President's Report
Updates
Seeking RCEA Members for State Committees - Your chance to get involved and have input!
If you have wanted to become more involved but not know quite how to start, here is a great opportunity. WVEA is seeking local members to serve on one of three state committees - Legislative Committee, Membership Committee, or Budget Committee.
This is a chance to have input in your association on the state level. The meetings will be held in February or March and will be done virtually, so it is not a great time commitment. If you would like to have your name submitted as a nominee from Raleigh County, please contact me (John Quesenberry) by Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. You can email me (coachqparkpride@yahoo.com) or text me a message or call (304-222-0271). I'll be happy to answer any questions you have also.
Election Notes - Amendments 2 and 4 go down to defeat
Thanks to everyone for their hard work getting out the vote to defeat Amendments 2 and 4 on the election ballot. Your hard work protected local funding not only for public schools, but for our EMT's, volunteer fire departments, law enforcement, and local libraries. It also preserved local control for these public services and first responders. The defeat of Amendment 4 helped limit political agendas from our classroom keeping autonomy for the nonpartisan State Board of Education and Department of Education and local Boards of Education.
I would like to especially point out the work of some of our members who went above and beyond with the design, purchase, and distribution of yard signs and an electronic billboard. Thanks to our former president Wendy Peters and former Treasurer Rachel Halstead. Thank you to RCEA/WVEA local organizer and member Amber Hart and to executive committee member Jo Frost and our WVEA ODS (Rep), Chris Arbogast for helping distribute yard signs and everyone else who put up signs, spread the word, and encouraged others to vote. We are also fortunate to have had our local Board of Education pass a resolution opposing both amendments. We appreciate our former RCEA President, Marie Hamrick for her leadership at the Board level and are thankful for our Board of Education members taking such a public stand. We are also grateful for the tireless work of Superintendent David Price in making sure everyone was aware of the amendments and the effects they would have on the public school system. Although our Central Office leaders were careful not to try to tell people how to vote, they did a great job of presenting the information about each amendment so people could make informed decisions.
Upcoming Meeting with Superintendent
The next meeting with the County Superintendent will be Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. If you have issues you would like your executive committee to address with the Superintendent, please contact any of the officers or executive committee members between now and the Thursday before that meeting so we can place your concerns or questions on the agenda. (Officers and Executive Committee are listed under "Local Leadership" on the Home section of the website.
Welcome
Make sure you check out the news item introducing and welcoming our newest county officer, Rachel McAlister.
Also a big welcome to these new RCEA members. We are so glad you are one of us!
Lindsay Acord - Fairdale Elementary
Elizabeth Farrell - Daniels Elementary
Jamie Hazelwood - Fairdale Elementary
Elizabeth Talley - Marsh Fork Elementary
Susan Peelish - Beckley Elementary
Elizabeth Ashwood - Trap Hill Middle
Tina Suttle - Beckley Stratton Middle
Elizabeth Jenkins - Fairdale Elementary
Jeremy Shawver - Marsh Fork Elementary
Jennifer Workman-Doss - Fairdale Elementary
Nathanael Dean - Fairdale Elementary
Lee Houck - Beckley Elementary
Julie Holliday - Shady Spring High
As we head into Thanksgiving, I want to wish everyone a blessed holiday and restful, joyous break. And I want each of you to know how thankful we are to be in the association standing together with and for each other. Thank you for all you do every day for the profession, our kids, and our communities.
John Q
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