The mission of PCTA-PESPA is to lead, support and advocate for members to increase unity, nurture satisfaction in their work, and continually improve public education.
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Posted January 29th, 2008
WE DID IT – AGAIN!
The final results of our efforts to pass the Pinellas County Schools Ad Valorem Tax are in! 7 out of 10 voters said YES for children and public education! We can’t begin to thank the voters of Pinellas County enough for their continued support and commitment to our students. Once again, the Pinellas County voters have spoken and made our public schools a top priority. In contrast, statewide, voters did not support children and public education and passed Amendment One which harms all public schools. We are proud that the citizens of Pinellas County put students and public education above all else. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Kraf-Custer
Nominations
Calling all Faculty Representatives. Please submit your Kraf-Custer nominations to PCTA by Thursday, April 24!
-------------------------------------------------------------Congratulations to our newly elected PESPA President, Pamela D'Almeida and all other elected leadership! Click here for election results.
Student Assignment Plan Approved
The Pinellas County School Board approved a Student Assignment Plan Tuesday, December 18, 2007. Download the entire Student Assignment Plan to learn more about the changes. Get answers to frequently asked questions as reported by The St. Pete Times.
Resolution on Student Assignment Plan passed unanimously by Faculty Representatives on November 1, 2007
The PCTA Faculty Representative Council unanimously adopted the following Resolution on March 6th, 2008. This Resolution is in response to the overwhelming outcry from our membership to return to Deming's philosophy summarized in his "14 Points".
Hold Education Harmless
- Hold Education Harmless Take Action!
- Property Tax Proposal Fails to Do So
- What will property tax relief cost? Good question.
Ever since our current fiscal crisis became apparent back in June, we have heard may political leaders say that the education budget should be “held harmless” while the Legislature sought to adjust the budget and provide needed property tax relief to those who have seen large increases. We weren’t thrilled with the concept, because public education in Florida has been chronically underfinanced for decades. We see it every day as Florida is compared to other states in education spending, where we’re always near the bottom in those comparisons. We feel it every paycheck as salaries for teachers and ESPs lag thousands of dollars behind other states.
We’ve checked our 10-pound, 2,100-page dictionary for an alternative definition of the word “harmless,” but we haven’t come up with one. The proposals on the table in Tallahassee may reduce education revenues up to $2.07 BILLION. When you add the most recent $270 million budget cut from last week’s Special Session C, the total reduction in revenues over the next five years could be $2.34 BILLION if the Legislature passes and voters approve the proposal to “reform” property taxes.
Contact your legislators and leaders in the House and Senate to follow through on their earlier commitments to hold education harmless when they vote on the property tax proposal.
