From Board of Directors: Does RFArea Retired Educators’ Association
Continue or Should We Disband?
RFAREA
Members:
We
have a big decision to make.
The
good news is that we have volunteers for officer positions for next year.
But we have not yet elected officers because, at the time of the May
meeting, our nominating committee had not found enough volunteers to fill these
positions. As a result, the board and members attending the May meeting
discussed the possibility of dissolving our local WREA unit, RFArea Retired
Educators’ Association. Thus, it seems that our group needs to decide what
RFArea’s future will look like.
Volunteers
for officer positions include Gail Possley for president, Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn
for vice president, and Tom Possley for both treasurer and legislative chair.
Patty Hulne has agreed to serve as secretary if no one else comes
forward. Laura Zlogar is willing to continue as newsletter editor. Larry
Harred, Ruth Wood, and Don Leake might be willing to do some work on
programming. Tony Pedriana will continue to coordinate scholarships. We
thank them all.
We
can vote on officers at our September meeting. But we still need
volunteers for a number of jobs, including the membership committee and program
committee.
We
also need to discuss whether there are solutions to our organization’s ongoing
problems: 1) the same people, again and again, do most of the organization’s
work, and it is hard to fill officer positions; 2) though we have 40 or so
members, usually fewer than half that many attend our meetings; 3) we have
difficulty attracting new members.
Next
September’s meeting will be the last one at which the current officers will
serve. That meeting will give us an opportunity to discuss our fate, vote
on new officers if we decide to remain active, or discuss what to do with the
money in the treasury if we decide to disband.
Right
now, however, we need to know what the membership thinks about this issue.
We have a social meeting on June 13 at 3:30 PM at the Swinging Bridge
Brewery in River Falls, and perhaps we can discuss the issue informally then.
But please give this matter some serious thought so that you can offer
your input at the September meeting, volunteer to give some of your time to
RFAREA, or share your thoughts with a member of the board before next fall.
We
want this to be a decision that involves all of us.
_______________________________________________________________
President’s Corner— Looking Back and Ahead
By Roger Hulne
The September Meeting will be my last as RFAreaREA President.
I have enjoyed my three years as President. Bernie asked me to serve as President after
my first year of retirement. I am glad I said yes. I have met many wonderful
people and made friendships while we worked together. I am pleased we have provided scholarships to
deserving students, supported the backpack program and the area food shelf,
provided WRS informational sessions, and supported education while ensuring our
WRS pension remains secure.
I want to recognize Laura Zlogar who has been the backbone of our
organization as Treasurer, Membership Chair as well as putting together our
newsletter. A special thanks goes out to Gail Possley for serving as
Secretary and volunteering to help wherever needed. Thanks for Jane Harred by
serving as Vice President and taking over for me while I was gone in May.
Larry Harred has done a wonderful job with our interesting programs. Tony Pedriana has always followed through
with our scholarship program. Special
thanks for Bernie Brohaugh and Marylin Plansky for their hours of work on the
board and helping whenever needed. I am sure I have missed some people
and want to thank all who have made our organization work.
I will continue to be active in RFAreaREA as Past President.
I applaud and support our new slate of officers to be approved in
September: Gail Possley President, Bonnie Jones Withuhn Vice President, Tom Possley
Treasurer, Patricia Hulne Secretary, and Larry Harred, Don Leake, and Ruth Wood
programming committee. We need the
involvement of all of our members to be successful; the future of our
organization depends on it.
RFAreaREA-Sponsored WRS Presentation a
Success
 |
Vice President Jane Harred addresses
attendees at the May retirement meeting. |
On May 8, at the River Falls High School library, RFAREA hosted an
informational seminar on preparing for retirement. Earl Jewett, WREA
member and retiree from the Fond du Lac public schools, gave some 50 attendees
help in understanding the Wisconsin Retirement System and the process of
retiring.
After the presentation, many attendees stopped to say that they
found it extremely useful and to express appreciation for our efforts in
sponsoring it.
