May-June Advisor 2021 web

RALLYING

10 CEA ADVISOR MAY – JUNE 2021

FUND OUR FUTURE

TEACHERS TURN OUT IN FORCE TO DEMAND RECOVERY FOR ALL Hundreds of educators, parents, lawmakers, healthcare professionals, students and their families is a Recovery for All. Recovery for All is a coalition of education and civic-minded

LEGISLATIVE CHAMPIONS

on our side. We are coming together and continuing to reach out to elected officials to make sure our students are taken care of.” “Since we’re not in the room where the budget gets decided, it’s important to make our voices heard,” says East Hartford Education Association Political Action Chair Kimberly Knapp, who has door-knocked with Senator Saud Anwar and encourages her colleagues to reach out in similar ways. “We live in a wealthy state, but once federal aid dries up, this pandemic economy will still be with us,” Enfield Teachers’ Association Vice President Bill Delaney adds. “This is a meat-and- potatoes issue you can sink your teeth into. We have met virtually with teachers and elected officials from Avon, Cromwell, Farmington, Glastonbury, Southington, Vernon, and West Hartford, because the more people are educated about these economic justice issues, the better. We have to clue them in about what impact we can make with this legislation. If not now, when?” “We are very fortunate to be getting federal emergency dollars, but that money will eventually disappear,” says Avon Education Association President Jon Moss, whose district is considered one of the wealthier ones in the state. “To invest well in our schools, we need a lot more teachers, paraprofessionals, and mental health resources.” Moss and his school-aged children have been fixtures at numerous Recovery for All events. Like him, educators in well-resourced districts understand that significant gaps exist between the supports available to their students

These legislative champions participated in the Recovery for All rallies on May 1 and May 17.

and others have marched on the governor’s residence and State Capitol, held back-home meetings with legislators, and gathered outside community centers to demand a budget that provides the funding Connecticut’s children, families, communities, and working people deserve. In the months leading up to June 9, the last day of the legislative session, teachers from every corner of the state have come together to send the governor and lawmakers a strong message: a fair recovery for

organizations as well as faith-based groups pushing for economic reforms that make a meaningful difference in the lives of Connecticut’s poor and middle class. Those reforms would fully fund schools and require the wealthy to pay their fair share. Proposed bills—HB 6187 and SB 821—that would help the state accomplish those goals have been championed by several lawmakers but not, so far, by Governor Lamont. Recovery for All rallies held regularly in various locations ensure that the message continues to reverberate. At issue is Connecticut’s next two- year biennial budget, which is being debated by legislators and the governor now. A final budget is expected before the legislative session ends, and teachers are asking that it provide resources for all students and funding to help pandemic-stressed communities recover. “We are making progress on these goals,” says CEA President Jeff legislation that would ensure fair taxation and an equitable recovery. The vast majority of parents CEA has surveyed—well over 80 percent—agree on what needs to be done. But we need more elected officials, including the governor, fully Leake. “We have at least 60 legislators championing key

Sen. Jorge Cabrera

Sen. Saud Anwar

Sen. John Fonfara

Rep. Kate Farrar

Rep. Bobby Gibson

Rep. Jillian Gilchrest

Rep. Gregory Haddad

Rep. Jack Hennessy

Torrington teacher Michael McCotter calls for adequate school funding.

Rep. Robyn Porter

Rep. Anne Hughes

and those in underfunded

communities. “It’s important to think

about equity for all students and all our faculty, and now is the time,” says Farmington kindergarten teacher Tricia Galvin. Hall High School social studies teacher and West

Rep. Geraldo Reyes

Rep. Edwin Vargas

Tell the governor and lawmakers to pass a budget that addresses Connecticut’s long-term inequities. Ask them to support HB 6187 and SB 821.

Bridgeport teacher Patricia Miller marches with her children, and for her students.

Rep. Mike Winkler