The budget passed. I'm moving.
Either I'll be moving classrooms, houses, towns, states or all of the above I now have to do the thing I despise.
Blog? What Blog?
13 years ago
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Gotta give him credit...
I emailed my reps and received this response:
Amanda,
Thanks for the email and information. While I agree with you (as a former school board member, a supporter of higher education and educator) this is going to be a very difficult budget year.
I am very concerned about the chairman's options on higher education. I agree that these options could destroy what we have worked for years to build.
AZ is short almost 40% in income and education is over half of the budget.
I will all I can to protect education but understand I am one vote of 90.
Let me know if you have some suggestions.
Again thanks for the email.
Bill
Did you catch the typo? I know I'm critical because I can't read anything without proofing it...but doesn't this raise the question:
WHERE WAS HE EDUCATED?
But I do have to say of all the emails I have sent, he is the ONLY one who responded. At least I know someone opened it and read my email. Hopefully it means we are at least making them stop and think.
By the way, I did respond with the suggestion of raising state sales tax by .01.
Amanda,
Thanks for the email and information. While I agree with you (as a former school board member, a supporter of higher education and educator) this is going to be a very difficult budget year.
I am very concerned about the chairman's options on higher education. I agree that these options could destroy what we have worked for years to build.
AZ is short almost 40% in income and education is over half of the budget.
I will all I can to protect education but understand I am one vote of 90.
Let me know if you have some suggestions.
Again thanks for the email.
Bill
Did you catch the typo? I know I'm critical because I can't read anything without proofing it...but doesn't this raise the question:
WHERE WAS HE EDUCATED?
But I do have to say of all the emails I have sent, he is the ONLY one who responded. At least I know someone opened it and read my email. Hopefully it means we are at least making them stop and think.
By the way, I did respond with the suggestion of raising state sales tax by .01.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Addresses....
If you want to email your representative here are the three which represent our district:
Sylvia Allen - Republican - email: sallen@azleg.gov
Jack A. Brown - Democrat - email: jbrown@azleg.gov
Bill Konopnicki - Republican - email: bkonopnicki@azleg.gov
The three in leadership which are sponsoring the bill meant to cut education funding:
Russell Pearce - Republican - email: rpearce@azleg.gov
Bob Burns - Republican - email: rburns@azleg.gov
Jon Kavanah - Republican - email: jkavanah@azleg.gov
Please email them and voice your support for education!
Sylvia Allen - Republican - email: sallen@azleg.gov
Jack A. Brown - Democrat - email: jbrown@azleg.gov
Bill Konopnicki - Republican - email: bkonopnicki@azleg.gov
The three in leadership which are sponsoring the bill meant to cut education funding:
Russell Pearce - Republican - email: rpearce@azleg.gov
Bob Burns - Republican - email: rburns@azleg.gov
Jon Kavanah - Republican - email: jkavanah@azleg.gov
Please email them and voice your support for education!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Fight the power...
"Fight the power!" those were the words uttered by my five year old nephew last night. He has no idea what those words mean, but was willing to support me. I was on my way to the Arizona State Capital to voice my concern over proposed budget cuts.
The state of Arizona is currently in a major budget crisis because of the recession. Plain and simple, we are spending more than we are taking into the budget. A certain group of Republican lawmakers have proposed a budget which would drastically cut spending in public education. You may not think this is important, but consider this: The state gives districts roughly $5000 per student in our classrooms. Compare this figure to eastern states which spend $15,000 per student. We rank 49th in the nation! Shameful! With these cuts we will be spending even less, averaging a cut of $1000 per student. What difference does this make you ask? Well, this will increase class sizes, cut the amount of money we can spend on textbooks, and put 1000's of people out of work. In Winslow alone, the district is planning on cutting 2.6 million from the budget to balance it which will be jobs, textbooks, supplies, music, the arts, p.e., sports. In other parts of the state that is all day kindergarten. How is this possible you ask? Apparently they are not willing to listen to other ideas.
A short research was done by the superintendent of Florence Public Schools. He found that if we instituted a .01 cent sales tax the state could generate over A BILLION DOLLARS a year!!! How much is that for you? An accountant stated that for the average family of four it would increase your taxes at a mere $12 a month. That is less than it would cost to take your family to a dinner at Micky D's! And it's an investment in the future.