We had a lot of help making the event successful. Thanks to
Roger Hulne and Jane Harred for organizing it; to Laura Zlogar and Roger for
publicizing the event; to Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn, Ruth Wood, Tom Possley, Karen
Brohaugh, and Marylin Plansky for providing refreshments; to Bernie and Karen
Brohaugh for accepting and cataloguing pre-registrations; to Bonnie, Tom,
Marylin, Bernie, Laura, Jane, and Larry Harred for helping at the event; and to
Jeanette Potts, Kathleen Drecktrah, and Ruth Wood for volunteering to provide a
little extra help if needed.
Annual Scholarships Awarded
Our scholarship committee has chosen the recipients of the two
$500 scholarships that RFAREA gives annually to area high school students.
Sara Nagel worked as a
volunteer mentor to younger students. She was a Student Council representative,
a member of the National Honor Society, and ran Cross Country.
Elizabeth
Wacker
was active in Forensics, tutored younger students, and was a member of the
Power Lifting Team. She, too, was a member of the National Honor Society. Both recipients are from New Richmond, and both had extensive experience as community volunteers. Tom Possley
made the presentations to Sara and Elizabeth at New Richmond High School’s
award ceremony.
Tony Pedriana, chair of the scholarship
committee, and volunteers Cheryl Maplethorpe, Glenn Potts, and Jane Harred
selected the recipients from among some 25 applicants. In reviewing the
applications, Tony and the others considered the responses applicants made to
questions regarding their chosen academic fields, likely careers, and
leadership abilities as well as their GPAs and AP courses.
A couple
years ago, we opted for a “Bakeless Bake Sale” rather than a literal bake sale
to support our scholarship program. Each
year RFArea REA invites high schools seniors in our district to apply for two
$500 academic scholarships. Districts
are divided into two groups, making students in those districts eligible every
other year.
Tony
Pedriana chairs our Scholarship Committee and has been working with this year’s
eligible schools to encourage students to apply. The committee will be reading applications
and awarding scholarships during April.
With the snowstorm in April, our
scholarship campaign got a little derailed.
But you can still contribute to our scholarship fund since scholarships
are not actually distributed until next January. Please be generous and send
your contributions to the scholarship fund to RFArea REA at 729 River Ridge Ct,
River Falls, WI 54022.
RFArea REA Donates to the River Falls Food Pantry
The
RFAreaREA Board agreed that we would collect money and/or food contributions
for the local Food Pantry at our May meeting.
As we have mentioned before, Pierce County has a significant number of
residents who face food insecurity each month.
Our Education Outreach activity this year, contribution to the Food
Backpack Program, addressed some of this need.
We would now like to do more and to contribute to the local food bank.
You can
still contribute to this endeavor. With
the school year coming to an end, many children will be missing the meals and
weekend backpacks. Food insecurity in
our community is very real, and the food pantry fills a serious need. You have
time to send your contribution to RFAreaREA at 729 River Ridge Ct, River Falls
54022. Make sure to designate the food pantry on your check—and do it soon!
WREA District III
Spring Meeting
By Tom Possley
The District III meeting was held on Thursday, May 9 at Greenwood
Hills Golf Course in Wausau. I represented our unit at the meeting. Lynne Kagelmann,
District III Director, was presiding.
Executive Director Diane Wilcenski reported several key facts about
WREA:
· WREA
members had over $7 million in volunteer hours.
· RFAReaREA
contributed 2,265 hours, worth $54,360.
· A
big gala is planned for 2026 for the 75th anniversary of WREA.
· The
state’s education budget is presenting major conflicts between the governor and
legislature.
· Our
local also earned a $75 voucher to be used toward signing up for the state
convention or next year’s district meeting. That was earned for signing up 4
new members.
We then broke into groups to discuss four things: A possible name
change for the WREA to get more members, an increase in dues to make up for
losses due to membership decreases, how to get new members, and how to
strengthen your local.
The Foundation Challenge Award went to a charter school in
Marathon that conducted a study in climate change.
The afternoon was devoted to an introduction to the new website
for WREA and reports that will be sent to each local about members.
