NEOEA

So many meetings!

2011-04-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

NEA Annual Meeting veterans know that what we commonly describe as the "NEA RA" or the "NEA Annual Meeting" Schedule consists actually of dozens of meetings. You may find it very useful to bookmark the following link, which provides an online schedule of the many meetings currently scheduled at the Annual Meeting: http://www.nea.org/grants/2011-annual-meeting-agenda.html.

In addition, NEOEA delegates will want to plan for the following events:

Friday, July 1: the NEOEA delegate caucus, at the end of the Ohio caucus;

Sunday, July 3: NEOEA Night at Tommy Gun's Garage.

Finally, this post provides an opportunity to let delegates know about an "meeting," of sorts, that many northeastern Ohio delegates look forward to each year but which never appears on the online schedule. This would be the annual delegate religious services, which will take place on Sunday, July 3, about fifteen minutes after adjournment. (This may require some fancy stepping to make it to Tommy Gun's!) Typically delegates may select between a Roman Catholic Mass and an interdenominational prayer service.

Leave the Driving to Us

2011-04-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

As usual at this time, we don't have complete lists of NEA delegates, so we're sending this message to local presidents and to last year's NEA delegates. Please pass along to those who may be interested.

NEA RA Bus: "Leave the Driving to Us"

Looking for an alternative way to get to Chicago for this year's RA? If so, you may want to consider riding with NEOEA.

NEOEA has arranged for a chartered bus to Chicago for the NEA Representative Assembly. The bus will travel to Chicago on Wednesday, June 29, and return on Wednesday, July 6. The central pickup point will be the NEOEA office in Garfield Heights; additional pickup points east and west will be assigned based on demand. The bus will drop us off in Chicago directly at the Ohio headquarters hotel. The fare is $140.

Projected departure from NEOEA is at 9:00 AM EDT; projected arrival time at our hotel in Chicago is 3:00 PM CDT. (Other departure times will be figured once we know the other pickup points.) For the return trip, the projected departure from the hotel is at 9:00 AM CDT with a projected arrival time at NEOEA of 5:00 PM EDT.

We announced this opportunity at the NEOEA RA at Westlake and distributed fliers there; additional versions are available online:

a PDF version (for completion by hand) is available at http://www.neoea.org/RAbus.pdf;

an RTF version (to fill out on your computer) is available at http://www.neoea.org/RAbus.rtf.

For more news about the northeastern Ohio delegation to the NEA Annual Meeting, follow the NEOEA blog online at http://www.neoea.blogspot.com/.

Notes from Camp: July 6

2010-07-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Delegates Finish Packed Agenda

Ohio's 332 tired delegates met at 7:00 for their last caucus of this Representative Assembly. They actually managed to finish considering positions on all New Business Items presented to the RA. The caucus ended with congratulations and thanks to the many delegates who had worked in significant volunteer positions, and a special thank-you by Lakewood delegate Kim Vivolo to retiring Ohio NEA Director Nanci DiBianca, who was warmly acknowledged by the delegates.

Yesterday's posting mentioned some of the NBIs that dealt with issues only marginally connected--if at all--to education topics. Today brought discussion of another, NBI 55, from a Florida delegate, which would have had NEA "support state affiliates' efforts to pass state legislation banning the use of hand-held call phones while operating a motor vehicle." And, with a modification, this one passed.

After the first 90 minutes of new business consideration, delegates honored NEA's 2010 Friend of Education, Diane Ravitch. The education historian, who served as Secretary of Education under President George Bush (41) and continued to influence federal education policy under President Bill Clinton, was a strong proponent in the nineties of school choice, high-stakes testing, and institutional reforms. In 2010, Ravitch published The Death and Life of the Great American School System, in which she explains how she came to realize that these three items were actually damaging American public education.

In her acceptance speech, she emphasized the importance of teachers defending their profession: "You know, a lot of teachers don’t pay attention to the national scene. They are busy teaching kids. They don’t pay attention to what’s happening in Washington. But when the Central Falls staff, the entire staff, was fired without a single teacher having an evaluation, the message went out that there is a new game of punishing teachers. And the message also went out when this was endorsed by Secretary Duncan and then reaffirmed by President Obama. This is not a good message."

Ravitch blasted high-stakes testing, saying it might lead to higher test scores but not to real learning. She attacked merit pay because it undermines team work and has no support in education research. She warned that public school choice and more charter schools could split the public school system into one system for haves and one for have-nots, because many charter schools skim the best students.

To these comments, she added remarks about the value of teacher unions: "Teachers have a right to a collective voice in the political process. It’s the American way. I don’t see the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post or the pundits complaining about the charter school lobby. I don’t see them complaining about the investment bankers lobby, or any other group that speaks on behalf of its members. Only teachers’ unions are demonized these days."

After Ravitch's speech, it was time for more New Business, then a brief break, and then still more New Business. By comparison with the amount of time spent on NBIs, the Legislative Policies, Resolutions, and amendments to the organization's Constitution and Bylaws, delegates took only a few minutes to approve the organization's strategic plan and budget, and by that time the RA was almost concluded.

After a few more traditional events, including a "welcome" video about Chicago, the site of next year's RA, and acceptance speeches from officers elected at the RA, it was time for the RA to conclude. This year's RA was officially adjourned at 7:24 PM.

A few numbers:

Of NEOEA's 192 locals, 42 sent delegates to the RA (22%).
Those locals include 12,970 of NEOEA's 33,275 members (39%).

WSL

Notes from Camp: July 5

2010-07-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

A Quiet Start to a Noisy Day

The caucus started to an unwelcome surprise: no microphones! With some judicious use of playground and cafeteria voices, we were still able to begin the caucus on time. It wasn't long before the sound system was working: it came on line just before NEA President Dennis Van Roekel visited the delegation to an enthusiastic welcome from Ohio delegates.

Shortly after Dennis's greeting, the caucus was visited by John Stocks, the NEA's Deputy Executive Director. He spoke clearly and forcefully about the importance of the 2010 election to Ohio educators and about the importance of the Ohio elections to the rest of the country. "You are the pivotal point in the country," he told us.

New Business Items, Resolutions, and Legislative Amendments dominated the business today, both in the caucus and at the Representative Assembly itself. Although delegates have waded through a thicket of NBIs dealing with federal education policy, especially ESEA and RttT, attention turned to other policy decisions.

