SPECIAL
EDITION
Retirement Meeting—River Falls High
School 4:15-6:00
RFArea REA is hosting the
meeting for area educators, administrators, and staff who are considering
retirement in the next few years. This
is a service WREA provides for WRS participants. Jesse Harness, retired
superintendent and current commissioner of CESA Statewide, will explain
statement of benefits, core and variable funds, calculating pensions, and other
topics, with time for questions.
It is also a chance to
introduce these people to WREA and to RFArea REA. We are asking that all RFArea members who can
make it to the meeting do so. We need
help setting up, helping with refreshments, handing out literature, and showing
a strong presence to prospective members.
The meeting starts at 4:30, but if you can come a little early to help,
that would be great! This is our moment
to show who we are and to welcome new retirees into our WREA community. Contact Roger Hulne at 715-262-5435 or rhulne@icloud.com if you have questions.
VOTE! State
Superintendent of Education
This is a very important
election for public education in Wisconsin.
Current State Superintendent Tony Evers is facing Lowell Holtz, former
district superintendet for Beloit and Whitnall schools. The Wisconsin
State Journal (23 Feb. 2017) characterizes the two candidates in this way:
“Tony Evers [is] a public
school advocate backed mostly by liberals and teachers unions who has been at
odds with Republicans for years over his adoption of the Common Core State
Standards and his opposition to the expansion of private school vouchers in the
state.
“He took about seven of every
10 votes in the primary.
“His challenger, Lowell
Holtz, is back mostly by conservatives and school voucher supporters. He is making his second run for the position
and opposes the Common Core State Standards and favors expansion of educational
options—including taxpayer-funded vouchers—other than public schools.”
Related to this election is
the governor’s current budget. Wisconsin
Public Radio reports that “Private voucher schools would receive an additional
$1,000 or more in state funding per student compared to public schools under
Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget. . . . A memo from the nonpartisan
Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows choice schools will receive between $7.757 and
$8.403 in state funding per student in the second year of Walker’s budget. By comparison, public schools will receive an
average of $6,703 per student. That
means private voucher schools will receive roughly $1,000 to $1,700 more in
state funding per student than public schools” (“Voucher School Advocates Say
That Ignores Property Tax Funding Public Schools Receive,” WPR 20 March 2017).
A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article reports that more 300
predominantly religious schools in the eastern part of the state will fund more
than 33,750 students next fall. “For the
first time, the Chilton School District could face either an enrollment drop
because children will use a voucher to attend the local Catholic school they
couldn’t otherwise afford, or more likely, the district will have to raise
taxes to fund vouchers for children who already attend the private school. Together, the state’s voucher programs are
expected to cost about $263 million in 2017-18, according to Walker’s budget
proposal” (Erin Richards, “Tensions Rise as Vouchers Pick Up Traction Across
Wisconsin,” 21 March 2017).
This election is a clear
choice between a candidate who supports public education vs. one who is in
favor of further privatization of education.
See this article comparing the two candidates for even more detail: http://preview.tinyurl.com/mu4cpzw.
MINDFULNESS—GUEST SPEAKER CAROLE WILLE
ON APRIL 13, 11:00 WEST WIND
Nurse
Carole Wille will speak to our group about mindfulness. Carole has been involved in Holistic Studies
for 20 years. She started Healing Arts at St. John’s Hospital and is a
healing arts practitioner at St. Joseph Hospital in St. Paul. She is certified
in Healing Touch, Clinical Aromatherapy, Holistic Therapies, and Health and
Wellness Coaching.
Carole
will be talking about an approach to life called “mindfulness,” how we can help
ourselves by being more attuned to the mind/body relationship, a way to
discover the full potential of our energy system. She will describe
practices that promote balance, focus, and clarity in our life and explain how
we can focus our healing process through intention and meditation. Mindfulness
is "simply learning to listen to our body."
This
should be a great meeting. Please plan
to attend—and bring a friend!
SCHOLARSHIP
FUND—“NO BAKE BAKESALE”—APRIL 2017
This year we are trying something new.
Our big—and only—fundraiser for our scholarship fund over the years has
been our April bakesale. Our goal is to
match our fundraising from last year--$1100—though it would be nice to surpass
it. We provide two annual scholarships,
obligating us for $1,000 each year. So
far we have raised $385.