The packets for retirees were delivered to New Richmond. That was
the only school in our district that replied to the state WREA as to the number
of possible retirees.
Meeting
Minutes—April and May
Mother
Nature won in April with a nasty snowstorm causing us to cancel our monthly
meeting. Guest speaker and RFAreaREA
member Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn rescheduled her presentation to the May meeting.
Before
Bonnie’s presentation, the Board met to review the May 8th WRS
informational meeting and to discuss the serious matter of RFAreaREA’s
continued existence. While we finally
got volunteers to fill the roster of unit officers, we see that we are simply
shuffling the same people into different slots. We haven’t solved the problems
of other members assuming leadership roles and diminishing numbers of active
members. At the general meeting, all those
in attendance agreed to bring the matter to the full membership.
Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn, Director of
Among Friends, a local social respite program for those with memory loss and
their caregivers, provided an introduction to the program—the only one in all
of Pierce County. Many of RFAreaREA
members volunteer at Among Friends—Julie Persico, Kathleen Drecktrah, Jane and
Larry Harred, Ruth Wood, and Laura Zlogar.
For those
with memory loss, social interaction is crucial. Research has shown that regular social
activities help to slow memory loss.
Among Friends provides meaningful activities for its participants—chair
yoga, music, games that promote physical movement, art activities, and others.
It might just be a quiet conversation, it might be sanding a birdhouse or
polishing horse tackle, it might be planting herbs, or it might be petting a
visiting dog. All help to provide
stimulus and memories.
Just as
important is the time that Among Friends affords caregivers to replenish
themselves, allowing them an opportunity to have lunch with friends, take a
walk, get that dentist appointment or haircut, or any of the small things that
often don’t get done given the responsibilities they have to care for their
loved ones.
Among
Friends is available on Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the First Congregational
Church in River Falls. If you would like
to visit, please drop by. If you would
like to volunteer, please contact Bonnie.
You can find information about the program at https://amongfriendsrf.com/
Education
News
The Joint Finance Committee
(12 Republicans, 4 Democrats) approved an K-12
education budget that funds only one-third of the governor’s request of
$1.4 billion. The governor’s plan
included sparsity aid for rural districts and a move towards restoring the cuts
to public education that Scott Walker and the Republican legislature have
implemented over the past decade. The governor requested $600 million for
special education. Republicans offered $50 million, an 83% cut from the
governor’s proposal.
After 8 years of UW System cuts totaling over $1
billion, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee rejected the governor’s
proposal for the UW System. Rep. Chris
Taylor points out that a new report “puts Wisconsin among the state with the
largest decline in higher education spending between 2013 and 2018. Only Mississippi, West Virginia, and Oklahoma
saw larger declines.” Governor Evers’
proposal of $127 million in new investments was reduced to $45 million—and only
for projects that the JFC approves.
Republicans refused to fund a tuition freeze for the fourth consecutive
budget. Evers’ plan was to compensate campuses for the lost revenue with $50.4
million in general purpose revenue.
Evers also wanted $45 million over the next two years for student
success and attainment and $10 million to create a new nurse educators program
to address the state’s nursing shortage. He also proposed an environmental
education program at UW-Stevens Point covered by $500,000 in conservation fund
dollars. All of these proposals were
rejected. The committee approved $70 million less over the biennium for UW
System than Evers proposed, which does not even keep up with the rate of
inflation.
A new study finds—not surprisingly—that
Wisconsin lags behind other Midwestern states in attracting highly educated
workers. The Wisconsin Policy Forum
reports that, based on 2017 data, “20% of Wisconsin natives ages 31 to 40 who
moved away from the state were highly educated,” defined as having earned a
bachelor’s degree or higher. Only 10% of
those born elsewhere and moved to the state were highly educated (Channel 3000
31 May 2019).
The skilled worker gap in
Wisconsin is the eighth highest in the country while Illinois and Minnesota
gained educated workers.
Despite such data, state
legislators refuse to invest in education at sufficient levels to narrow this
gap and to make our state economy competitive.