The caucus was able to consider about 20 proposed amendments to NEA's legislative program and take positions on NBIs through #36, although the RA was to get further than that later in the day.

Both at the caucus and at the RA, I was able to think about the truth of Stock's statement and the reasons why Ohio is such a pivotal swing state. Many of the items considered today come from what might be called NEA's "liberal wing." (To our opponents, the whole organization is one big liberal wing, but they've never seen it in action to witness its incredible diversity of thought and opinion.) Today the RA considered NBIs and Legislative Amendments submitted by delegates addressing a wide variety of causes, many having at most only an incidental relationship to education:

the environmental cleanup from the oil disaster in the Gulf;
the economic impact of the bank meltdown;
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;
expanded nurse-midwifery services in poor communities.

Ohio delegates in general tend to oppose considering these issues because they generally want the NEA to deal with educational issues only. But (and here's the Ohio insight) even within our delegation, there is tremendous diversity of opinion on these issues, with some delegates arguing passionately for some issues that ultimately would fail to win the support of Ohio delegates in caucus and the other delegates on the floor of the RA.

But it wasn't all business. Delegates honored the 2010 Teacher of the Year, Iowa's Sarah Brown Wessling, who provided what may have been the quote of the day. She recounted how as a child, she would "play teacher," setting up a pretend schoolhouse in her garage. She insisted on discipline and order, she said. But later, she learned that teaching was about much more than just discipline and order, and she came to realize that as a child she had only been playing at school. Referring to our education system is its present challenged state, she said, "I think our system is playing at school."

The whole thing draws to an end tomorrow. Somehow, we'll get through all 99 New Business Items before we adjourn. Delegations will be holding adjournment pools to see who can most accurately predict the time of adjournment--which has been anywhere from before 6:00 to after midnight.

No one person sees the whole thing! Other observations are always welcome. Just use the "comment" link that appears below.

WSL

Notes from Camp: July 4

2010-07-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Delegates "Turn Hope into Action"

"Turning Hope into Action" was set months ago as the theme for this year's Representative Assembly. The phrase has a double meaning: "hope," of course, was a theme of the Obama Presidential campaign in 2008, but as the Obama administration approaches its halfway point, running through deliberations this week is a feeling that so far some of the adminstration's actions haven't been the right kind.

Today's Ohio caucus began with the usual Fourth of July sights: delegates in patriotic-themed hats, glasses, vests, pants, and jewelry in honor of the Independence Day Holiday.

The pace of caucus activity picked up a great deal today, as Ohio delegates continued recommending positions on New Business Items. Ohio delegates today got through NBIs up to NBI 36: forty New Business Items including the four lettered NBIs submitted by the Board of Directors.

Once at the RA, delegates began going through the New Business Items, of which 52 had been submitted before the day began.

Delegates had already passed NBI A (mentioned in yesterday's post), which was a pretty strong criticism of some characteristics of the Race to the Top, and NBI B, which set forth some expectations for repairing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

However, delegates fiercely debated NBI 2, which goes somewhat further. The entire text: "While the National Education Association Representative Assembly supports and appreciates the significant increase in federal funding for education, the NEA takes a position of no confidence in the US Department of Education's Race to the Top competitive grant policies and guidelines, the use of competitive grant policies and guidelines as a basis for the reauthorization of ESEA, and similar initiatives and policies that undermine public education." Some delegates argued that this is an intemperate position that doesn't reflect political realities, while others argued that members' loss of confidence in the Department of Education is hard to deny. Even in the depths of the Bush administration, NEA never took a no-confidence vote on the Department of Education; opponents of NBI 2 argued that our enemies would seize on this statement to attack the Obama administration on education issues.

In the end, NBI 2 passed. While the margin wasn't close enough to require a counted vote, it was still pretty narrow: I'd estimate the margin to be no greater than 55%-45%.

Still, delegates turned down some more action-oriented proposals. Delegates defeated NBI 12, which called for a "national day of action to protect and improve public education," and the NBI 17, which called for NEA to "organize an educators march on Washington, D.C. to highlight the frustration surrounding NCLB, ESEA Reauthorization, Race to the Top, and the constant anti-teacher rhetoric in the name of public education reform."

Evening saw NEOEA delegates headed to Mulate's for a Cajun dinner and, in many cases, from there to the Riverwalk for fireworks over the Mississippi.

Two days of the RA down, and two more to go!

WSL

Notes from Camp: July 3

2010-07-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

RA Developing Strong Positions on RttT, ESEA

This was the first morning at which the Ohio caucus met at what will be its regular time of 7:00. The RA itself has its latest start of the week on this day, giving the delegates until 11:00 to make the transition from hotels to Convention Center. Starting tomorrow, the RA will start at 10:00, so we'll have to move quickly to get there on time.

The theme emerging for this year's RA is anger, and that was addressed at both the caucus and the RA.

Delegates who wondered what the tone would be had their questions answered when President Dennis Van Roekel said in his keynote address, "Plain and simple – this is not the change I hoped for. Our members feel betrayed and so do I! Our members are angry. So am I!" Many delegates share the anger at Race to the Top, the government's competitive grant program that has been a nonstarter with most educators.

But the anger isn't directed just at RttT, which was part of the administration's stimulus plan. Delegates are also aware that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, laughably nicknamed No Child Left Behind by the Bush administration, is due for reauthorization and still has issues that need to be addressed. Delegates roared their approval when Van Roekel told them, "We must not allow another bad ESEA. Because if they take the old NCLB, fancy it up and call it the new ESEA, I think we ought to just call it TNT and blow the whole damn thing up!"

Delegates proceeded to pass a series of New Business Items attacking four key issues affecting education today.

NBI A makes it clear that "NEA opposes any effort by the United States Department of Education or its Secretary . . . , states or school districts, to undermine educators' rights or the basic right of all students to have access to a great public school." The NBI goes on to enumerate and attack increasingly-prevalent characteristics of federal and state education policy.
NBI B commits NEA to improving ESEA, and identifies characteristics to be required in an improved ESEA.
NBI C expresses NEA’s "commitment to . . . the immigration process, protecting the integrity of the family unit, and assuring that every child/student, regardless of his or her immigration status or the immigration status of his or her parents, has the right to a free public education in a safe and supportive environment."
NBI D aims at recent curricular attacks, most notably in Texas, and warns that "scholarly academic research should not be dismissed or diminished simply because it contradicts a school board member's political or religious views."

