ACEA

Back to School Workshop

editor — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:29:52 +0000

We would like to see a representative from every school/worksite at our annual

Back to School Workshop.

August 10 at the ACEA office

Call ACEA at 377-7635 for more information.

A-TIGER School Board Endorsements

editor — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:03:22 +0000

Mark August 24 on your calendar.

That is Voting Day for the Alachua County School Board election.

ACEA’s PAC (Political Action Committee) has endorsed the following candidates for the election. All were chosen by unanimous vote of the A-TIGER members who attended the endorsement meeting. Please check out these candidates and then talk to your friends, neighbors, and relatives about them. Remember, the school board races are non-partisan and everyone gets to vote for representatives for all three districts.

District 1: Rick Nesbit

District 3: Gunnar Paulson

District 5: Jancie Vinson

JVCampaign@yahoo.com

All the candidates need our support.

Please contact the candidate(s) directly or call ACEA (377-7635) if you can volunteer some time or donate to the campaign(s). And remember every little bit helps.

May Alert

editor — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:18:22 +0000

President’s Message
By Gunnar F. Paulson, Ed.D.

After twelve and a half unforgettable years the time is approaching for me to step down as President of ACEA. We have elected a new President, Karen McCann. We all need to rally and support her as she leads this wonderful organization. I have worked with Karen as she has served first as ACEA Secretary and then as Instructional Vice-President. We are fortunate to have her as our new President.

I look back on my tenure as President and think it was just yesterday I was starting on the same adventure as Karen. I could reflect on a lot over the entire period, but let me focus specifically on the last two years. I will focus on this time period because I feel this is when this organization’s star has shined the brightest.

Two years ago the Legislature cut $17 million dollars from the General Fund. Elementary art, nurses and music teachers were cut and a disaster was facing our District. The Superintendent proposed a one mill increase that would raise over $13 million per year for four years. I told the Superintendent I was totally behind his effort and would do everything I could to ensure we were successful.

How did ACEA contribute to the passage of the mill? We contributed $17,000 out of the $25,000 raised to mount a campaign. I went to every school and worksite promoting the one mill while Dr. Boyd went to various civic organizations. We put signs up around the community, manned precincts and held signs. The result was we saved our District from financial ruin.

This past year we faced an even greater disaster in Senate Bill 6. This bill had devastating consequences. Our School Board would lose local control and good teachers could lose their jobs without clear guidelines. ACEA again rose to the occasion and stopped this impending crisis.

I now hope to be elected to your School Board. Why am I running? I am running because our work is not finished. There will continue to be attacks on us from the outside. I want to continue to lead the fight against these attacks. I am running because some candidates have not joined us in our fight or even shown they are willing to fight for schools. We must have a voice on the Board who recognizes how serious the challenges are that we face.

I now will say goodbye as President, but look forward to a new challenge hopefully as a School Board member. Again! Thanks for letting me be your President.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The Legislative Session is over, but the Governor has yet to sign some bills and budget. There is still one bill that we will be asking the Governor to veto and that is HB 5607. This bill reduces the interest paid during DROP from 6.5% to 3% for all employees who enter DROP after July 1, 2010. This bill was never debated in committee and was an add on at the last minute. Any bill should be discussed during committee and not brought up this late. Veto HB 5607.

Except for this bill we avoided other catastrophes. Senate Bill 6 could have had devastating results and was vetoed by the Governor. House Bill 5701 would have eliminated the health insurance subsidy for present and future retirees died in committee. Senate Bill 2022 would have made employees contribute to their retirement, also died in committee. This session looked bleak a month ago.

This session was miraculously salvaged by people saying no to a ‘Big Government” takeover by Tallahassee.

As I have said before, our work has just begun. This election cycle is so very important. We cannot afford to relax. The most important question is: Did this candidate publicly and vigorously oppose Senate Bill 6?

WE must elect a Governor who supports teachers and school employees! We must elect Alex Sink! Any other choice will mean a school board stripped of its local control; teachers stripped of due process, and veteran teachers losing their jobs for no reasons without clear guidelines.

We must elect School Board members who understand the issues. A candidate can promise anything, but where were they when there was a crisis? This election cycle is unique in that we had a chance to witness how a candidate would react under pressure. How did the candidate react during the most serious crisis of our lifetime?

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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UPDATE

Bargaining season is fast approaching and negotiations should begin towards the end of June. This year is an inbetween year for the instructional contract as they bargained the entire contract last year. The entire ESP contract will expire this year, so our ESP negotiating team is prepared for a lot of work.

Salaries are always bargained with both teams together. Normally, it is not until sometime in July that we have a truly accurate calculation on where we are with money since the school board closes out their fiscal year on June 30th.

If you would like to be on our Bargaining Update Email list, please call our office or email Tammy at tammyfont@floridaea.org. We will keep you up to date during the summer.
If you have any suggestions for either team, please call or drop us a note.

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Amusement Park Tickets
ACEA members only!

Price Reduction on Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia. They are now $30.00 each for an adult or child. The second consecutive day is FREE.

Other tickets available are:
Universal Studios in Orlando
Island of Adventures in Orlando
Sea World in Orlando
Busch Gardens in Tampa

Ticket prices are subject to change. Contact the ACEA office for current prices. You may purchase up to 5 tickets. We deal strictly in cash and they are non-refundable. They must be purchased at the ACEA office. ID’s will be required.

Check out www.Ticketsatwork.com They offer many different types of discounts. You must contact the ACEA office for the password. Call #377-7635.

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ACEA ELECTION RESULTS

The Election Committee consisting of Nicole Biener, Robert Hessels, Jean Robinson and Charles Zimmerman counted the ballots returned to the ACEA by 5:00 p.m. on May 3rd. The results were: Karen McCann (GHS) with 839 votes, Joe Shea (Maintenance) with 67 votes, and Charley Jordan (Horizon Center) 6 votes. Congratulations to Karen McCann our new ACEA President.

