Governor Gregoire signed ESHB 2065. Her staff told us that she "considered all of our arguments and the large number of calls". However, in the end it came down to her staff's belief that vetoing a section of the bill would have left a $34 million dollar hole in the state budget. Therefor, the 10% to 20% cut to our children's basic education is now state law.
Needless to say, I am devastated. Just this morning Senator Murray's assistant assured me that our families were "extremely strong advocates" for their children's education and our messages came thru "loud and clear". You did good, just not enough legislators know what you know.
The cut to our children's basic education is final. The only way we can make any difference now is at OSPI (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) where the new law says they will need to decide the level of cut for each program (from minimum of 10% up to maximum of 20%). We'll need families to come to Olympia as they write the new rules. Some new rules could help us, if we're there to advance them. Are you willing to help?
We also need to consider legal action.
Most important, we absolutely must connect every single legislator and legislative staffer with an online family. We'll need to develop the clearest, most compelling personal, educational and financial information. We need to make a series of these professional demonstrations a priority.
Expect to get a survey of interests and brainstorming from our lead families. Be ready to help out wherever you live. We all have three elected legislators (one senator and two state representatives). I'm thinking a series of demos statewide beginning in Oct after everyone is settled into school routines might give legislators the best inside look at what we do every day. Do you have any ideas for something fun to bring us together this summer??
Feel free to email me at home, gigi@talcott.org anytime. You've been amazing. Let's not give up now. Some programs will shift. Others will shut down. Most programs are likely to survive one year since districts have already made commitments to students and teachers. The second year of the budget cycle will be the most devastating. With your participation in a strong, statewide advocacy effort, we can bring our high quality, highly accountable online programs into their own section of law. That way they won't be confused with other ALE programs that are not governed by the layers of online program accountability. It will take tons of work by hundreds of families to pull this off? and the future of our children's education is worth every minute. Isn't it?
*** And start saving for a trip to Olympia Feb 21, 2012 for the best-ever Online Learning Day at the Capitol!!!
Willing to help???! Email me: gigi@talcott.org