Other
State News
The budget committee has
rejected Governor Evers’ clean water
initiatives intended to reduce pollution from farms and industry. The committee cut $43 million from Evers’
“year of clean drinking water” programs to reduce pollution in state lakes,
streams, and drinking water. In 2018,
101 manure spills were reported across the state, making more than 10 million
gallons spilled over the last 12 years.
The budget committee also
rejected the governor’s request to create a Natural Resources Science Bureau and to regulate “concentrated
animal feeding operation (CAFO) regulation.”
According to some sources, the latter is a win for the factory farms
polluting ground water across the state.
Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin, according to an independent actuarial firm, would lower
premiums on the individual health insurance market between 7 and 11
percent. While Republicans claim
covering 82,00 more people would increase insurance prices, the actuarial firm
found that 25,000 to 30,000 people would shift from the marketplace to Medicaid
if the requirements were moved from 100% to 138% of poverty.
America’s Health Rankings
placed Wisconsin first in the nation in 2018 for excessive drinking, which is defined as either binge drinking (4 or
more drinks for women, five or more for men on one occasion in the past 30 days)
or chronic drinking (having 8 or more drinks for women, 15 or more for men per
week). Consumption of this much alcohol regularly comes at a high price. A 2012 study estimated that it cost the state
more than $6.8 billion--$418 million from vehicle crashes, $649 million from
criminal justice, $749 million from health care, $90 million from other costs,
and $4.9 from lost productivity (Kyla Calvert Mason, Wisconsin Public Radio 20
May 2019).
Farmers in Wisconsin are facing a tough spring with all the wet weather we have had. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that only 46%
of state’s corn acres have been planted, two weeks behind the five-year average
of 82% planted at this point in the season.
May 31 is the federal crop insurance deadline, which means that many of
the remaining corn acres won’t be planted at all this year. Dairy will also be affected since it depends
on corn for cattle feed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that in 2014, Wisconsin had
10,000 farms and that in the past five years we have lost almost a quarter of
them. The pace of farm losses is
accelerating, with 302 lost already this year (16 May 2019).
Market
Watch Lauds Wisconsin Retirement System
The national publication Market Watch featured the Wisconsin
Retirement System in a May 6, 2019 article.
“Wisconsin by the numbers is among the five best funded systems in the
country, but what sets it apart even further is just how thoughtful the state has
been on paying what has come due, and in laying out policies that plan for the
future. In that regard, it’s good as it gets for a state-run public pension
system,” says Greg Mennis of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Contrast Wisconsin’s system to that of Illinois, Connecticut,
and New Jersey, whose funds will not meet the needs of their retirees due to
the states’ failure to make contributions and overly optimistic expected
returns.
Market Watch states: “The
assets in Wisconsin’s public pension plan amounted to $104 billion in 2017,
leaving it 100% funded, a record it has roughly kept since 2004. In other words, the current value of the
plan’s investments could pay down nearly all of the retirement benefits of its
members. This compares with the average funding level of 73 for the year across
all states.”
WRS is a bargain for the state. In 2016, it spent 2.13% of the
state budget on public pension in comparison to 4.74% contribution rate of
other states. Part of its success is
also the shared risk all of us in the system face, a model now being adopted by
several other states.
The problem with other public pensions is the state government’s
failure to make payments into the pension fund.
Wisconsin has largely avoided that mistake. However, in
1987, Governor Tommy Thompson raided WRS. It took a decade and a decision by
the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the state to return the money to the pension
fund.
WREA,
WRS, and Membership
By Laura Zlogar
Wisconsin Retired Educators’
Association (WREA) is the only organization in the state whose
primary focus is safeguarding our pensions as well as standing up for public
education and other issues that affect retirees’ quality of life.
Retirees who remember
Governor Thompson’s raid of our pension funds are getting to be fewer and
fewer. They recall vividly the fears they had about their retirement security.
They faced the prospect of a future they were promised being taken from them.