Debates over these issues dominated the Representative Assembly session. At the conclusion of the RA, many delegates headed off to religious services, scheduled for this Saturday evening since Sunday this weekend is the Fourth of July.

Tomorrow, some delegates will try to get the RA to make an even stronger condemnation of Race to the Top with NBI 2, which, if passed, will take a position of "no confidence in the US Department of Education's Race to the Top competitive grant policies and guidelines."

WSL

Notes from Camp: July 2

2010-07-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Ohio Holds First Caucus in Host City

Ohio is one of the relatively few states that hold a delegate caucus before the Annual Meeting week: ours took place on Saturday, June 5. So some states had already held a caucus in New Orleans before today, when our delegates caucused in the host city for the first time.

This made for a relatively easy day: the starting time was 7:30 instead of 7:00, as it will be starting tomorrow. And the caucus didn't need to decide too much business today: delegates had already decided some endorsements and taken positions on amendments to the Standing Rules, Constitution and Bylaws.

Tomorrow morning delegates will find quickly that they have some deciding to do. Each year the RA considers dozens--sometimes over a hundred--New Business Items (NBIs). The first few NBIs each year come from the NEA Board of Directors, and those are lettered rather than numbered. This year the Board has submitted four NBIs, lettered "A" through "D." NBI "A" is a strong warning against some of the federal education policies that the current administration has endorsed under the leadership of Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan. Ohio's Steering Committee will meet tomorrow morning and recommend a position to the caucus, but the caucus will as usual make up its own mind.

The text of NBI "A," as well as the texts of all NBIs, is available at http://www.nea.org/grants/33354.htm.

The Board has submitted four NBIs. As I write this, delegates have submitted another six. Those will almost certainly proliferate in the days ahead.

WSL

Notes from Camp: July 1

2010-07-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Years ago, when I attended the NEA Annual Meeting as a local delegate, I began sending "Notes from Camp." These were reports back to friends and colleagues who had expressed an interest in keeping up-to-date with events occurring there. I attend now as a staff member and not a local delegate, but the reaction from various associates continues to be positive. So here's a report on this year's NEA Annual Meeting in Nea Orleans. Delegates should feel free to add their own comments: there's a link to allow you to do that.--Bill Lavezzi, executive director

Thursday, July 1, 2010

It isn't like annual meeting events actually began today: NEA has been holding various conferences since last week, and some leaders have been in town for a week. But the way NEA counts the days, today was the first day of the Annual Meeting. By the evening tonight, probably 95% of Ohio's delegates had arrived, and most of those had registered in the Ohio delegation headquarters in the Melrose Room on the third floor.

Registration and exhibits opened at the Convention Center this morning, so many delegates headed there to register and to pick up literature and assorted freebies from the various exhibitors. Leaders of state delegations were interviewing candidates for NEA positions that will be elected on Saturday.

For many delegates, this is a good day to see the host city. They don't have a lot of responsibilities yet: the RA itself won't start until Friday, and states like Ohio won't hold their first caucuses in the host city until tomorrow. The weather here has been seasonably hot and humid, but with more wind and rain than usual due to Hurrican Alex a few hundred miles away. Today there was less rain than the past couple of days, so a lot of delegates took advantage of the break to explore the French Quarter, take one of the numerous tours of the city, visit the World War II Museum, walk the Riverwalk, or see other local attractions. Some delegates discovered that Mother's Restaurant on Poydras has a great $5 early-bird breakfast. Just in time, too: starting tomorrow, delegates will have a continental breakfast at the caucus.

The big event of this evening is always Ohio Night, which is OEA's welcome of delegates to the host city. This year's Ohio Night offered dinner along with desserts, cash bars, a DJ, and dancing. It went on until midnight, but it had to do so without me: tomorrow's first caucus starts at 7:30.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://www.ratodayonline.org/.

Big Easy Made Easier

2010-06-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

A few odds and ends as we all settle in the Big Easy:

1) Do you find that every once in a while you need the address or telephone number of your hotel (for a map search or the like)? Well, now you have it.

Hilton New Orleans Riverside: 2 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70140, (504) 561-0500
Loews New Orleans: 300 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, (504) 267-2081

2) We've posted a map of New Orleans at http://neoea.org/gov/NEAmap.pdf.

3) We posted a calendar online at http://neoea.org/gov/NEAcalendar.pdf (see the post from June 14). But even if you don't look at that schedule, you should know some key dates.

Remaining NEOEA shirts available (for those who ordered them) at the NEOEA table at the July 2 Ohio caucus
NEOEA caucus: 9:30 AM on Friday, July 2, right after conclusion of the Ohio caucus
NEOEA Night at Mulate's: Sunday, July 4 (see the post from June 1 for more information)
NEOEA shirt day (and class photo): Monday, July 5

4) Speaking of the NEOEA table, you'll see a new face there this year: Lisa Steigerwald-Kana, president of the Campbell EA, will be at the table to help delegates from northeastern Ohio.

Cleveland Airport long-term parking discount

2010-06-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

As you may know, NEOEA belongs to the Best Benefits Club, and just recently we learned about a BBC benefit that may be of help to some of our delegates. If you'll be leaving a car at Cleveland Hopkins airport, you can get long-term parking at Park Place for $5 a night when you sign up for their Frequent Parker Card. Details are available at http://neoea.org/gov/NEAparking.pdf.

NEA Annual Meeting schedules

2010-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Even for experienced delegates, the NEA Annual Meeting schedule can be confusing. Following are some online planning resources that you may find useful for navigating the schedule of the Annual Meeting.

A printable calendar for NEOEA's NEA delegates is available online at http://www.neoea.org/gov/NEAcalendar.pdf.
NEA posts a schedule of many of the events that make up the Annual Meeting at http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/AM2010_Tentative_Agenda.doc.
NEA's list of Annual Meeting sites and dates through 2019 is available at http://www.nea.org/grants/17767.htm.

We sometimes get careless about terminology: what's the difference between the Annual Meeting and the Representative Assembly?