Please bring your scholarship
donation to the April meeting. If you
are unable to attend, send your donation to the Treasurer: Laura Zlogar, 729 River Ridge Rd., River
Falls, WI 54022.
We have a long way to go to meet our goal.
May and June Meetings
May 11—Prescott High
School Tour and Catered Lunch
1010 Dexter Street, Prescott,
Wisconsin
Here is the chance for all of
us to see a brand new school with the latest classroom technology and
amenities. Approved in an April 2014
referendum, Prescott High School opened in September 2016. The school features
lots of natural light, a central courtyard, and a large commons area where
students eat lunch. It also has an
auditorium that seats more than 500 people, a CNA certification classroom, a
family and consumer education lab, science lab classrooms, library, a distance
learning lab, and many other features.
We will be given a tour of
the school and learn what education in the 21st century looks like.
If you want to carpool, meet
at 10:30 a.m. at the Heritage Park lot at 232 W. Maple Street (across the
street from the River Falls City Hall.
June 8—Brewery Tour
and Lunch
At an earlier meeting, we
agreed that for our final meeting of the spring, we would like to tour a local
brewery and have lunch together. There
are several good ones in the area, several in Hudson. The Programming Committee (Ruth Wood, Bernie
Brohaugh, and Marylin Plansky) will choose one and will provide details at the
April or May meeting. If you have
recommendations, contact one of those members.
News Updates
Supreme Court Decision on Special
Education
As Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch spent a second day in his Senate
hearing, the Supreme Court overturned one of his lower court decisions
regarding the rights of special education students. “In Endrew F., the Supreme Court rejected a
standard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in
Denver, that under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, schools
must provide a ‘merely more than de minimis’ education program to a student
with a disability.
The court said schools must meet a higher standard” (Mark Walsh,
“Supreme Court’s Spec. Ed. Ruling Causes Heartburn for High Court Nominee,” Education Week 22 March 2017). In fact, Walsh states, “the high court had
unanimously—even rebuked—a legal standard that Gorsuch himself had relied on,
and arguably put his own stamp on.” Minnesota
Senator Amy Klobuchar questioned Gorsuch on his decision and pointed out that
Gorsuch had ruled for families in only 2 of 10 special education cases in which
he had participated.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a victory for children with special
needs and their families in attaining the best education possible for those
children.
Changes in pension
Legislators are at it again—trying to tamper with the pension system
of Wisconsin state employees. Sen. Duey
Stroebel (R-Saukville) and Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Tyler August (R-Lake
Geneva) are proposing again raising the retirement age from 55 to 60 for most
new public workers and changing the basis upon which pensions are calculated
from three to five years.
Stroebel tried to make similar changes during the last legislative
session, though his bill did not then get a hearing. He claims that he is trying to make sure that
WRS continues to be solvent, despite the pension fund is 99% fully funded.
Western Wisconsin Faces Falling
Status of Teachers
School districts across western Wisconsin are finding it more and more
difficult to recruit and retain teachers, according to a recent article in
WisContext (Scott Gordon, “Falling Status of Teachers: Fewer Young Educators Enter Profession, More
Seek Options Elsewhere,” 23 March 2017).
Part of the problem can be attributed to Act 10, Scott Walker’s law that
eliminated most collective bargaining for public employee unions in the state. But there are also other contributing
factors.
Bruce Quinton, superintendent of the Pepin Area School District,
maintains that teachers simply no longer feel valued as professionals, facing
“a professional landscape in which teachers face a paradoxical mix of high
expectations and falling societal status.”
Teacher education programs are facing declining enrollments, young
teachers leave the profession at increased rates, and those who remain leave
western Wisconsin for better opportunities elsewhere, all making teacher
retention a very serious problem in this part of the state.
Wisconsin Continues Slow Population
Growth
Wisconsin Public Radio recently reported that our state added 10,000
residents in 2016, a net population gain of only 0.2%.
Dane County gained more than 8,000 people last year. Eau Claire County, La Crosse County, and
Brown County are all seeing good increases.
Dane County accounted for half of the state’s population growth since
2010.