The newly elected officers ‘term will start on July 1, 2010 and run until June 30, 2012.
Uncontested positions were: Karen Rerra, (Foster) Vice President—Instructional; Phyllis Meredith (Metcalfe), Vice President ESP’s; and Jennifer Lindquist (Williams), as Secretary. There position will be voted on at the May Representative Council meeting.

Appointed as our new Food Service Executive Board representative is Jackie Wallace from Metcalfe.

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ATTENTION ACEA MEMBERS WITH
DEFERRED PAY OPTION

The SBAC Payroll Dept will be sending out the Deferred Pay Option forms in the payroll envelopes for the May 15, 2010 payroll The IRS regulations require that any employee that is currently enrolled in the program MUST reapply each year. These forms must be returned NLT (not later than ) the 14th of July, 2010 . Failure to return this information will result in the employee being placed back into the regular pay schedule. These forms are available at the ACEA office.
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SCHOOL CALENDAR 2010– 2011

Monday, August 16-Aug. 20 Pre-Planning (5 weekdays)
Monday, August 23 First Day for Students
Monday, September 6 Holiday-Labor Day
Tuesday, September 28 Send Interim Reports Home
Friday, October 15 Holiday—UF Homecoming
Tuesday, October 26 End of First 9 weeks
Friday, October 29 Pupil Holiday/Teacher Workday
Tuesday, November 9 Send Report Cards Home
*Thursday, November 11 Holiday, Veterans’ Day—Flex Day
Wednesday, November 24 Pupil Holiday/Teacher Holiday
Thursday, November 25-26 Thanksgiving Holidays
Wednesday, December 8 Send Interim Reports Home
Monday, December 20—Dec. 31 Winter Holidays (10 weekdays)
Monday, January 3 Classes Resume
Monday, January 17 Holiday—ML King Birthday
Thursday, January 20 End of First Semester
Friday, January 21 Pupil Holiday/Teacher Workday
Monday, January 24 Begin Second Semester
Thursday, February. 3 Send Report Cards Home
*Monday, February 21 Holiday—Presidents’ Day—Flex Day
Wednesday, March 2 Send Interim Reports Home
Thursday, March 24 End of third 9 weeks
*Friday, March 25 Pupil Holiday/Teacher Workday-Flex Day
Monday, March 28—April 1 Spring Holiday (5 weekdays)
Monday, April 18 Send Reports Cards Home
Friday, May 13 Send Interim Reports Home
Monday, May 30 Holiday—Memorial Day
Tuesday, June 7 School out—Last Day for Students
*Wednesday, June 8 Post-Planning for Teachers—Flex Day
*Thursday, June 9 Post-Planning for Teachers—Flex Day

Extended School Year Schedule—dates not established

*Flex day MAY be used to make-up days cancelled due to hurricanes or other emergencies. For the 2010-11 calendar, flex days will be use in the following order: 1. June 8th, 2. June 9th, 3. March 25th, 4. November 11th, and 5. February 21st.
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ACEA’s Annual Retirement Dinner

The Thomas Center
302 NE 6th Ave.
Gainesville, Fl 32601

When: June 2, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m.
ACEA members are invited to attend this dinner. Reservations are required. Seating is limited so please make your reservation by May 24, 2010.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RETIRING ACEA MEMBERS!

Abate, Linda            Williams         Teacher
Acosta, Michael      Kanapha        Custodian
Adams, Diane           Glen Springs Teacher
Alvarez, Amalia      GHS                   Teacher
Andrew, Ramoth    EHS                   Teacher
Baker, Ruby               GHS                  Teacher
Beach, Patricia         Norton            Teacher
Bedell, Linda             Talbot              Teacher
Bengston, Barbara   Lake Forest   Teacher
Bergman, Bruce       Archer             Teacher
Bishop, Janis             Lake Forest   Teacher
Burnett, Patricia      Duval               ESP
Buys, John                  GHS                  Teacher
Carbonneau, Nora   Bishop            Teacher
Carey, Dowdell          Transportation
Clifton, Sandra           Glen Springs Teacher
Copeland, Barbara   Metcalfe        Teacher
Days, Gladys                Prairie View ESP
DeSha, Rebecca          Foster            Teacher
Dindial, Myrna            Rawlings       Teacher
Dupree, Kenneth        BHS                 Custodian
Foreman, Gloria        Williams        Custodian
Gillmore, Rodney     GHS                 Teacher
Gionet, Lee Ann        Lanier             Teacher
Gonzalez, Susan        Lake Forest Teacher
Green, Billie                BHS                  BRT/Dean
Greenman, Maureen Oak View     Teacher
Hansen, Dennis         EHS                  Teacher
Hansen, Sally             EHS                  Teacher
Hodges, Helen           Talbot             Teacher
Holmes, Margaret    Finley             Teacher
Hughes, Yvonne       Wiles               Teacher
Johnson, Annette     Mebane         Food Service
Johnson, Sandra        Talbot           Teacher
Jones, Deborah           Rawlings      Teacher
Jones, Lula                   Fearnside     Headstart
Jones, Richard            Irby                Teacher
Kaminer, Ron              BHS                  Teacher
Kirkman, Michael      EHS                  Teacher
Lee, Sheila                     Littlewood   Teacher
Lisanke, Kipling           Metcalfe       Teacher
Long, Beatrice              Lincoln         BRT/Dean
Long, Dianna                 Irby               Teacher
Mays, Christine            Williams       Food Service
McCray, DeBorah        Idylwild      Teacher
Medeiros, Clyde           Alachua       Teacher
Moore, Johnny             Littlewood Teacher
Myers, Audrey             BHS                Teacher
Myrand, Mary Ann    Title I            Supervisor
Paulson, Cindy             High Springs Teacher
Paulson, Gunnar         ACEA
Pigott, Candice            Littlewood   Teacher
Richards, Cheryl         ESE                 Teacher
Robinson, Brenda      Bishop           Teacher
Rotundo, Barbara      Rawlings      Teacher
Scott, James                 Lanier          Custodian
Scott, Robert               GHS               Teacher
Seltzer, Jack                 Reg. Det.     Teacher
Seltzer, Linda              Lake Forest Media Spec.
Shadburn, Randy      Talbot          Teacher
Simonis, Sarah            Archer        Guidance
Strong, Elaine             Glen Springs Teacher
Whitehurst, Carolyn Fearnside   Tcher Spec.
Williams, Glenn           Shell            Custodian
Williams, Willie           Transportation
Willhoite, Sheila         Transportation
Withers, Rutledge      Terwilliger Teacher
Wright, Cottie               Kirby Reading Teacher
Young, Elaine               Ft. Clarke Teacher
Young, Freddie            Lake Forest Teacher