The whole event that we're going to in New Orleans is called the "Annual Meeting." The Annual Meeting consists of the RA plus several other meetings scheduled in conjunction with it. There are too many to list here, but basically, they fall into several types:

deliberative assemblies, like the Board of Directors meeting, the NEA-R assembly, and the RA itself;
optional workshops and trainings for various constituencies (students, higher ed, women, men, minorities, etc.);
meetings and open hearings of various NEA committees; and
special-interest meetings (caucuses, religious services, etc.)

The term "Representative Assembly" ("RA") refers to the main event, which occurs on the final four days of the Annual Meeting: July 3-6 this year. Those are the dates you'll see in the schedule of future RAs mentioned above.

NEOEA Night 2010

2010-06-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

The work of the RA delegate is hard; the New Orleans ambience can help you recover. On July 4, join us at Mulate’s Party Hall for NEOEA Night. You’ll enjoy Cajun food, music, and dancing at Mulate’s Restaurant, 201 Julia Street. And of course, a cash bar will be available.

Reservations are $15 for NEOEA delegates and $53 for their guests. Capacity is limited: registrations will be accepted in the order in which they come in. Registrations are due by Saturday, June 5, and can be made at the Ohio NEA Caucus on that day. All registrations will be confirmed by email.

To register, please use the form available online at http://www.neoea.org/Mulates.pdf. Include your check for the full amount due, made payable to NEOEA.

Looking for the NEOEA Shirt posting from May 25?

Go to http://neoea.blogspot.com/2010/05/nea-delegate-shirt-order.html.

NEA Delegate Shirt Order

2010-05-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

In 2010, NEOEA will once again provide a gift for northeastern Ohio delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly: a 6.2 ounce, 100% Pima cotton sports shirt in stone (tan). The men’s shirts have a three-button placket; the ladies’ shirts have a 2-button Y-placket. A photo of the shirts is available at www.neoea.org/NEA/shirt.pdf.

Delegates will need to order their shirts by size: we will not inventory additional shirts. Provide the requested information (see form below) by Friday, May 14, and we will bring your shirt to the delegate caucus in Columbus on Saturday, June 5. Or provide the information by Friday, June 11, and we’ll have it at the Ohio caucus in New Orleans on Friday, July 2.

Non-delegates and guests can purchase shirts at cost. If purchasing, payment for $19 must be enclosed with the order form. Please use one order form per shirt.

This form has been posted at www.neoea.org/NEA/shirt.rtf; you can download it, fill it out on your computer, and attach it to an email to Executive Assistant Linda Grunden at grunden@neoea.org; you can fill it out by hand and fax it to us at 216/518-0202; or you can mail it to us at NEOEA Shirt, 5422 E. 96th St., Suite 200, Garfield Heights, OH 44125.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 6

2009-07-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 6

The last state caucus of the RA always makes for a special morning. There is, of course, a certain amount of business to be transacted, but by this time the elections have been held and we've already established positions on most of the RA's business items. Two items tended to stick out at this year's final caucus.

First, it was time for the delegates to say goodbye to Becky Slaughter, OEA's Manager of Governance Relations, who has been the den mother to many Ohio delegations over the years and will be retiring before the next RA. There is a tradition at the last caucus of auctioning off the state caucus sign, which is usually done on a 4' x 3' piece iof foam board. Proceeds of the auction go to NEA's Fund for Children and Public Education. For this RA, delegates made cash donations--all in official PAC collection envelopes--that were collected by the district leaders. Auctioneer Mike Dossie conducted a sham auction, with the amounts going much higher than they ever have before. Finally, Jerry Oberhaus, chairperson of the District Leaders' Council, stepped forward with a stupendous bid of $4,230. When he went up to claim his prize, Jerry called all the other district presidents to the front of the room, and they then called Becky to the front and presented her with the most expensive piece of posterboard in San Diego!

Second, the NEA Annual Meeting constitutes a sort of victory lap for those who have retired: their membership status is still in effect, and thus this is their last time to serve as representatives of active members. We wished well to some old NEOEA friends today.

Jené Wilson, an ACCESS member (Cuyahoga County Board of DD), has been an Association volunteer for many years and is a member of the NEOEA Board of Directors;
Warren Hershberger, a member of the Barberton EA, an outgoing member of the OEA and NEOEA Boards of Directors and chairperson of the NEOEA Board's Summer Leadership Subcommittee.
Dianne Noice, outgoing president of Independence EA, past chairperson of NEOEA Resolutions and OEA Resolutions, past member of the NEA Resolutions Committee, former NEA Director, and past NEOEA president;
Bill Noice, retired from the Hudson EA, also a past NEOEA president and former NEA director, who has not been a delegate for several years but has been the Ohio delegation's unofficial photographer for years.

Once at the RA, business started in earnest.

Delegates passed NBI 53, which proved more controversial than might have been expected. The NBI calls for requirements that school facilities be hygienic, and custodial members feared that this would result in an unfunded mandate. The item passed anyway.
NBI 61 calls for tighter control over the finances of NEA special-interest caucuses.
Delegates replaced a proposed NBI 62 with a more moderate one that calls for examination of national standards and their impact on education.
Delegates defeated NBI 66, which would have required NEA officer compensation to be made more readily available. (That information is already available on the Department of Labor website.)
NBI 68 puts NEA on record as concerned about an apparently horrendous situation involving the "school committee" (we would say "board of education" of East Providence, RI, which recently unilaterally imposed non-negotiated contract terms on its employees.
Delegates passed NBI 69, which puts NEA on records as supporting the unionization of employees of the "new Delta Airlines."
NBI 80 puts NEA on record as supporting character education, without very clearly identifying just what the term means.
NBI 82 reaffirms NEA's support of the Employee Free Choiice Act, designed to make it easier for employees to unionize.

Perhaps the most interesting dialogue today occurred when President Dennis Van Roekel ruled NBI 72 out of order. NBI 72 would have encouraged schools to become "sanctuaries" for illegal alliens. Dennis ruled it out of order because it would have been in violation of federal law. The maker of the motion appealed the decision of the chair, but delegates overwhelmingly supported Van Roekel's decision on a voice vote.

Delegates honored the 2009 Friend of Education, Linda Darling-Hammond, whose research on teacher quality has made her a powerful force in the education reform movement and helped spark the National Board Certified Teacher system.

