Telephone Tops Congress Playlist Today

With 300,000 educator jobs in limbo and $23 billion proposed in emergency funds for education on the table, today's the day to voice your support for an infusion of federal aid to schools. Follow the steps, listed after the jump and on our Congressional Call Day web page, to reach your representative, and let them know where your support lies.

While ASCD is part of the effort organizing this national call-in day, it's hard to ignore some of the balking around the Harkin and Miller bills that will convey the $23 billion in new funding. (It's also hard to ignore the number of districts resorting to teacher furloughs and shortened school weeks, cuts to summer school and other programs, and increased class sizes and large-scale layoffs.)

Check out the National Journal Online's debate for a good, wonky roundup on whether the edujobs bill will provide lasting aid to cash-strapped schools and whether it should be used to leverage changes to tenure- and seniority-based layoff policies.

Part of the seniority issue is pure economics: new teachers are at the low end of the salary scale, so schools with seniority-based staffing would have to fire more new teachers to match the cost of employing a tenured teacher. The other point, and the one gaining the most traction in "reform" circles, is that last hired, first fired rules are a blunt instrument that don't take into account teacher quality, or school leaders' abilities to make nuanced decisions about staffing.

Do you think Congress should okay the $23 billion stimulus package for schools? If so, should there be strings attached regarding how the money is spent and/or seniority-based layoffs?

Congressional Call Day How-To

Step 1: Call 1-866-608-6355 to contact your members of Congress.
 
Step 2: Listen to the message containing the talking points you'll need for the call. After hearing the talking points, you will be immediately connected to the U.S. Capitol switchboard. If you know who your representative and senators are, ask to be connected to their offices. If you don't, give the switchboard operator your zip code and ask for the information. Once you get their names, ask to be connected to their offices.
 
Additional suggested talking points:

• Identify yourself as an ASCD Educator Advocate.
• The ongoing economic challenges continue to negatively affect local budgets.
• In my community, school jobs are at serious risk.
• The number of jobs that could be lost will threaten our schools' progress, student achievement gains, and ongoing education reforms.
• Too many people are already out of work. Please support this investment to help hardworking educators keep their jobs

Step 3: Tell your representative and senators to support the inclusion of funding to save education jobs in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
 
Step 4: Repeat Step 1 to be connected to the offices of your other two elected officials.