Other proposed cuts are the Kids Care insurance program. This program provides insurance for families throughout the state at a minimal fee to the families. My brother who works for the WUSD and cannot afford the insurance for his family at $400 a month, uses this program. This will be done away with in the proposed cuts.
What can you do! Write, call, email and fax your legislators. I will be posting that information tomorrow. Urge them to look at other ways they can save money! Be willing to pay a little bit more in taxes to insure Arizona children are educated in the best way possible. We are not asking for a raise or increase, we just want to keep what we have! Please fight the power and become involved!
Check out this article! It says it much better than I ever could!
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/01/25/20090125edprotest0126.html
The state of Arizona is currently in a major budget crisis because of the recession. Plain and simple, we are spending more than we are taking into the budget. A certain group of Republican lawmakers have proposed a budget which would drastically cut spending in public education. You may not think this is important, but consider this: The state gives districts roughly $5000 per student in our classrooms. Compare this figure to eastern states which spend $15,000 per student. We rank 49th in the nation! Shameful! With these cuts we will be spending even less, averaging a cut of $1000 per student. What difference does this make you ask? Well, this will increase class sizes, cut the amount of money we can spend on textbooks, and put 1000's of people out of work. In Winslow alone, the district is planning on cutting 2.6 million from the budget to balance it which will be jobs, textbooks, supplies, music, the arts, p.e., sports. In other parts of the state that is all day kindergarten. How is this possible you ask? Apparently they are not willing to listen to other ideas.
A short research was done by the superintendent of Florence Public Schools. He found that if we instituted a .01 cent sales tax the state could generate over A BILLION DOLLARS a year!!! How much is that for you? An accountant stated that for the average family of four it would increase your taxes at a mere $12 a month. That is less than it would cost to take your family to a dinner at Micky D's! And it's an investment in the future.
Other proposed cuts are the Kids Care insurance program. This program provides insurance for families throughout the state at a minimal fee to the families. My brother who works for the WUSD and cannot afford the insurance for his family at $400 a month, uses this program. This will be done away with in the proposed cuts.
What can you do! Write, call, email and fax your legislators. I will be posting that information tomorrow. Urge them to look at other ways they can save money! Be willing to pay a little bit more in taxes to insure Arizona children are educated in the best way possible. We are not asking for a raise or increase, we just want to keep what we have! Please fight the power and become involved!
Check out this article! It says it much better than I ever could!
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/01/25/20090125edprotest0126.html
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
You know when you vow to change something, you begin trying it and then it seems to get harder and more challenging and frustrating! Yeah...all those goals I made just a little while ago have really become a challenge.
My biggest challenge is my calling. I know I know I should be grateful and love what I do and think it's amazing, but...I don't. How do I get over that? How do I start to love preparing lessons and covering teachers and not get frustrated with whining? Well...something to work on.
I did finish my book! Loved it! Loved it! The Wednesday Letters is perfect for someone who loves the old show "The Wonder Years". It was touching and funny and really made me want to be the kind of teacher she was in the book. Also made me think Shakespeare might be fun to read...no...I still hate Shakespeare.
On another note, the State of Arizona is in a major budget crisis. We are poor and they will be cutting school budgets...which means ME! I always felt safe in education but apparently that is no longer true. Apparently it will be ok as long as I'm willing to take a pay cut, move schools, lose my special education teacher, have larger classes, lose supplies...or ALL of the the above. So yeah...I'm a little scared. Maybe a little more than that which brings me to the next resolution I made. Did you know when people are stressed when they eat? Ok by people I mean ME and I ate cookies and milk for dinner. Ideas on what you do when you are stressed? Cuz I don't think I should be eating oreos for dinner.
And on a more positive note...Nicole is scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday, Jan. 27th! Hopefully everything will be ok for her and little Brooklyn! I know...isn't that a dang cute name! All of my nieces beautiful names...Nicole, Samantha, Adysen and now Brooklyn! They must have some smart mamas!
So even though it's hard...you have to find some joy in the journey!