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ACEA – SUMMER HOURS

The ACEA office will be working the same hours as the school board. Starting the week of June 14th. Our hours will be Monday thru Thursday from 7:30 a.m.—5:30 p.m. and ending the week of August 16th, except for the month of July with the office will be closed on the 2nd, 5th and 6th.

FROM THE STAFF AT ACEA
HAVE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE SUMMER
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April ALERT

editor — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:29:44 +0000

President’s Message by Gunnar Paulson, Ed.D.

Last year I worked with our superintendent to pass a one mill initiative. This initiative raises over $13 million a year to offset a cut of $17 million last year from our state legislature. This enabled us to retain art and music in the elementary schools and avoid layoffs to our teachers and employees. I agree with Dr. Boyd when he wrote in a letter addressed to me; “I know I will look back on this as one of the proudest accomplishments of my career as an educator, I hope you will do the same.”

What we accomplished on April 15, 2010 with the VETO of Senate Bill 6 has to rank even higher. I cannot explain how proud I was when I received the news that Governor Crist had just announced he was going to VETO this bill that could damage public education for decades. He made this VETO because teachers, school employees and the general public showed their anger and frustration. He said this bill took away local control from school boards, could take away a teachers career without any clear guidelines and deny new teachers any due process. He made this VETO because it was a legislature being arrogant enough to feel they didn’t have to listen to the voters and felt “BIG GOVERNMENT “in Tallahassee knows better than the electorate.

I feel this is the greatest crisis we have ever faced in public education in Florida. I will always look back on April 15, 2010 and remember where I was and what I was doing when I found out about the VETO. I was in the small meeting room in ACEA when I received a phone call from a former player of mine who now is a lobbyist in Tallahassee. He calmly stated; “Coach, he did it. He vetoed the bill.” The first thought that went through my head was this was not only a victory for teachers, but for all the people of Florida.

I then thought of what we had just accomplished not only statewide, but specifically here in Alachua County. I looked back on how much effort had been given and how much energy was expended by so many people. We had a rally at Kirby-Smith attended by over 250 people on March 31. Many of us participated on Facebook on “Stop Senate Bill 6.” This started with less than 5,000 people and by the time of the VETO had grown to 50,000 people. I attended a public hearing along with 25 other educators from Alachua County that debated the bill that was the counterpart to SB 6 in the House of Representatives on April 5. We left Gainesville at 7 a.m. and returned at 1 a.m. While in Tallahassee we sat in the hearing for over nine hours. Not all of us were able to speak, but our opposition to this terrible bill was put into record. Some of our Alachua delegation did get to speak. Karen McCann, who is ACEA Instructional Vice-President, Mary Beriau who is a GHS teacher and Jean Robinson who is retired spoke eloquently and passionately against the bill.

When the bill was sent to Governor Crist for his signature we all continued to work. Letters were printed in the paper. We spoke on the radio and television, but most importantly we were relentless with our emails and phone calls to the Governor. We were of course successful.

Our work is not done. We must continue to work until the session is over. Currently two retirement bills are being debated in conference between the senate and house. One is house bill 5701 that eliminates the health insurance subsidy for current and future retirees. This would eliminate up to $1,800 per year from a person’s retirement check. The other is senate bill 2022 which will require an employee to contribute part of their salary to their retirement for the first time since 1974. Email and phone Senator Oelrich and Speaker Larry Cretul to voice your opposition.

We must be aware that these attacks will not go away. The politicians we elect this year will have more of a say about your future then at any other time in history. You should ask the following question when you vote for the next governor. Did this candidate publicly and vigorously oppose senate bill 6? The people we elect to our school board should be put to the same test. Did they publicly and vigorously oppose senate bill 6? We must elect people who have shown they will fight for our rights at this important time in history.

Governor Crist proved what one elected official can mean. We have helped shape our destiny. I look forward to fighting even harder with you in the future.

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MEMBERSHIP MADNESS 2010

Starting: May 1, 2010

WOW! All new ACEA members who sign up starting on May 1, 2007, no dues will be deducted until the 2010-2011 school year. The new members will also be entitled to all ACEA has to offer in benefits through AFT, FEA, NEA and local discounts. What a great opportunity !

Any ACEA member who signs up an eligible new member during this time will receive a $10.00 movie money coupon that can be used at either Royal Park or Butler theater. Please make sure your name is written on the back of the new member’s application.

____________________________________________

ACEA Election of Officers on April 28, 2010

Don’t forget to vote on April 28th for ACEA officers. You will be receiving your ballot and profiles of candidates after the April 21st Rep Council meeting. Ballots must be returned no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 3rd to be counted.

____________________________________________

PERSONAL DAY BUY BACK

DEADLINE IS: MAY 1, 2010

Please review the information contained in your contracts:

Teacher’s contract page 63

ESP’s contract page 55

For more information contact the ACEA office 377-7635

Buy Back forms are available from your school/worksite secretary or the ACEA office for members

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TIME TO ELECT YOUR ACEA REPRESENTATIVES

Now is the time to decide who is going to represent your school/worksite for 2010-2011 school year.

