC Region 3
1136 N. Military Ave.,
Green Bay, WI 54303.
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