My biggest challenge is my calling. I know I know I should be grateful and love what I do and think it's amazing, but...I don't. How do I get over that? How do I start to love preparing lessons and covering teachers and not get frustrated with whining? Well...something to work on.
I did finish my book! Loved it! Loved it! The Wednesday Letters is perfect for someone who loves the old show "The Wonder Years". It was touching and funny and really made me want to be the kind of teacher she was in the book. Also made me think Shakespeare might be fun to read...no...I still hate Shakespeare.
On another note, the State of Arizona is in a major budget crisis. We are poor and they will be cutting school budgets...which means ME! I always felt safe in education but apparently that is no longer true. Apparently it will be ok as long as I'm willing to take a pay cut, move schools, lose my special education teacher, have larger classes, lose supplies...or ALL of the the above. So yeah...I'm a little scared. Maybe a little more than that which brings me to the next resolution I made. Did you know when people are stressed when they eat? Ok by people I mean ME and I ate cookies and milk for dinner. Ideas on what you do when you are stressed? Cuz I don't think I should be eating oreos for dinner.
And on a more positive note...Nicole is scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday, Jan. 27th! Hopefully everything will be ok for her and little Brooklyn! I know...isn't that a dang cute name! All of my nieces beautiful names...Nicole, Samantha, Adysen and now Brooklyn! They must have some smart mamas!
So even though it's hard...you have to find some joy in the journey!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Year of Change
This year I am vowing to change some things in my life. I love how everyone sets goals on New Year's Day and I vowed last night I would do it. So here is the list for the year:
Lose XXpounds - I know I know, you can't see what I wrote, BUT I know. I just don't feel comfortable sharing that with the world just yet. Maybe when I lose XY then I can share it! I can tell you that it is a lot, but I think if I work really hard it is possible. I mean hello those people on the biggest loser do it!
Read a book a month - you would think as a teacher I would read a book a month, but I want to read a new book each month. A new one! Not just kids books, I would like to expand into real adult books.
Pay off a credit card - I'm in debt like the rest of the county, but I would so love to dig myself out of this hole. I can honestly say that I am at less than $6000 without student loans and that includes my car (which will be paid off this year!). As soon as I pay my car off, my plan is to take that money that I would have put toward my payment and save half of it and use the rest to pay on a credit card. In order to do that I will work on the ones with the least balance and move on up...
-Ritz Camera
-Home Depot (Eric and I share it...)
-Visa
Work on a year supply. I never really saw the use for this until this economic crisis hit. How prepared our Leaders were! I know that each month I can do a little to get prepared and since it's just me, I should be able to do it quite easily. Do you think if I prepare for two that would help my chances of meeting "the one!"
Learn to love my calling - ok...I'm the primary president in my ward and it is such a struggle for me. Most weeks I go home crying or wishing they would release me. I get frustrated with peope and have low tolerance for people that whine. So, I want to love my calling. I don't want to just move through the motions, I really want it to mean something to me. I LOVE the KIDS! Don't get me wrong, I swear if I NEVER was anywhere but primary, I would be super happy. Those kids are great and I can't even put my finger on my frustrations. I mean if I could show you how the sunbeams try to do the signs for "I am a Child of God", my heart melts. They are so stinking cute! But I think I'm suppose to learn something in this calling and maybe it's just trusting that Heavenly Father does have a plan for me and I'm not just floating here trying to endure this life, but actually enjoying it.
Ok this is a strange one and maybe a little petty, but I want to put my feet in the ocean this year. I love that feeling! I love the crashing waves and if I have to drive myself to California this year, I want to do that!
Finish making my house look like a home. I've worked out the living room to where it looks like an adult lives here but I want the bedrooms to look like that too. Probably need to get rid of some junk and that would help.
Plant a garden. I love having flowers in my yard and this past year I was able to get sod for grass. But now I want to grow things! Cucucmbers, radishes, pumpkins, carrots, strawberries, green peppers, corn and an herb garden.
Ok this is the list for now. I plan to add things as I move along in the year and share my life. I love love love my family. I have the most adorable and sweet neices and nephews, so you will probably see a lot of them!
Welcome to 2009!
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