ACEA members at each school/worksite elect ACEA Faculty Reps annually. The official elections are held in May. ACEA members at each school/worksite elect their representative based on (One) representative for each ten members or major fraction thereof. The selection of alternate Reps is encouraged. Please notify the ACEA office of your 2010-2011 Reps as soon as possible #377-7635

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ESP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Any Education Staff Professional member who has been a member in good standing of an FEA local for at least three years shall be eligible to apply. There shall be ten scholarships of $1,000 each awarded. Contact the ACEA office #377-7635 for the ESP Scholarship application and procedures. All application materials must be submitted in hard copy by Friday, May 28, 2010. Materials must be received at the FEA office by 5:00 p.m. and may not be submitted electronically or by facsimile.

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ACEA’s Annual Retirement Dinner

New location:

The Thomas Center

302 NE 6th Ave.

Gainesville, Florida 32601

When: June 2, 2010

Time: 6:00 p.m.

ACEA members are invited to attend this dinner. Reservations are required. Seating is limited so please make your reservation by May 24, 2010.

Abate, Linda          Williams           Teacher
Acosta, Michael     Kanapha          Custodian
Adams, Carol D.    Glen Springs     Teacher
Alvarez, Amailia     GHS                Teacher
Andrew, Ramoth    EHS                 Teacher
Baker, Ruby           GHS                Teacher
Beach, Patricia       Norton             Teacher
Bedell, Linda          Talbot              Teacher
Bengston, Barbara Lake Forest     Teacher
Bergman, Bruce      Archer              Teacher
Bishop, Janis          Lake Forest      Teacher
Buys, John              GHS                Teacher
Carbonneau, Nora Bishop Teacher
Carey, Dowdell      Transportation
Copeland, Barbara Metcalfe          Teacher
Days, Gladys          Prairie View     ESP
Desha, Rebecca     Foster              Teacher
Dindial, Myrna        Rawlings           Teacher
Dupree, Kenneth    BHS                 Custodian
Foreman, Gloria     Williams           Custodian
Gillmore, Rodney    GHS                Teacher
Gionet, Lee Ann     Lanier               Teacher
Gonzalez, Susan     Lake Forest      Teacher
Green, Billie            BHS                 BRT/Dean
Hansen, Dennis       EHS                 Teacher
Hansen, Sally          EHS                 Teacher
Hodges, Helen        Talbot              Teacher
Holmes, Margaret   Finley              Teacher
Hughes, Yvonne     Wiles                Teacher
Johnson, Annette    Mebane            Food Service
Johnson, Sandra     Talbot              Teacher
Jones, Deborah      Rawlings           Teacher
Jones, Lula Fearnside         Headstart
Jones, Richard        Irby                  Teacher
Kaminer, Ron         BHS                 Teacher
Kirkman, Michael EHS                  Teacher
Lee, Sheila             Littlewood        Teacher
Lisanke, Kipling      Metcalfe           Teacher
Long, Beatrice        Lincoln BRT/Dean
Long, Dianna          Irby                  Teacher
Mays, Christine      Williams           Food Service
McCray, DeBorah Idylwild           Teacher
Medeiros, Clyde     Alachua            Teacher
Moore, Johnny       Littlewood        Teacher
Myers, Audrey       BHS                 Teacher
Myrand, Mary Ann Title I Supervisor
Paulson, Cindy       High Springs     Teacher
Paulson, Gunnar     ACEA
Pigott, Candice       Littlewood        Teacher
Richards, Cheryl     Manning           Teacher
Rotundo, Barbara   Rawlings           Teacher
Scott, James           Lanier               Custodian
Scott, Robert          GHS                Teacher
Seltzer, Jack           Reg. Det.          Teacher
Seltzer, Linda         Lake Forest      Media Spec.
Shadburn, Randy    Talbot              Teacher
Simonis, Sarah        Archer              Guidance
Strong, Elaine         Glen Springs     Teacher
Willhoite, Sheila      Transportation
Williams, Glenn       Shell                 Custodian
Williams, Willie       Transportation
Wright, Cottie         Kirby Reading Teacher
Young, Elaine         Ft. Clarke         Teacher
Young, Freddie      Lake Forest      Teacher

Stop Senate Bill 6

editor — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:17:14 +0000

WE STOPPED SENATE BILL 6

Together, as a union, we stopped the worse legislation most of us ever seen. But the fight is not over. Now is the time to get all the people at your school who are not members to join. And if they join now they don’t pay dues until the fall, while still enjoying union benefits all spring and summer. There’s even a thank you gift for you for getting them to join. See the latest ALERT for more information.

Join STOP SENATE BILL 6 on Facebook

And Become an A-TIGER member

Click here for more information

News Update

editor — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:50:14 +0000

2009-2010 ACEA RETIREES

Listed are ACEA members retiring this year.

Abate, Linda                 Williams           Teacher
Adams, Carol Diane   Glen Springs   Teacher
Alvarez, Amailia        GHS                    Teacher
Andrew, Ramoth       EHS                   Teacher
Baker, Ruby                  GHS                   Teacher
Bergman, Bruce           Archer             Teacher
Carbonneau, Nora      Bishop              Teacher
Days, Gladys                 Prairie View   ESP
Desha, Rebecca           Foster               Teacher
Dupree, Kenneth         BHS                   Custodian
Foreman, Gloria         Williams           Custodian
Green, Billie                 BHS                      BRT/Dean
Johnson, Annette    Mebane              Food Service
Jomes, Richard          Irby                    Teacher
Kaminer, Ron              BHS                     Teacher
Long, Beatrice            Lincoln               Dean
Mays, Christine        Williams             Food Service
Medeiros, Clyde        Alachua             Teacher
Padgett, Clyde            Westwood        Custodian
Paulson, Cindy          High Springs     Teacher
Paulson, Gunnar       ACEA
Rotundo, Barbara    Rawlings             Teacher
Seltzer, Jack               Reg. Dtention    Teacher
Seltzer, Linda            Lake Forest        Media
Shadburn, Randy    Talbot                   Teacher
Simonis, Sarah         Archer                  Guidance
Willhoite, Sheila                                      Transportation
Williams, Glenn       Shell                      Custodian
Williams, Willie                                        Transportation
Wright, Cottie          Kirby Smith        Teacher

If you know any ACEA members retiring this year please contact Janet at the ACEA office #377-7635. We would hate to miss anyone.

