VERMONT-NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
News Release
For Information:
Darren Allen
802.223.6375 (office)
802.839.8618 (cell)
January 7, 2010
Douglas Proposes to Cut 1,200 Teachers
Vermont-NEA Calls Proposal Misguided, Dangerous
MONTPELIER – Gov. James Douglas today continued his assault on Vermont’s public education system in calling for the elimination of more than 1,200 teachers — men and women who work with children in the state’s local schools.
Vermont-NEA, the union of Vermont educators, believes Douglas’ recommendations, while not surprising, are nonetheless dangerous to local schools, students and our communities, according to Vermont-NEA President Martha Allen.
“It is clear that on his way out, this governor wants to do to Vermont’s local schools what he has done to other state services,” Allen said. “With a decimation of the teacher ranks of this magnitude, Douglas’ proposals are short-sighted, bad for Vermont’s students, bad for economic development and bad for the state’s local communities.”
Vermont-NEA believes that decisions about how to run local schools should remain in the hands of local voters, and not be decreed from a governor whose disdain for public servants is longstanding. Vermont’s teachers are doing their jobs, and, by most measures, doing them well: the state’s students consistently rank near the top of national rankings in academic achievement.
“At a time when President Obama is asking other American states to create smaller, more accountable schools that give students access to quality teachers, Governor Douglas would diminish such a system that has served Vermont well for decades,” Allen said. “His proposals are misguided at best, and devastating to our outstanding local public school system and the students and communities it serves.”
Darren Allen
Communications Director
Vermont-National Education Association
10 Wheelock Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
802.223.6375 x103
802.839.8618 (cell)
vtnea.org