Delegates said goodbye to retiring 41-year NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin. During his time as NEA general counsel, Chanin argued five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court - winning four of them - and filed 25 briefs. The hot item of apparel this week has been a T-shirt with a caricature of Chanin printed on the front and "Show Us Your Amicus Briefs" printed on the back. Chanin, as noted for his dry wit as for his legal prowess, is a popular figure with delegates, who generally cheer when he comes forward to deliver a legal opinion. But in his first and last speech from the center podium, he had a serious message: "Teaching is not akin to the clergy. (and) it is not unprofessional or immoral for teachers to make a living wage," he said.

(For a colleague's view--quite funny, actually--of Bob's career at NEA, see the article online at http://www.nea.org/grants/33284.htm.)

The Louisiana delegation invited delegates to New Orleans, site of next year's RA, and showed a video. Newly-elect officers accepted their positions and expressed their thanks, and finally Bob Chanin consulted his watch as he has for many years and announced that the adjournment time (subject of many pools within delegations) would be recorded officially as 6:53 PM. (This was a welcome development: some delegates remember RAs that went beyond midnight on the last day.)

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 5

2009-07-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 5

Some years ago, NEA delegates--frustrated by a perception that not enough time was devoted to business items--set up rules that require a certain amount of time to be set aside in each session for various kinds of business. One result was that today's session was pretty heavy on business items.

Delegates considered some 26 amendments to NEA's legislative program. Of those, half were passed, four were referred to various committees, and nine were defeated outright. Many of those defeated had been introduced by one delegate from Hawaii, and most of those were opposed by Ohio's delegates.

The RA also continued to slog through New Business Items. The deadline for submitting NBIs has passed, and we now know the work that awaits: delegates have submitted 87 NBIs. Together with the five submitted earlier by the Board of Directors, that makes 92 to be dealt with. President Van Roekel is doing a pretty smooth job of handling the parliamentary discussion, and the pace is actually much faster than in some previous years: by the end of the day delegates had considered NBIs through #48, leaving 39 to be dealt with tomorrow, the last day of the RA.

Delegates also honored the national Teacher of the Year, as they do every year. This year's winner is Anthony Mullen, who retired as a New York City policeman and became a teacher at an alternative high school where a major focus of his work is keeping kids in school. "Every day I's given a chance to save one child and prevent another dropout," he said. "These are the riches we are given as teachers and educators."

Dennis has been announcing an estimate of the time the RA will adjourn each day.Delegates are finding this very helpful, especially since his predictions have been pretty accurate. Today he announced an anticipated adjournment time of 6:00, and the actual adjournment came at 6:03.

Since this was a Sunday and yesterday was the Independence Day holiday, today was the time set for delegate religious services. About 470 delegates attended either a Mass or an interdenominational service, both of which started a few minutes after adjournment in rooms at the Conference Center reserved for the purpose by NEA.

After that it was time for NEOEA delegates to head onto the water for this year's NEOEA Night, a three-hour cruise of San Diego Bay. Our boat returned about 10:30, just in time for delegates to fall into their beds to get ready for another 7:00 caucus tomorrow morning.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 4

2009-07-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 4

Ohio's caucus began today a few minutes past 7:00. NEA delegates have been busy: as of Friday afternoon, delegates had submitted 46 New Business Items. (The deadline for submitting NBI's is noon today, so there will undoubtedly be more.) Evidently The Screening Committee had been busy too, because they had developed recommended positions on NBIs up to #26. The caucus considered those recommendations and reached decisions on its positions on those NBIs. OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks ran a pretty expeditious caucus, and we finished our work for the day about 8:30.

At the RA, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel indicated that he planned to start the morning session with 90 minutes of New Business Item consideration and hold another 90 minutes in the afternoon. So we were barely in our seats when the parliamentary fur started to fly. This year's NBIs seem particularly pithy; I won't reflect all of them here, but you can get more information at the link provided below.

Delegates passed the following:

NBI E, which puts NEA on record as supporting equal access for same-sex couples to rights of medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration. NEA remains neutral on the question of what these relationships should be called.
NBI 2 calls on the federal government to commission a definitive study to determine the risks associated with parents' decisions whether or not to vaccinate children.
NBI 10 re-establishes the Men's Issues program as part of the Annual Meeting. (The Men's Issues Conference was suspended several years ago.)
NBI 14 reinstates GPO-WEP reform to its previous place as a high-priority legislative objective. (For more information on GPO-WEP, see https://hems.nea.org/lac/socsec/latestnews.html.)
NBI 15 sets forth a strategy to promote reform of GPO-WEP. (For more information on GPO-WEP, see https://hems.nea.org/lac/socsec/latestnews.html.)
NBI 17 establishes a program to organize NEA's estimated one-million Republican members to advance "a pro-public education agenda within the Republican Party."
NBI 18 calls for publication of an NEA guide to parliamentary procedure for use by members and affiliates. (As the world's largest deliberative assembly, the RA should know something about this.)
NBI 19 calls for RA planners to provide space for AA meetings at the RA site.
NBI 21 calls for NEA to use its communications vehicles to inform members about laws regarding military recruiter access to students.

RA actions made it clear that delegates have serious misgivings about misuse of charter schools: they passed some NBIs dealing with charter schools and defeated others. Some state affiliates are organizing charter school employees; others (including Ohio) have rejected that idea; but the debate makes it clear that the term "charter school" has such various meanings in different states that it is difficult to use the same term to describe them all.

Today was Independence Day, so the RA held an Independence Day celebration. Also, in keeping with the significance of the day, the first round of elections took place. Ohio-endorsed Joyce Powell of New Jersey was elected to the NEA Executive Committee; a runoff vote will be held tomorrow between four other candidates, including Oklahoma's Greg Johnson, whom Ohio delegates have endorsed. Delegates elected all of the three Ohio-endorsed candidates for ESP (Education Support Professional) Director-at-large.

In the evening, delegates dispersed around San Diego, some watching the fireworks from their hotel windows, others from ships in the harbor, and some from piers and the walkway outside.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 3

2009-07-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 3

After days onsite and plenty of anticipation, the RA officially convened today.

First, though, Ohio delegates met at their third caucus. This was the second in the host city, but the first to begin at 7:00. Grumblling about the early time was mitigated by the realization that the lucky folks appointed to the Steering Committee had begun their work at 5:45 AM, reviewing the items scheduled for consideration today and developing recommended positions for the caucus to take. The caucus took positions on the first sixteen New Business Items.