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Amusement Park Tickets — MEMBERS ONLY!

Universal Studios, Island of Adventures, Sea World in Orlando, & Busch Gardens in Tampa, these tickets are $50.00 for an adult or child. Children 3 and under are free. Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia tickets are $35.00 for each person or child and children 3 and under are free. We deal in cash only and the tickets are non-refundable.
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PERSONAL DAY BUY BACK—DEADLINE IS: May 1, 2010

Please review the information contained in your contracts:
Teacher’s contract page 63
For more information contact the ACEA office 377-7635
ESP’s contract page 55
Buy Back forms are available from your school/worksite secretary or the ACEA office for members.

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ESP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The purpose of the FEA Education Staff Professional Scholarship Program is to provide incentive and financial support in the form of scholarships to Education Staff Professional members to prsue additional academic training needed to obtain necessary skills and/or credentials required for promotion or advancement in the field of public education. Any Education Staff Professional member who has been a member in good standing of an FEA local for at least three years shall be eligible to apply. There shall be ten scholarships of $1,000 each awarded. Contact the ACEA office $377-7635 for the ESP Scholarship application and procedures.

All application materials must be submitted in hard copy by Friday, May 28, 2010. Materials must be received at the FEA office by 5:00 p.m. and may not be submitted electronically or by facsimile.

March ALERT

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:25:24 +0000

President’s Message by Gunnar Paulson Ed.D

The rapidly changing events presently occurring in the Florida Legislature, at ACEA, and locally in our own district can have huge impacts on the lives of every employee in our school district for years to come. It is important each one of our teachers and ESPs know what is happening and the ramifications that each may cause. If ever there was a time to participate, this is the time.
Attacks on our teachers in the Legislature are unprecedented. Senate Bill 6, sponsored by John Thrasher, proposes all teachers hired will serve a five year probationary period. This does not mean an extension of the annual contract period, but an extension of the 97 day rule where a teacher can be let go at any time. Yes, a teacher can be working one day and let go the next day without a reason being given. After the five year period a teacher would be eligible to receive an annual contract each year for the remainder of their career. Teachers presently on Professional Services Contract (PSC) or Continuing Contract (CC) could be switched to an annual contract when they renewed their certificate. Salary schedules would have to be changed and could not be based on years of experience and obtaining an advanced degree. I recently attended a legislative conference in Tallahassee and participated in a protest while Senate President Jeff Atwater spoke. He assured us this bill is just in the beginning stages and he would listen to everyone. This is where all our teachers statewide must be active and let the Senate President know this is not acceptable and could have a negative effect on the lives of our teachers, students and community.
The Legislature also has a bill that offers major changes to the Florida Retirement System. It will affect not only new enrollees, but employees already in the system. They are proposing that the employee will receive a 1.44 percent credit towards the calculation for retirement. This is down from the present 1.6 percent credit. It will take 33 years to reach retirement eligibility instead of 30 years and the calculation for retirement will be the average of all years of employment instead of the best five years. There is also an effort to include employees who have contributed for many years into the system. This could drastically reduce the retirement benefits for our employees just when we should be increasing them.
When I was done participating in the Atwater protest on March 15, I drove to Gainesville to meet with the faculty and staff at Metcalfe Elementary. This involved listening to the concerns and suggestions they might have about the proposed combining of Rawlings and Metcalfe. I had previously met with the Rawlings staff about the same issue. During the meeting the principal at Metcalfe came in and said she just received an email that the superintendent was cancelling his recommendation to combine the two schools because of a three year grant from the Florida Department of Education to help low performing schools. The three schools in our district who would receive the help would be Rawlings, Duval, and Hawthorne Jr/Sr High School. ACEA has been and will continue to work closely with the district to implement these grants.
We are also having an election in April to choose a new president for ACEA. It is imperative that members participate. ACEA has had a huge impact on savings hundreds of jobs during this crisis and our continued support and leadership is vital.
I will continue to make our presence felt in Tallahassee along with our TIGER members while continuing to be an active participant in our issues at home. I am urging all of you to also participate in the near future. We will have talking points sent out to you about the issues. Join ATIGER and join the battle. Your actions now can affect you for the rest of your lives.
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ACEA Election of Officers on April 28, 2010

By: Vice-President Karen McCann

In the December ACEA Alert our president, Gunnar Paulson told you that a committee was being formed to address the issue of excess work bombarding our teachers and ESP’s. I am chair of this committee and along with other members who worked on it; we named it the Teacher Workload Committee. It came about because of the fact that many of our Rep Council members expressed the frustration coming from members at their schools over the additional work being handed them. Just “some” of these additional responsibilities include RTI, CIMS testing, On Track testing, data collection and analysis, curriculum pacing guides, more forms and more paperwork in general. To complicate matters, not all schools, grade levels or subject areas are affected in the same way.
What evolved from our committee meetings was a survey that we put together and field tested at four schools. So that we could look at the big picture, the schools include elementary, middle and high. We are currently tabulating the results of the survey and reading your remarks written in the comment area. It’s disturbing to see some of your commentary about how the additional workload and stress has led to poor morale within our professional community and even impacted family life and our members’ health. It seems like we, teachers and ESP’s alike, continue to be asked to do more with less. We are then put on trial for any failings of the public school system. This is only one reason why political involvement in educational issues is so crucial to all of us.
The Teacher Workload Committee wants to try putting a survey on the ACEA web page so that all members can be involved. On March 19th and 20th, two other committee members, Eva Hope and Robert Hessels and I will be attending a workshop led by our state affiliate, F.E.A. in the hopes that we can learn more about this area of concern and get an answer to one of our biggest questions, “Is the Florida Department of Education requiring counties to do these additional tasks or is the direction coming from elsewhere?” We will share more information with you as it becomes available to us.
Finally, we ACEA members should never underestimate the power of getting involved in our professional organization. During the last legislative session, Josh Roberson, Mary Beriau and I drafted a letter to our elected officials telling them that we wanted better funding to public schools and we suggested ways to make that happen. I led a movement at Gainesville High that resulted in over 3,000 letters being signed by students and citizens alike. We had the media there to film it and by the time other schools joined in and we finished, we had over 7,000 letters that Gunnar, three GHS students and I hand delivered to Tallahassee. The result? The day before the session ended, House Speaker Larry Cretul sat down with Gunnar and Dan Boyd and changed his mind about cutting advanced placement and I.B. monies to all counties in Florida. That resulted in saving one million dollars that would have been cut from Alachua County Public Schools. This money is divided up amongst all the schools and used in our SAC funds. To summarize, I believe that when hundreds and thousands of like-minded people are working together, there is nothing we can’t do.