Today’s retirees, if they
know anything at all about the crisis of 1987, don’t seem to care much. They
assume that all of that danger is ancient history and that someone is surely
taking care of our pension funds and that we can plan our vacation trips,
maintain our cabins up north, and can be assured that our checks will
automatically be deposited into our bank accounts without worry.
But we can no longer assume
that things will be as they have always been.
We are seeing on a daily basis that norms, principles, and good faith
practices by institutions and individuals are being overturned and ignored at
every turn. Supreme Court decisions,
such as Brown vs. the Board of Education, that have been accepted as
established law are now on such shaky ground that nominees for lifetime
judicial appointments won’t wager an opinion on whether they are open to the
legal reestablishment of separate and unequal—“racial apartheid”—education in
this country. Truths that we thought the Founding Fathers carved in the stones
of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers seem to be nothing
more than chimeras disappearing in the political winds.
A 1997 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that
returned our money to our pension might not be a guaranteed precedent. It does not mean that another governor,
another state legislature, and another state supreme court can’t reverse course
and gut WRS again.
What is to prevent such an
event from happening? Vigilance, plain
and simple—the vigilance of thousands of people watching legislators’ actions
in Madison. Our WREA representatives can
only do so much, however, and they need the authority gained from the
membership as well as active state and local participation of retired members
of the WRS pension system.
What can you do?
1.
Renew your
membership both to WREA and to your local unit to show your support of our
organization’s purpose and activity.
2.
Contact everyone
you know who is a WRS annuitant and urge them to join and participate in both
our state organization and local units.
A local
membership chair cannot do all the work herself or himself. Even a committee can only do so much. YOU
KNOW OTHERS. You worked with them, have coffee with them, belong to their
book clubs, see them at church, or at other civic groups. We all know that personal contacts work
best. We need you to invite the people
you know or to contact your district or school to find out who has retired
recently and to ask them—perhaps more than once—to attend a meeting.
3.
Talk about WREA
and RFAreaREA to your friends and acquaintances. So many people don’t even know about us, even
if they attended our retirement meetings at the high school. Talk to them about
the importance of protecting their pensions and the education system to which
they devoted their careers.
Too many people seem to be
satisfied to let others carry their load, to watch others fight their battles
for them, and then to enjoy the bounty and security of others’ efforts. Belonging to WREA and to our local unit and
actively participating in both is your commitment to join the fray, to stand up
for what you have earned and committed yourself to over the course of your
working life.
Just as important is your
willingness to step up and play an active role in the state and local
organizations. This newsletter began
with the serious question of whether our local unit will even continue to
exist. If standing up for your pension
and for the children, young people, teachers, and administrators in Wisconsin
public education is important, raise your hand to assume a committee chair or
assignment, to volunteer in local initiatives, and to be counted as someone who
didn’t just stand by passively when action was required.
In a unit on the Holocaust I
used to teach in a UW-River Falls senior humanities capstone course, one essay
seemed to move students so much that several wrote to me years later asking for
a copy of it—Cynthia Ozick’s “Of Christian Heroism.” She describes the categories of people caught
up in the horrors of World War II: the victims, the murderers, and the bystanders. Ozick maintains that we cannot imagine
ourselves as members of either of the first two categories, but we may be able
to identify with the bystanders, “the ordinary human article,” as she calls
them: “The bystander stays home, safe
enough if compliant enough. The bystander cannot be charged with taking part in
any evil act; the bystander only watches as the evil proceeds.”
While I am not proposing that
we are in a similar situation as described by Ozick, she makes a point about
the indifference of bystanders that has stuck with me since I first read this
essay:
Can
it be that indifference, ostensibly passive, harbors an unsuspected
robustness? The act of turning toward—with
a club—is an act of brutality; but the act of turning away, however
empty-handed and harmlessly, remains nevertheless an act. The whole truth may be
that the idea of human passivity is nothing but the illusion of wistful
mortals; and that waking into the exigencies of our own time—whichever way we
turn, toward or away—implies action. To
be born is to be compelled to act.
It seems like a good time to
act in whatever context you feel appropriate.
I hope action in support of WREA and RFAreaREA is part of your plan.