(You could be confused by numbered references to NBIs. NBIs submitted by NEA's Board of Directors are lettered; those submitted at the RA are numbered. NEA's Board submitted five NBIs, and so far the delegates have submitted eleven. So the last numbered item is number 11, but the caucus has considered positions on sixteen.)

Not unusually, the caucus ran over a bit beyond its scheduled adjournment time of 9:00. Fortunately today, its first day, the RA begins at 11:00, an hour later than the later start time of 10:00; and our hotel is right next door to the San Diego Convention Center, so delegates didn't have too much difficulty getting over to the floor of the RA.

As usual, those arriving in the assembly hall found their seats with music blaring and beach balls bouncing around the hall. The RA began on time with the usual presentation of colors, Pledge of Allegiance, and singing of the National Anthem.

(Sometimes you'll hear people say that schools aren't reciting the Pledge of Allegiance any more; with a few exceptions, this doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, these simple opening ceremonies served once again to remind me that our delegates--who cover the political spectrum from far right to far left--share a powerful patriotism. And, for any who may read this and wonder, NEA is on record as supporting the Pledge and the use of the words "under God," and that's how the delegates recite it.)

As usual, business started out pretty deliberately; that won't be the case later! Delegates considered just three NBIs today, and passed all three of them.

NBI A spells out items that NEA will work to "inform and influence" President Obama's $5 billion, 5-year plan to turn around troubled schools.
NBI B specifies NEA's position on the renewal of ESEA. (ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is the federal government's main piece of preK-12 education legislation; it must be reauthorized every two years. It was the 2002 reauthorization that became known by the risible title of "No Child Left Behind.")
NBI C officially places NEA in record as supporting "national health care . . . advocacy [that] that will stress the urgency of quality, comprehensive, affordable health care for all that includes a public health care plan option and does not tax employer- or government-provided benefits for active and retired residents." The debate featured delegates on both the right and the left, and in the end delegates turned down appeals from those for whom this approach goes too far and those for whom it doesn't go far enough.

Ohio delegates had earlier voted to support all three NBIs, and some were actively involved in the floor strategy aimed at passing the proposals.

Tonight had been designated as Friendship Night, an annual social event open to all delegates. This year's Friendship Night event was a Padres game at Petco Field against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Forty NEOEA delegates had purchased tickets in our block, and another dozen or so had purchased tickets in a block provided by OEA. It was a fine night at the ballpark, featuring two teams playing in the same division and separated by only about a one-and-a-half-hour drive. The fans were about evenly divided between supporters of the hometown Padres and visiting Dodgers, the latter energized by the return of Manny Ramirez after a suspension. The Dodgers shelled Padres pitcher Chad Gaudin for five runs in the first inning and went on to win, 6-3.

Tomorrow may be Independence Day, but for us it's a work day; and what's more, the "regular" time schedule returns: a 7:00-9:00 caucus and RA sessions begin at 10:00.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 2

2009-07-03T21:46:00.001-07:00

Thursday, July 2

Most delegates arrived by the end of the day yesterday, and for many this was their first full day in the host city.

Ohio's delegates had held a caucus in Columbus early in June, but today the state held its second caucus. To ease delegates into the RA work schedule, today's caucus started at 7:30 rather than at 7:00 as it will for the rest of the RA. Ohio delegates heard a report from one of its screening committees and voted to endorse three candidates for at-large seats on NEA's Board of Directors. (Nominations will be made tomorrow, and the elections take place on Saturday.)

Since the biennial Ohio budget expires at the end of June, it has been common for the NEA RA to occur at a time when last-minute negotiations are occuring in Columbus. That didn't happen in 2007, when newly-elected Governor Ted Strickland managed to get nearly-unanimous approval of a budget out of both houses of the Ohio General Assembly; but it is happning this year, with one of the toughest budget fights in recent memory still unresolved as the delegates left home. Since this group includes many of the leaders of OEA, its district associations llike NEOEA, and many of the locals, delegates received a telephone briefing from Governmental Services representatives working in Columbus. (For the latest on the budget issues, see the OEA website at www.ohea.org.)

After the caucus ended at 9:30, Northeastern Ohio delegates met in a short caucus before being dismissed for the rest of the day.

A lot of delegates call this "hearing day" because it features an open hearing on the budget and strategic plan, and another open hearing on NEA's legislative program. (There actually was an open hearing on resolutions yesterday, so this isn't the only day with open hearings.)

As important as they were, those hearings may have been upstaged by three special presentations making up a program billed as "A Day of Hope and Change." In the morning, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a town hall conversation, the last stop on his "Listening Tour across America." Alan Blankstein, founder and president of the HOPE Foundation (hopefoundation.org), spoke at a luncheon, and in the afternoon the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson moderated a discussion on race, education, and culture in America.

This was the last evening before the four long days of the Representative Assembly, so many observed an early evening in order to get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's caucus, the first of four starting at 7:00 AM.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Notes from Camp, 2009: July 1

2009-07-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Years ago, when I attended the NEA Annual Meeting as a local delegate, I began sending "Notes from Camp." These were reports back to friends and colleagues who had expressed an interest in keeping up-to-date with events occurring there. I attend now as a staff member and not a local delegate, but the reaction from various associates continues to be positive. So here's a report on this year's NEA Annual Meeting in San Diego. Delegates should feel free to add their own comments: there's a link to allow you to do that.--Bill Lavezzi, executive director

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

It isn't like annual meeting events actually began today: NEA has been holding various conferences since last week, and some leaders have been in town for a week. But the way NEA counts the days, today was the first day of the Annual Meeting. By the evening tonight, probably 95% of Ohio's delegates had arrived, and most of those had registered in the Ohio delegation headquarters in the Green Room on the third floor.

Registration and exhibits opened at the San Diego Convention Center this morning, so many delegates headed there to register and to pick up literature and assorted freebies from the various exhibitors. Leaders of state delegations were interviewing candidates for NEA positions that will be elected on Saturday.

For many delegates, this is a good day to see the host city. They don't have a lot of responsibilities yet: the RA itself won't start until Friday, and states like Ohio won't hold their first caucuses in the host city until tomorrow. A lot of delegates spent some time today exploring Coronado Island, the Gaslamp District, Balboa Park, the USS Midway Museum, or other local attractions. Others hung out by the pool, and many visited the Ralph's Supermarket just a half mile up First Street to pick up items that don't ship too well.

