WEACinPrint June 2009

June 2009

Summer Academy gets moving this July Page 12

volume 1 | issue 8

The silver lining The state budget brings some good news for education employees: Collective Bargaining Reform There are several collective bargaining reform measures in the budget, including the repeal of the QEO, set to take effect July 1, 2010.

A one-year window before the QEO is repealed allows all parties involved in collective bargaining to transition into the process of a more equitable system for contract negotiations, WEAC President Mary Bell said.

During the transition year, access to interest arbitration is possible only if mutually agreed upon by both parties. If a contract would go to arbitration in the first year, the contract would be settled under new arbitration rules whereby arbitrators are no longer required to give greatest weight to revenue caps and greater weight to local economic conditions.

ESP retirement equity Education support professionals will now be recognized equitably for their contributions under the Wisconsin Retirement System. Early retirement calculations will be based on the school year, instead of the calendar year, just like teachers' retirement is calculated.

The state budget also includes voucher school accountability measures (see page 8) and it protects funding for technical colleges (see page 9). ■

State budget casts a cloud over schools T

he storm clouds of the slumping economy have moved over our schools.

More inside

The national recession hit home for Wisconsin's public schools this spring, as a $6.6 billion budget shortfall at the state level prompted severe budget cuts, including in education.

■B ills being debated could bring big changes to education, page 8.

The 2009-11 budget, advanced by the Joint Finance Committee in late May, slashes more than $300 million from school aid to local districts.

For the latest state budget news, visit www.weac.org/budget.

■ L aid-off workers flock to tech schools to learn new skills, page 9.

The State Assembly and Senate are expected to take up the budget proposal this month, with the hope of getting it to Governor Jim Doyle’s desk in July.

Provisions of the final Joint Finance budget include: • Reductions to general aids to local school districts by 3.1 percent and cuts to categorical aids of 2.5 percent (with the exception of special education), totaling more than $300 million over the biennium. continued on page 8

insideandonline Not afraid to ‘act bizarre’

Summer school for teachers

Walking on the ‘Child’s Side’

Be careful ‘gifting’ to heirs

Green Bay teacher says he’s the oldest eighth-grader.

Break is the time for some to target license requirements.

Rally marks anniversary of school funding awareness.

Dollars & Sense looks at wills and trusts.

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www.weac.org/capitol

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Promoting great teachers across Wisconsin

Member Spotlight

The sponsorships go by different names but they all serve the same purpose – to highlight teachers and the dedicated work they do across the state. WEAC is a partner with five TV stations in programs to promote educators for their everyday contributions to great schools.

Whether they’re called “Topnotch Teachers,” “Top Grade Teachers,” “Our Community Teachers” or “Terrific Teachers,” the sponsorships promote and celebrate teachers for their efforts in the classroom.

WEAC's partnership in these programs is an extension of our union's community outreach program.

To recognize a special teacher in these programs, visit the stations’ Web sites listed below.

The following TV stations are partners in the programs: WTMJ-Milwaukee, “Top Grade Teachers,” www.todaystmj4.com WISC-Madison, “Topnotch Teachers,” www.channel3000.com WKBT-La Crosse, “Top Notch Teachers,” www.wkbt.com WSAW-Wausau, “Our Community Teachers,” www.wsaw.com WFRV-Green Bay, “Terrific Teachers,” www.wfrv.com ■

Ron Huisheere Middle school teacher Green Bay

At Franklin Middle School in Green Bay, Ron Huisheere has the oldest eighth-grader in his math class – himself. Huisheere, who has taught at the school for 23 years, doesn’t just identify with his early teenage students. He sees himself as almost trapped in that age.

“I am the oldest eighth-grader in the school. I had great eighth-grade teachers while I was growing up.

Those teachers taught me not to be afraid, to be a leader, to do my best, and to enjoy school. So it was just natural for me to be drawn to this grade level,” Huisheere says.

That means Huisheere is making pop-culture references his students will get, and trying some way to tie it all into math lessons.

