RFArea REA Newsletter--April 2017

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 21^st 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 10^th 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 3^rd at the River Falls High School Library.

2)  Volunteer judges are needed for the West Wide Elementary Science Fair on March 23^rd 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.