September 16, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association For decades, we’ve all heard the refrain: “This is the most important election in our lifetime.” More than ever, this statement is ringing true for voters with more than 190,000 American lives — and counting — lost to the pandemic, a crumbling economy that has devastated […]
“Our public schools cannot be a casualty of COVID.” Those words from U.S. Sen. Gary Peters—during a May virtual rally for federal education funding to help avoid pandemic-driven cuts—encapsulate why he is MEA’s recommended candidate for Senate this fall. A graduate of public schools and the son of a Rochester educator, Peters has served Michigan in […]
It is a deeply partisan time in Michigan and across the country. But, across partisan lines, MEA’s members have experienced why U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is the wrong person for the job. The outcome of this fall’s presidential election will determine if DeVos continues her push to privatize public schools from the nation’s […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer averted a government shutdown on Monday by signing a state budget sent to her on the eve of a fiscal-year deadline, but she used her veto pen to press Republican leaders in the state House and Senate to return to the negotiating table. Whitmer described the Legislature’s budget as “fatally flawed” in […]
Serving as a state representative isn’t much different from being an elementary school teacher, according to educator-turned-lawmaker Lori Stone (D-Warren), who told her story to attendees at MEA’s Summer Conference last week. The 14-year classroom veteran and MEA member said every legislative session starts with the pledge of allegiance. Seats are assigned. “And I still […]
At the second of two June education funding rallies in Lansing on Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out Republican leaders in the state Legislature for taking a summer recess without passing a state budget. Addressing a crowd of about 1,000 #RedForEd rallygoers on the Capitol Lawn, Whitmer thanked educators for showing up for students every […]
