In addition to important elections are the national and state level, CUSD also has two Governing Board positions on the ballot this year. To help our members make an informed decision in this important election, we are compiling information about candidates in one spot. Visit our 2022 CUSD Governing Board page to learn more about these candidates, and be sure check for updates leading up to the election.
CEA is now holding an important election for four CEA Executive Board positions as well as site representatives for all sites for the 2022-2023 school year. Be sure to cast your vote before Monday, May 2 at 5:00pm! To review the candidates and learn how to vote, visit our election page.
CEA is now holding an online election to select delegates for the AEA Delegate Assembly and NEA Representative Assembly. The last day to vote in this important election is Tuesday, March 8. For full details and voting instructions, visit our election page.
Today in a bipartisan vote, the Arizona House voted 45-14 to lift the Aggregate Expenditure Limit and spare Arizona public schools over $1.1 billion in cuts. See how your representative voted and contact them to thank (or scold) them!
Despite the House’s action, the Senate is stalled on SCR1050 which would accomplish the same thing. We need everyone to contact their state senator now to urge them to vote on this clean lift of the AEL!
For the first time in years, Arizona is set to exceed the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), which was passed in 1980 and limits the total money that Arizona can spend on public schools (except for charter schools). Unless the legislature acts by March 1, schools across Arizona will be unable to spend almost $1.2 billion that has already been allocated to them by the legislature. In CUSD alone, this would result in a cut of $54.4 million, or about 16% of our annual budget. The legislature has routinely voted to exceed the AEL in previous years, but this year they are playing political games with the AEL, and our students and educators will be the losers.
We need everyone in our CEA/CUSD community to contact their legislators and urge them to stop playing games with our public schools and authorize exceeding the AEL! View our presentation on the AEL, watch our town hall with LD17 Representative (and former CEA member!) Jennifer Pawlik, and visit AEA’s AEL resource page to learn more about the AEL and how you can take action!
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced major changes to
the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. If you are a full-time CUSD educator and have federal student loans, these changes may be very beneficial to you, but additional action may be needed. We encourage all members to review this flyer to find out more about this opportunity.
Join us in supporting Common Sense’s Campaign for America’s Children by promoting Code for America’s simplified Non-Filer portal for the Child Tax Credit. Thanks to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the maximum child tax credit has increased from to $2,000 per child to $3,600 ($300/month) for kids under 6 and $3,000 ($250/month) for kids 6-17, and families with the lowest incomes or no income at all are eligible for the full value of the credit.
If families filed taxes in 2019 or 2020, or used the Non-Filer tool last year to receive a stimulus check, they are already signed up to receive this increased credit. But families who did not do one of those things must sign up for monthly Child Tax Credit payments by Monday, November 15. Please share this information for families! For more information, visit the White House’s Child Tax Credit sign up website.
Join NEA, AEA, and CEA in celebrating public education and honoring the individuals working to ensure that every student receives a quality education! American Education Week is November 15-19, and each day of the week has its own theme. This week is intended to honor the team of people who work in our nation’s public schools … everyone from the bus driver and classroom teacher to the cafeteria worker and administrative staff, plus countless others. This week’s themed days are:
Learn more about how you can lead the celebration of American Education Week at your school by visiting www.nea.org/aew and checking NEA’s AEW resources.
Our special election runoff for Corresponding Secretary has now concluded … thank you to everyone who voted and especially to our two candidates. We are pleased to announce that Caroline Hall has been elected to serve as CEA Corresponding Secretary for the final year of a 2-year term. Full election results can be found on our website.
CEA recently released a statement in support of the non-discrimination ordinance proposed to the City of Chandler that would be fully-inclusive and include sexual orientation and gender identity. Read our full statement here, and read more from the Chandler Chamber of Commerce about how to support making Chandler an inclusive community.