The big event of this evening is always Ohio Night, which is OEA's welcome of delegates to the host city. While Ohio Night doesn't offer dinner, it does feature some heavy hors d'oeuvres, refreshments, and plenty of desserts. But it's just a brief celebration to start a long conference, and all of us need to rest up for tomorrow's first caucus.

WSL

For a look online at the work of the Annual Meeting, check out www.nea.org/annualmeeting.
For NEA's Annual Meeting Blog, go to http://nea-ra.blogspot.com.

Governor Fires Up Ohio's NEA Delegates

2009-06-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you missed Saturday's NEA caucus, you missed a great moment; but you can participate here, or relive the experience here!

There we were, going through the usual details of planning for a successful NEA RA, and in walked Governor Ted Strickland. For a podcast of Governor Strickland's speech, go to http://www.neoea.org/podcasts/Strickland20090606.mp3.

If you have friends who are uncertain about the depth of Governor Strickland's commitment to public education or the importance of this effort, please refer them to this article. Chances are they'll be as excited by the Governor's remarks as our delegates were.

NEA Delegate Jacket Order

2009-05-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

In 2009, NEOEA will once again provide a gift for northeastern Ohio delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly: a 5.2-oz. microfleece jacket by Tri-Mountain in navy blue with a front zipper. This item should be just the thing for cool evenings and air-conditioned environments at the annual meeting!

Delegates will need to order their jackets by size: we will not inventory additional jackets. Provide the requested information (see form below) by Wednesday, May 27, and we will bring your jacket to the delegate caucus in Columbus on Saturday, June 6. Or provide the information by Friday, June 12, and we’ll have it at the Ohio caucus in San Diego on Tuesday, July 2.

Non-delegates and guests can purchase jackets at cost. If purchasing, payment of $26 must be enclosed with the order form. Please use one order form per jacket.

The form has been posted at www.neoea.org/NEA/jacket.rtf; you can download it, fill it out on your computer, and attach it to an email to Executive Assistant Linda Grunden at grunden@neoea.org; you can fill it out by hand and fax it to us at 216/518-0202; or you can mail it to us at NEOEA Jacket, 5422 E. 96th St., Suite 200, Garfield Hts., OH 44125.

NEOEA Block for Friendship Night

2009-05-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

NEA has announced plans for this year's Friendship Night: "NEA Night at the Ballpark," Friday, July 3, at a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel will throw out the first pitch.

The deal NEA has arranged provides seats for $7.50, and that includes $5 on "stadium cash" for concessions!

NEOEA is purchasing 40 tickets. We don't have them yet, but you can put yourself on the list by paying $7.50 per ticket at the NEOEA table at the OEA RA on May 8-9. There's no form to fill out: we'll have a signup sheet at the table.

NEOEA Night 2009

2009-04-17T11:17:00.001-07:00

Attending the NEA Representative Assembly in San Diego?

Cruise the San Diego harbor in style and enjoy music and dancing under the stars on
Sunday, July 5!

Your ticket for NEOEA Night 2009 includes:

Boarding from the OEA headquarters hotel
A three-hour cruise on the California Princess (7:30-10:30, boarding at 7:00)
The Classic Buffet dinner with entrées of Pepper Crusted Top Round of Beef and
Roasted Chicken Breast

NEOEA delegates will pay $55 of the cost. Non-delegate registration costs $110. All participants will receive a receipt for $55 as the cost of the dinner. Capacity is limited: 100 tickets are available, and registrations will be confirmed in the order in which they come in. Include your check for the full amount due, made payable to NEOEA.

You can get the order form online at www.neoea.org/NEA/NEOEAnight09.pdf.

Paid Now. Paying Later?

2009-03-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

The following article will appear in upcoming issues of NEOEA's newsletters for active and retired members. We're making it available here so that this important information can be distributed as widely as possible. If you're a retired NEOEA member and you don't get NEOEA-R, our newsletter for retired members, it's probably because you're not a member of OEA-R, the only organization of retired Ohio Education Association members. If this information seems valuable to you, maybe that's nature's way of telling you to join OEA-R. You can do so by clicking here, or call 800-282-1500.

Federal Stimulus Plan Impacts Active and Retired Members
by Bill Lavezzi, NEOEA Executive Director

Since some members of NEOEA have families that include both working and retired members, we’re providing information here that applies to both groups.

Many of our members have heard about the “Making Work Pay” tax credit for working individuals and families. This credit (which will provide up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for families in 2009 and 2010) is being implemented through a change in the tax withholding tables.

According to Terri Bierdeman, head of STRS’s Governmental Relations Department, “pension plan distributions are not considered to be ‘earned income’ for purposes of qualifying for this new credit. However, the Department of the Treasury issued new tax withholding tables to reflect the Making Work Pay credit and other changes resulting from the stimulus package and told pension plans [like PERS, SERS, and STRS] to use the new tables.” STRS Ohio benefit recipients who have federal withholding will receive more information about the application of these new tables to their monthly benefit payment with their April check memo.

Barring a change, then, some retired members may find themselves with tax due at the end of the year since their withholding will have been adjusted for a credit they can’t take.

In addition, the federal stimulus plan includes a one-time $250 payment to Social Security recipients, which they should receive by late May. STRS’s Bierdeman tells us that “initially, this benefit would not have been available to public employees who were not covered by Social Security. However, during the conference on the legislation, Senator John Kerry and others succeeded in adding a section providing a one-time refundable tax credit of $250 in 2009 for such non-covered public retirees ($500 in the case of a joint return where both spouses are eligible). Any such credit must be deducted from any allowable ‘Making Work Pay’ credit.”

Obviously these changes are intended to put more money in members’ hands, but they can have some impact on members’ tax liability. NEOEA does not provide tax advice, so members (both retired and active) are advised to consult a tax professional with any questions on the impact of these provisions.

"Fuel Perks" for RA delegates

2008-06-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

NEOEA Unit 8 Representative Peggy Palma sends this hint to help delegates save money on gasoline purchases:

"Some areas in NEOEA-land have Giant Eagle grocery stores which have a 'fuel-perks' promotion in which your purchases earn you discounts on gasoline purchased at their 'Get-Go' stations.