Milwaukee County, by contrast, saw a net decline of 4,800 people, with
greater growth of surrounding counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington
counties.
Wisconsin’s low growth is consistent with other states in the
Midwest. Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan
all had population growths of less than one percent. Illinois saw a population decrease of 37,000,
or 0.3%.
New Member—Adrianne
Lemberg
We want to welcome one our new 2016-17 members, Adrianne Lemberg, who
describes herself as happily retired after teaching Title 1 reading for the
last twenty years in the St. Croix School District. She says that she enjoyed working with
students of all ages but that most of her time was spent with young elementary
students.
Since her retirement, she is enjoying having the time to spend with
her friends and to travel to visit family.
She reads a lot and is involved with the quilting community.
Adrianne also likes animals and spends time with her two dogs, both
almost eleven years old. One is a
shorthair/lab mix and the other a Newfoundland.
She also began riding lessons two years ago and is seen here atop
Knickers.
Who Are We, and What Do
We Do?
A question was sent out to all of you about how we as members of the
River Falls Area Retired Educators’ Association see ourselves, how we would
describe our group and our function. As
we think about ways to grow our numbers, perhaps we can use these responses as
a starting point for further discussion.
· We attempt to
protect current teachers and protect their retirement income through advocacy
and education of our members and the greater community.
· We promote teaching
as a career through scholarships and support of area schools and teachers.
· Our organization needs to promote lobbyist work against
vouchers and destruction of public education.
· We also need to support teachers
and teaching.
· We need to lobby our legislature about the
appeal of teaching as a profession in this
state.
· We need to do more
socializing as well. Have events and get-togethers
that happen outside the boundaries of 11am every second Tuesday.
· We are past
educators who work to understand and support education for all students.
· We receive regular
updates regarding legislative actions that may affect us as retirees as well as
actions that may affect public education in our state.
· People should want
to join for fellowship with area retired educators. There is an interesting
program that is presented at each of our meetings that is tailored to our
members.
· Our group
helps us stay connected to education at the local level and have fun getting to
know each other.
· We should be a
resource to help area teachers and schools.
· We seek to support retired
educators with meetings and services designed for retired educators.
· RFAREA acts to support public
education with scholarships for students, recognition for teachers, and by
encouraging state financial support for public education.
· We see
our most important function as that of protecting the state retirement system.
The state legislature tried stealing our retirement funds in the
past, only to be taken to court and forced to pay it back. As a result,
Wisconsin has the only fully funded retirement system in the U.S. The
legislators know we are there and will be heard if they step out of line.
Minutes
for Meeting of March 9, 2017
Submitted
by Gail Possley, Secretary
Business:
1) Public Relations work is
needed to increase membership and attendance at out monthly meetings.
a. Members that haven’t paid their
annual dues will be encouraged to do so.
Treasurer has sent several
emails and notices regarding this.
b. Board members volunteered to
distribute fliers to area school districts informing them of the WRS Pension Fund meeting to be held at 4:30 on
Monday, April 3rd at the River
Falls High School Library.
2) Volunteer
judges are needed for the West Wide Elementary Science Fair on March 23rd
from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
3) The non-bake sale will suggest donations
ranging from $25-$50 to help reach our goal of $1,100.
4) There was discussion regarding revising the
Constitution and its bylaws. We will
have further discussion on this at the May Board meeting.
Meeting adjourned at
11:20.
The presenter for today’s social
part of the meeting was Brian Reardon, PT, from Kinnic Health and
Rehabilitation, River Falls. Brian
stated that the focus of today’s presentation was tri-fold. He demonstrated exercises for improving
muscular strength, mobility and balance.
He distributed handouts on exercises to improve these three
aspects. His intent was to help decrease
falling in older adults. He stressed the
importance of discussing medications with your physician to make sure that the
wrong medications aren’t being combined or that their effects may contribute to
increased falling and imbalance problems.
Science Fair at Westside Elementary
Four members of the RFArea REA
served as judges for the annual Westside Elementary School Science Fair: Evelyn Johnson, Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn, Lesley
Williams, and Laura Zlogar. The kids
were great, their projects were impressive, and everyone had lots of fun. It was a great way for us to show our support
for public education.