“I do not believe that I could use the same techniques – if you call my humor a technique – exactly the same in another building. I have been at Franklin since 1986, and the building has molded me into the teacher that I presently am. I love it here and plan on being

Mary Bell, President Guy Costello, Vice President Betsy Kippers, Secretary-Treasurer Dan Burkhalter, Executive Director Kim Haas, Public Relations Director Bill Hurley, Editor Laura DeVries, Graphic Design Specialist Contributing writers: Christina Brey, Matthew Call, Nyerere Davidson, Bob Moeller

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buried in locker 1301, next to my door,” he says.

But his devotion to reaching students doesn’t end at jokes.

Huisheere is known to “act bizarre” as he puts it – making wild gestures with his hands or props and inflecting his voice to drive his lessons home. His method was influenced by a movie that came out soon after he started teaching.

“It goes back to the movie ‘Stand and Deliver.’ I saw the movie dozens of times, and I realized that ‘traditional methods’ do not work with most students.

I teach in a very non-traditional school, so if I wanted to get the curriculum across I had to use different methods. It took awhile to find the ‘right balance’ of classroom antics, participation, practice, and lecture,” he says. ■

Read the full Spotlight profile at www.weac.org/spotlight

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Links communication school our communication had begun to break down. The complexities of his language were more than I could fathom,” she explains. “The next logical choice was to take intensive sign language classes in college. … I began to learn more about sign language and interpreting was formally introduced to me and it became intriguing — and here I am now, an interpreter for MPS.”

Sign language interpreters help students succeed in the classroom y Nyerere Davidson B Contributing writer “Hello, Miss Watson!” can be heard singing from the mouths of students at Milwaukee Sign Language School as Lauren L. Watson walks down the hallway to her first class of the day. Equipped with a bright smile and an optimistic attitude, the 25-year-old Milwaukee native begins to prep for her day.

For Watson, a third-year sign language interpreter for Milwaukee Public Schools, her career path seems to be less of a coincidence and more of a destined passage.

“I have a deaf younger brother, and with the death of my parents in high www.weac.org

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June 2009

While learning the tools she acquired while earning an Educational Sign Interpreter Technician associate’s degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College, Watson has become a role model for her students.

equal access to their own education,” Priebe says. “Through the frustrations, the successes and the socio-economic struggles the children in MPS often face, I am also there as a supporter and mentor to all the students the same as any good teacher would be.”

Lauren Watson (right) signs for students as Mary Beth Selbach teaches a class.

“I hope to continue to positively impact the lives of both deaf and hearing,” Watson says.

Although the sign language interpreter position at MPS falls under the paraprofessional category, several interpreters take on roles as teachers and mentors for many of the students.

“My job differs from a teacher because I am a conduit of language. … I take spoken language and put it into sign language or vice-versa,” Watson adds. “They are not my words, but those of the hearing person or deaf person. I facilitate communication.”

Kris Priebe, a fellow sign language interpreter at Milwaukee Sign Language School, agrees.

“Like a teacher, I am responsible in part for my students’ education. It is my responsibility to relay the class content accurately so that deaf children have

Priebe says being a language interpreter is both challenging and rewarding. “It is one of the most difficult jobs I can imagine. An educational interpreter is responsible for behavior management, tutoring, interpreting a message clearly, and maintaining a strict code of conduct.”

Watson is attending Mount Mary College pursuing her bachelor’s degree in education. She plans to make the transition from sign language interpreter to teacher, just like Naomi Guzman did.

Guzman, a teacher of the deaf and hardof-hearing at MSLS, was an interpreter for nine years before stepping into her first year as a teacher. Guzman relishes her combined role as an interpreter and a teacher.

“We are links for communication,” she says. ■

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Outreach to Teach Student WEA members volunteer to transform Kansasville School With paint and sawdust covering hands, clothes and the occasional foot, 180 Student WEA members swept through the Kansasville School, undertaking more repairs than the school’s resident maintenance coordinator could do in three lifetimes. “We’re doing so much it would take me 250 years to do everything we're doing,” says Matt Stratton, physical education and health teacher at Kansasville School who also handles the school’s maintenance.