February ALERT

editor — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:17:05 +0000

President’s Message by Gunnar Paulson Ed.D

We are now in the process of electing the officers for ACEA. This includes President, Vice-President for Instructional, Vice-President for ESPs, Treasurer, and Secretary. The petitions to place your name on the ballot are due back by March 17. The election will be held on April 28.

It has been my privilege to serve as your president of this great organization for the past twelve years. I have decided at this time not to seek another term when this one ends on June 30, 2010. I will instead run for the District 3 seat on the School Board in the August 24 election. I have made this difficult decision after much deliberation. I feel I can best serve employees, children and the community on the Board. We are facing difficult challenges now and in the immediate future that will require individuals with the knowledge and experience to deal with them.

We should all be proud of what we have accomplished together in the last twelve years. In 1998 we were an organization with slightly more than 1700 members. In spite of a decline in student enrollment for the district, we have increased to over 2200 members. In 2002 ACEA won a landmark arbitration decision guaranteeing our teachers their step increase on the salary schedule each year. Our school district froze salaries twice in the 1990’s and was trying for a third time, but this decision stopped that from happening and for the future. At the same time we lowered the number of years for a teacher to reach the top of the salary schedule to 25. These two acts have resulted in the amount of retirement benefits being increased exponentially, not to mention the increased salary while working.

We proceeded with a grievance last year for our ESP’s that expanded the job classifications an ESP could be recalled in and based the recall on seniority. Previous to this grievance an employee was risking security if they accepted a promotion to a better paying job because the district wanted to put them on probation even if they had spent 20 years in the district and been a model employee. This was simply not right and needed to be corrected. In 2006, Head Start faced elimination due to cuts from the Federal Government, but was saved when we worked with the district to find alternative funding to keep this valuable program.

The last year was ACEA’s finest hour. We came to the rescue of our school district by supplying the majority of the money and manpower that enabled the one mill initiative to pass. This act saved hundreds of jobs and ensured that the education offered in our district would not suffer. A high ranking district administrator put it succinctly, “We not only saved Art and Music – we saved the entire district.”

I first joined ACEA in 1970 and it was one of the best things I have done in my life. I might be retiring, but I will always remain a union member. My lifetime dues have already been paid to ensure I am a member nationally, at the state level, and locally. I will never forget where my roots are. I have always and will continue to tirelessly advocate for teachers and ESP’s. This you can rest assured. Thank you for letting me serve as your president!

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LEGISLATIVE TRAINING FOR

THE 2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

During the Legislative Session, A-Tiger sends 2 members for 2 days to Tallahassee to participate in the legislative process. Members are briefed and scheduled appointments with legislators by our state affiliate, FEA.

All A-Tiger members or ACEA members who plan to join A-Tiger are welcome to attend this informative Legislative update. If you are interested in going to Tallahassee during the session call the ACEA office. This meeting is mandatory for all Tiger members going to Tallahassee.

Date: February 24, 2010

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location: ACEA office

Dinner will be furnished

Please RSVP by February 18, 2010 to #377-7635

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UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

MARDI GRAS

Spectacular Parade, Cajun Food,

Live Music, Beads, Beads

& more Beads.

Starts Saturday and Select Nights

February 6 thru April 17th.

For ACEA members only!

Contact the ACEA office #377-7635, for discount ticket prices.

Live Concerts

Feb. 6 KC & The Sunshine Band

Feb 13 Heart

Feb. 13 Kool & The Gang

Feb. 20 Blondie

Feb. 27 Dierks Bentley

Mar. 6 Akon

Mar. 13 Aretha Franklin

Mar. 20 Miranda Lambert

Mar. 27 3 Doors Down

April 3 The Beach Boys

April 9 Sheryl Crow

April 10 Flo rida

April 17 Chicago

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ACEA TO OPEN

CLOTHES CLOSET FOR MEMBERS

The ACEA office is planning to open a Clothes Closet for our members. If any of you are getting ready to clean out your closets, please consider donating your clothes (both women and men’s) to ACEA. Many of our members are struggling as hours are being cut (such as in Food Service), some of our members may want to find something to wear to an interview, and many of us changes sizes frequently and may not want to invest in new clothes.

This Clothes Closet will be for members only (please no children’s clothes). We will announce the “Grand Opening” when we are finished setting up. If you are interested in donating clothes, we ask that you please bring clean clothes as we do not have a washer or dryer here. They do not have to be pressed.

We are looking forward to adding this new service for our members.

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ACEA Election of Officers

This year ACEA will be electing officers: President, Vice-President of Instructional, Vice-President of Non Instructional, Secretary and Treasurer. The term of office is from July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2012. Teachers may run for any position except for the Vice-President of Non-Instructional, and Education Support Professionals may run for any position other than Vice-President of Instructional Personnel.

This is your chance to get involved in ACEA! Members learn a lot about our organization and make important decisions for the union by serving on the Executive Board.

Election Timelines:

January, 2010 Election timelines voted on by Executive Board and Rep Council

February 17th Petitions, profile forms and a summary of duties for each officer position will be sent to each worksite through Rep Council distribution and/or truck mail.

March 17th Petitions and profiles due from potential candidates.

March 18th Election Committee verifies petitions. (Candidates have 5 working days to rectify and discrepancies)

April 21st Profiles for each qualified nominee and election ballots will be sent to each work site through Rep Council distribution and/or truck mail.

