Despite cancelling a planned rally to drum up support for improved school funding, the Tennessee Education Association is still calling for teachers and public education advocates to take action on or around March 16th. More from TEA President Beth Brown.
Following the announcement yesterday of our decision to cancel the TEA Rally for Our Schools, I want to challenge you to still mark Monday, March 16, as a Day of Action for the funding our schools deserve. Our public schools need a $1.2 billion investment from the state to provide the resources, services and support our students need to succeed.
It’s affordable: Tennessee can do this without raising taxes. It’s right: Strong public schools are the foundation of strong, thriving communities. It’s time: Underfunding our schools has gone on for too long; The students sitting in our classrooms right now, and the generations to come, deserve the very best education.
Monday, March 16, 2020, is a day we have all been looking forward to since the delegates at the TEA RA in 2019 voted unanimously that a large-scale action was needed to increase state funding. While we can no long risk a large in-person gathering, we still have the opportunity for a statewide, large-scale action.
I am asking each local association to identify a way for public education advocates in your community to show their support for increased state investment in public education. This can be anything from wearing red on Monday (including your Rally shirts, if you have them), to posting social media videos stating why your school deserves better funding, to a flood of phone calls to your state legislators. Better yet, you could do all three!
We must remain focused on this goal and not let the loss of the rally result in lost momentum. Elected officials in Nashville need to feel the pressure from folks back home that we are watching, and we expect better for Tennessee’s public schools.
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Isn’t it reasonable that the personnel in the schools should define and explain what they need dollar wise to meet the needs they see in front of them each day? When children arrive sleepless, hungry, unable to focus and learn, shouldn’t that say volumes about their circumstances? Far too many TN students are poor in numerable ways. When we remain 45 th in the nation for per pupil expenditure, shouldn’t we be embarrassed and humiliated, especially when TN is so proud of its rainy day fund or surplus?