“PAC” stands for “Political Action Committee.” WEA-PAC membership costs only $2.25 per month. The money is used to support pro-education political candidates, regardless of their political affiliation.
The WEA Political Action Committee’s main focus is to support pro-education/pro-labor candidates. Their decisions impact public education! VEA encourages all members to join WEA-PAC. Forms are available from building reps or from the VEA office or you can join electronically.
Why WEA-PAC?
Compensation is controlled by elected legislators: salary allocation and regionalization factors (schedules are locally bargained), levy equalization funding, health insurance programs and allocation, NBCT bonus, retirement plans, etc. Legislators refused for many years to provide regular cost-of-living allowances.
Fully Funding Basic Education. The legislature previously failed to fully-fund education as evidenced by the McCleary lawsuit and Supreme Court ruling.
Legislators control the amount of money that school districts can collect from their local communities (levy/bonds) even if those local communities are willing to pay more to support their schools.
Appropriations for class size.
Evaluation standards.
Certification requirements, including continuing education (but not the funding for this requirement).
Students with special needs are funded by the legislature. Corresponding paperwork and requirements are also legislated.
LAP, TITLE, and other programs/resources for students are controlled by legislative actions. These can simply be eliminated by a legislative vote.
Rules and guiding principles around student discipline are established by the legislature.
Testing requirements for students.
Legislators can restrict what can be collectively bargained.
Federal funding is changing for public education. The association continues to advocate for a free and appropriate education for ALL STUDENTS.