April 28th ACEA Election Day—Only ACEA members may vote.

May 3rd Ballots must be returned no later than 5:00 p.m. Election Committee will count ballots and announce the new ACEA officers.

*When there is an uncontested position, the candidate shall be declared elected upon the casting of a majority vote by the Representative Council.

President’s duties will be to: Act as the executive officer of the Association; preside at meetings of the Rep Council, Executive Board, and general meetings; appoint committee chairpersons; represent the Association to the public, to such bodies as is appropriate, and as a delegate to affiliated conventions; prepare agendas in advance of the Rep Council, Executive Board, and general membership; designate others to act in his/her stead when appropriate; recommend an annual program to the Executive Board; perform other such duties as may from time to time be appropriate; call general membership meetings as needed; act as chief spokesperson of both the Instructional and Educational Support Professionals bargaining teams; serve on the FEA’s Governance Board; when appropriate, appoint additional Vice– Presidents to serve on FEA’s Governance Board; Serve as or designate a delegate to AFT’s and AFL-CIO’s conventions; and bargain terms of employment with ACEA employees.

Vice-President of Instructional Personnel’s duties will be: Preside at meetings of the Rep Council, Executive Board, and general membership in the absence of the President; become president if a vacancy occurs in that office; and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Vice-President for Educational Support Professional’ duties will be to: Preside at meeting of the Representative Council, Executive Board, and general membership in the absence of the President and the Vice-President for Instructional Personnel; become president if a vacancy occurs in that office and the Vice-President for Instructional is unable to fill that vacancy; and perform such duties as may be assigned by the President.

Secretary duties will be: Keep accurate minutes of regular and called meetings of the Rep Council, Executive Board and general membership; upon request, determine if a quorum is present at any meeting of the Rep Council or Executive Board; upon request, assist the President with Association correspondence; and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Treasurer’s duties will be to: Keep and maintain accurate records of the Association finances; report, not less than once per month, to the Rep Council and Executive Board on the financial accounts of the Association; recommend such budget amendments to the Rep Council as may from time to time be necessary; prepare financial reports required of the Association; and see that all Association checks are signed by two of the following three persons, President, Treasurer, and a third person designated by the Executive Board; perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President; prepare and present to the Rep Council and Executive Board an annual financial statement; and serve as chairperson of the Budget Committee and recommend an annual budget to the Executive Board.

January ALERT

editor — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:59:04 +0000

President’s Message by Gunnar Paulson Ed.D

The Federal Government recently initiated a grant to all the states. This grant was named the Race To The Top (RTTT). The grant offers money to the states that can then be passed to local school districts for the initiation of educational reforms. The Federal Government wants this effort to be done collaboratively between State Department of Education, Local School Boards, Superintendents and Local Teacher Unions. The states are to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would be sent to local school districts. These MOU’s would request the signature of the School Board Chairpersons, Superintendents, and Local Union Presidents. The decision of approving the grant for each state would then be based on the interest shown by the number of signatures of each stakeholder group. Once the interest had been measured, the Federal Government would decide to either award or not award the grant. If the grant was awarded, then a decision would be made about how much money would be sent to each state.

Race To The Top stressed from the beginning, that implementation of suggested items needing reform would be accomplished by using the flexibility required to fit local needs and be done with the collaboration of all stakeholders. Needs of individual communities are unique and who better to understand what fits a local than the people who live there. The states that have agreed to participate have worked collaboratively and written very simple Memorandum of Understandings of one page. Despite the efforts of the Florida Education Association, the State School Boards Association, and the State Superintendent’s Association our State Department of Education has refused to work in a collaborative atmosphere and prepared a dictatorial seventeen page Memorandum of Understanding.

What has been the result? A memorandum of understanding has been forced on districts with little or no flexibility. School districts are stripped of local control, rights bargained over decades are taken away from teachers and most alarmingly is that the amount needed to implement the grant far exceeds the money gained from the grant. The State DOE has unilaterally made themselves the third branch of the legislature. They are legislating through policy.

Presently only three local union presidents signed the Memo by the January 12 deadline. Nine local school boards including Broward, Polk and Seminole have not signed the Memo. Three districts have signed separate documents. Duval and Hillsborough have signed separate MOU’s protecting their teacher and employees and here in Alachua we have not signed the Memorandum of Understanding, but separately have signed an agreement with the Superintendent to work with the district outside of collective bargaining to address what we feel are the needs of our district.

I want to be clear about the following. ACEA CANNOT SUPPPORT A DOCUMENT ELIMINATING LOCAL CONTROL OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD. We cannot support a document that if accepted as written, will cause irrevocable harm to our teachers and employees. It would be acting irresponsibly and would put our district at risk for a financial disaster.

I want to stress that we are working collaboratively to make our school district better, while at the same time protecting the future of our district and the security of our teachers and employees. We have worked together to address a crisis when needed. One only has to look at the passage of the one mill last year. Local professionals know their districts better than bureaucrats in Tallahassee.

* A copy of the signed agreement by Dr. Boyd and Gunnar Paulson is located in this Alert.

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Letter to Dr. Dan Boyd:

Dr. William D. Boyd

Superintendent: SBAC

620 East University Avenue

Gainesville, Florida 32601

Dear Dan,

The deadline for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the Race To The Top (RTTT) grant sent to our district by the Florida Department of Education is January 12, 2010. I have taken a long and serious look at what is contained in this document and how it may affect our school district. At this time I cannot reconcile the many concerns I have and the negative implications that an agreement may have upon our employees, students and community. I am disappointed because I had high hopes this would be something beneficial to public education in general and specifically address the needs of lower performing schools and children. This document, as unmodified by the State DOE, does not accomplish the lofty goals and principles we agreed to when the conversations began. Rather, much of the document exceeds the scope of the federal requirements. I cannot sign a document with so many questions left unanswered.