"My local store (Austintown) is offering 20 cents off each gallon of gas for each $50 you spend. I know other stores offer 10 cents. So anyway, I called the Wardman Park Marriott to make sure they would accept Marriott gift cards in payment. They said they would, including taxes. So I bought $1000 in Mariott gift cards, which provided me a free fill up (to 30 gallons I think). The gift cards come in $100 and $50 values.

"Just something other delegates might want to consider."

Thanks, Peggy, for this idea!

An update:
Since this article appeared, some questions have been raised about the Marriott's willingness to honor these cards for group rates. NEOEA advises caution. For maximum safety, call first, and note the name of any employee who says that they'll honor the cards.

NEOEA Chorus practice

2008-06-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Oh Say, Can You Sing?

Don't miss the opportunity to raise your voice in the National Anthem on the field at our NEOEA Night event on July 3 at the Potomac Nationals.

A brief practice will be held on Saturday in the Pavilion of the Crowne Plaza Hotel this Saturday before the delegate caucus; plan to start about 9:30.

If you haven't yet sent in your registration form for the ball game, please go to http://www.neoea.org/NEA/NEOEANight08.pdf.

NEOEA Delegate "fast facts"

2008-06-03T06:13:00.001-07:00

Fast Facts
for Ohio's NEA delegates from northeastern Ohio

Ohio headquarters hotel: Wardman Park Marriott
2660 Woodley Road NW
Washington, DC 20008
voice 202/328-2916
fax 202/234-0015

Colonial Williamsburg Tour

2008-05-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Tour to Colonial Williamsburg

It's confirmed!
The NEOEA bus is "on" for the 2008 NEA RA!
Now, how about a "field trip"?

Discovery Tours is offering a cost-effective tour to Colonial Williamsburg on Tuesday, July 1. The package includes travel to Williamsburg from our DC hotel and a day pass to Williamsburg for a fee of $40. We'll schedule the trip in order to return on time for Ohio Night.

Subject to capacity, this trip is available to all: you do not need to be taking the bus to DC in order to join us for the the Williamsburg trip. But seats are limited, so place your reservation now! The deadline for reservations is Friday, June 13.

Orders are being taken by Discovery Tours, and credit cards (MasterCard and Visa) are accepted. Reservations can be made over the telephone at 216/531-8884.

For more information, contact Chip Cipolletti at Discovery Tours by telephone; or email Chip at ACipolletti@discoverycleveland.com.

NEOEA Night 2008

2008-05-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Attending the NEA Representative Assembly in Washington, DC?

Join us on July 3 for an evening with the Potomac Nationals, the “high-A” affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

Join the “NEOEA Chorus” on the field before the game to lead the fans in singing the National Anthem, and then encourage NEOEA President André Taylor as he tosses out the first pitch!

Your ticket for NEOEA Night includes:

Bus transportation (we will be departing the Convention Center at 5:30 and returning to the Marriott at 11:30 p.m.)
Admission to the Potomac Nationals baseball game
A $6 coupon redeemable for ball-park food
A cash refund of $10 (delegates only)

NEOEA delegates will pay a $10 deposit, which will be refunded in cash on the bus. (Non-delegate registration costs $31.) Capacity is limited: 80 tickets are available, and registrations will be confirmed in the order in which they come in. Include your check for the full amount due, made payable to NEOEA.

Use the order form mailed to delegates last week, or get it online at www.neoea.org/NEA/NEOEANight08.pdf.

Order Your Shirt - 2008

2008-05-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

NEA Delegate Shirt Order

In 2008, NEOEA will once again provide a complimentary shirt for northeastern Ohio delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly. This year’s item is a Port Authority “wrinkle-free,” cotton-poly blend, long-sleeved button-down shirt in royal blue. And - new for 2008 - the shirts can be ordered in men's (the shirtmakers like to call it "unisex") and ladies' sizes!

Shirts will be ordered to delegates’ individual specifications. Provide the requested information by Friday, May 23, and we will bring your shirt to the delegate caucus in Columbus on Saturday, June 7. Or provide the information by Friday, June 13, and we’ll bring your shirt to the Ohio caucus in Washington on Tuesday, July 2.

The order form has been posted at www.neoea.org/NEA/shirt.rtf. You can download it, fill it out on your computer, and attach it to an email to Executive Assistant Linda Grunden at grunden@neoea.org; or you can fill it out by hand and fax it to us at 440/845-2695.

NEA RA 2008 Transportation

2008-04-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

RA Bus Deadline Extended
"Leave the Driving to Us," 2008 version

(We don't have our list of this year's NEA delegates yet, so we recently sent the following message to last year's NEA delegates.)

Looking for an alternative way to get to Washington for this year's RA? If so, you may want to consider riding with NEOEA.

With the assistance of our friends at Discovery Tours, NEOEA has arranged an option of bus transportation to Washington for the NEA Representative Assembly. The bus will travel to Washington on Monday, June 30, and return on Monday, July 7. The western pickup point will be the NEOEA office in Parma Heights; additional pickup points further east will be based on demand. The bus will drop us off in DC directly at the Ohio headquarters hotel. The fare is $197.

The projected departure time from Parma Heights is 7:00 AM; the projected arrival time at our hotel in DC is 3:00 PM.

Discovery Tours will also offer a cost-effective "field trip" to Colonial Williamsburg on Tuesday, July 1. The package includes travel to Williamsburg from our DC hotel and a day pass to Williamsburg for a fee of $40. We'll schedule the trip in order to return on time for Ohio Night. It is not necessary to take the DC bus to take the Williamsburg trip.

These are separate trips, and they will take place only if we sell at least 30 seats on the bus to DC. The deadline for orders for the RA bus is Friday, May 9; orders for the Williamsburg bus will be accepted later.

Orders are being taken by Discovery Tours, and can be made over the telephone. Discovery Tours accepts checks, MasterCard, and Visa. Checks and credit card orders will be held until after May 9 and returned if we do not sell enough tickets to reserve the bus.

Please note: The previously-announced deadline was May 2; due to demand, that reservation deadline has been extended to May 9.

For more information, contact Chip Cipolletti at Discovery Tours.

Telephone: (216) 531-8884
Email: ACipolletti@discoverycleveland.com.

Welcome to the NEOEA web log

2007-05-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is a new project, and our purpose here is simply to welcome you to this page. This blog is intended to foster communication among our members, and it may express opinions and ideas congenial to our membership, but it is not an official publication of the organization.