No Compromise on Educational Savings Accounts

In a recent blog post, Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita wrote that Two Agendas Can’t Coexist, where he outlines the necessity of compromise regarding the Educational School Account (ESA). Mr. Vellardita’s sees vouchers as inevitable, he writes “over the last few decades, the private sector has made a market presence in education. Its growth in the education market continues to see a rise in charter schools and vouchers (33 states have some form of a voucher). With the ascendency of the Trump administration, this trend will continue.” Mr. Vellardita suggests that since the voucher movement is growing in momentum, the CCEA might as well accept the unavoidable, and support the voucher program, he notes that “Choice’ will be at the heart of any resolution.” I reject this approach. This is the moment when we should have the political courage to take a stand on the issues we believe in, and stopping the corporate takeover of our public schools is the issue we need to rally behind, regardless of national trends and local politics.    

As a proud association member, I applaud most of CCEA’s legislative efforts. I believe that the Clark County School District should be compelled to pay teacher salary advancements regardless of negotiations. Student test scores should not be used in evaluating teachers, the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) teachers provide valuable support to our new and struggling teachers. And a weighted funding formula is good policy and should be implemented throughout the state. However, the CCEA should never compromise on the core principle of adequately funding our public schools. Under no circumstances should we allow citizens to take money out of a school system that is at the bottom of national rankings and apply it to private for-profit schools. As a result of the 2016 election, and the recent conformation of Betsy DeVos  for Secretary of Education, public education is under attack, and we must fight with everything we have to prevent our public education system from being preyed upon by Wall Street investors. Retreat is not an option and the CCEA is wrong on the ESA issue. This is an association of teachers, and policy must reflect the will of its members, not just the few seated around the executive board’s table. Because the CCEA did not ask its members how they felt on the issue of ESAs, it is up to us to let the CCEA officers and executive board know where we stand. Contact your representative today, they work for us, and remember, we must stand for something, or we stand for nothing.