My concerns are many, but I will elaborate on just a few. After carefully studying the contents of the MOU, I believe that the costs of implementing the Scope of Work will far exceed the amount we receive from the grant. We have just worked collaboratively to pass a one mill increase to save programs such as elementary art and music. Implementing the FLDOE Scope of Work has the potential of causing cuts to many of the fine programs offered by our schools and possibly lead to layoffs of our employees.

I am not only concerned about the fiscal impact during the duration of the grant; I also am concerned about the sustainability of programs and structures implemented under the grant, once funding has expired. Where will we get the money to pay for the items added by the grant after four years? We are already looking at potential shortfalls of revenue to our local budget after the stimulus money is no longer available.

I have always felt we should look at innovative ways to improve our school district and recognize that there are schools in need of extra help. I know you and your staff continuously evaluate where we can improve. The needs of children and the makeup of each community are unique. I don’t think Florida DOE understands this.

We have worked in unison in the past to accomplish great things. I look forward to working with you in the future for the benefit of our children and employees. I therefore will agree to work with the district on reconciling my concerns; however this is not intended to be an agreement to reopen the collective bargaining agreement. This can only be interpreted as working together outside the collective bargaining process as we have often done in the past.

Signed 1/12/2010 by Superintendent Dan Boyd, SBAC and Gunnar Paulson, ACEA President

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FEA TRUST SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

$2,000 Scholarship- Deadline: March 5, 2010

Application for the 2009-2010 Trust Scholarship Awards for seniors graduating from public high school whose parent or guardian is an FEA member are now at the ACEA office. Applicants must be going into education or related fields.

The objective in offering this Trust Scholarship Award is to assist in your efforts in pursuing your child’s education. For 2009-2010, FEA is awarding three $2,000 scholarships. The deadline for members to submit their family member’s applications to the local office is March 5, 2010 .

This is the final year of the Award as the funding for this program was eliminated in the 2010-2011 FEA budget.

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LEGISLATIVE TRAINING FOR

THE 2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

During the Legislative Session, A-Tiger sends 2 members for 2 days to Tallahassee to participate in the legislative process. Members are briefed and scheduled appointments by our state affiliate, FEA.

A-Tiger members interested in going to Tallahassee must attend this mandatory training.

Date: February 24, 2010

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location: ACEA office

Dinner will be furnished

Please RSVP by February 18, 2010 to #377-7635

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ACEA Election of Officers

This is your chance to get involved in ACEA! Members learn a lot about our organization and make important decisions for the union by serving on the Executive Board.

Election Timelines:

January, 2010 Election timelines voted on by Executive Board and Rep Council

February 17th Petitions, profile forms and a summary of duties for each officer position will be sent to each worksite through Rep Council distribution and/or truck mail.

March 17th Petitions and profiles due from potential candidates.

March 18th Election Committee verifies petitions. (Candidates have 5 working days to rectify any discrepancies)

April 21st Profiles for each qualified nominee and election ballots will be sent to each work site through Rep Council distribution and/or truck mail.

April 28th ACEA Election Day—Only ACEA members may vote.

May 3rd Ballots must be returned no later than 5:00 p.m. Election Committee will count ballots and announce the new ACEA officers.

*When there is an uncontested position, the candidate shall be declared elected upon the casting of a majority vote by the Representative Council.

Making A Difference

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:55:32 +0000

(This letter was printed in the Gainesville Sun on Saturday, November 28, 2009)

The Alachua County School District was facing cuts in funding from the state for the 2008-2009 school year totaling between 17 and 20 million dollars. Our community realized these cuts could do damage to our school district that would take years to recover and voted in the November election for a one mill increase to property taxes. This increase raises $13.6 million dollars per year and helps to ensure, for the time being, the educational offerings for our children would not be reduced.

Two editorials in the Gainesville Sun recently brought to the forefront the need to act now to raise additional income at the state level and at the same time look at ways to save money on the local level. If we ignore the urgency of such actions, we might find ourselves in the same precarious position we were in before the passage of the mill.

One editorial discusses the issue of energy conservation. The school board is commended for saving $611,444 this year in energy usage. They should receive praise for taking this initiative, but at the same time we should look at who was the catalyst for this change and see if there is a lesson to be learned.

In the January 13, 2006 issue of the Gainesville Sun an editorial urged board members to forget their differences and consider the merit of Eileen Roy’s cost savings ideas. Ms. Roy thought such a big ticket item as electricity should be scrutinized closely. She suggested an energy consultant be hired to see if we could enact techniques that could result in savings to the district. It was written in the Sun that other board members felt she was asking too many questions.

The easy road for Ms. Roy would have been not to press the issue. It is difficult to stand your ground when others strongly oppose you, but we are lucky we had someone who had the conviction to continue on. The editorial finished by saying that just maybe Ms. Roy was on to something and just maybe the idea of the district looking more comprehensively at its energy consumption and cost may be worth pursuing.

It is almost four years later and we are benefitting from the perseverance of a lone board member. It shows that something worthwhile may not show immediate results. She is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished if you believe in something strong enough and don’t let roadblocks deter you along the way.

The next editorial was about the Gainesville based “Citizens for Strong Schools” joining a law suit against the state legislature to determine if lawmakers have indeed shirked their constitutional duty in funding public education. Jon Mills who is a former Speaker of the House helped draft an amendment to the Constitution of Florida stating that providing a “High Quality” public education for all children is the state’s “Paramount Duty.” The amendment was approved by the voters of Florida in 1998 with 71% of the vote.

Since this amendment was passed the State has drastically reduced their share of funding for public education and shifted the cost to the local school districts. This has resulted in an unfair burden being put upon local tax rolls while the state ignores their duty as outlined in the constitution. Meanwhile many of our residents are leaving to go to other states that value education while businesses hesitate to locate in a state where education is not valued. The Sun put it very succinctly by stating the following; “We don’t think Florida has a constitutional mandate requiring lawmakers to keep taxes as low as possible at the expense of our children.”

These are examples of extraordinary people working hard for what they feel are worthwhile causes. Their efforts ought to be an inspiration that we can find ways to make things better. I know they inspire me.

Gunnar Paulson

President: ACEA