Student WEA members Whitney Pfeifer and Stratton makes repairs on the school, parts of which are 100 years old, on nights and in the summer. The one-person operation is time-consuming (half of his summer is taken up just by stripping and waxing the small school’s floors) and some projects are pushed off as a result.

Katie Larson take a brief break from painting a keyboard on the wall of the Kansasville School library while UW-La Crosse students paint the ceiling of the gym inside the school during the annual Student WEA Outreach to Teach event.

Enter Student WEA’s Outreach to Teach.

The annual program sent a convoy of college students to Kansasville, an unincorporated village about 10 miles east of Burlington, to tear down and replace wainscoting, paint nearly every surface, create classroom decorations and make some repairs to doors and cabinets.

The Outreach to Teach volunteers sang along to boomboxes as they rolled paint, cut wood and sanded trim.

“I love the show ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ and when they said this was like a school edition of it, I was just ecstatic,” says Whitney Pfeifer, a Student WEA member who attends Wisconsin Lutheran College. “I’m like ‘Sign me up – I would love to try this.’”

To watch a video of the Outreach to Teach event in action, visit www.weac.org

Stratton, the Outreach to Teach project coordinator, says school officials in Kansasville were grateful for the eager workers giving their school a facelift.

“The school board has been in here and everything, and they’re just in awe,” Stratton says. ■

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Summer school for teachers Summer months bring with them family vacations, camp for kids and – for educators at least – professional development.

For those licensed after 2004, summer professional development typically means classes for credit to maintain licensing and to move up the pay scale. For teachers licensed after 2004, keeping up to date on licensing means developing a professional development plan, as well as taking credit courses for local salary requirements.

If you’re looking into classes, remember that they should be taken at an accredited institution of higher learning, such as at a UW System campus. UW-Green Bay, for example, this summer is offering classes on the interactive features of SMART Board technology, Spanish for professionals and technology innovations in an online setting.

Remember that the Department of Public Instruction won’t notify you when your license is set to expire. To check your dates and for more information on licensing requirements, visit DPI’s Web site at www.dpi.wi.gov/tepdl.

You also can check out WEAC's Professional Resources page online at www.weac.org/licensing for additional information. ■

What do you think

How are you using the summer months for professional development?

Visit www.weac.org/multimedia and vote in our online poll.

June 2009

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WEACinPrint

Share Your Photos

To share photos of activities in your local association or school district, please e-mail photo files to InPrint@weac.org. w w w. w e a c . o r g / s h a r e p h o t o s

School funding reform rally marks ‘Child’s Side’ anniversary Ten years after a group of northern Wisconsin educators first walked across the state to draw attention to the need to reform school funding, they will return to Madison for a rally focusing on the fact that “the kids are still waiting.” And everyone who supports school funding reform is invited and encouraged to attend.

The school funding reform rally will begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Participants will march to the State Capitol and rally on the Capitol steps.

Highland students Morgan Hach, Becky Pink and Andie Hach stand with teacher Anne Baldwin at Miller Park during the Milwaukee Brewers’ Weather Day on April 29. Fifty-four Highland students won tickets from WEAC and the Brewers to take part in lessons about meteorology at Miller Park. About half of the students had never been to a Brewers game before and the Brewers let the students’ bus driver in to see the game for free. Some of the students got into the game to root for Brewers firstbaseman Prince Fielder. ■ With the support of the PTO and the help of some parent volunteers, educators at Mukwonago’s Rolling Hills Elementary School took pictures of most of their 560 students and incorporated them into an image of the American flag. “Because the pictures were taken against red or white backgrounds (we had to do some math here to figure out how many red pictures and how many white background pictures were needed), it was easy to create the red and white stripes,” says Debbi Oswalt, who submitted this picture. ■

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“We need to help our legislators understand that we can’t wait much longer,” according to a flier supporting the rally. “We need to help our kids now.”

The rally marks the 10-year anniversary of the first Walk on the Child’s Side, a 240-mile march along Wisconsin highways, from Butternut to Madison, to draw attention to the plight of school districts and Wisconsin’s children as a result of a failed system of school funding. Walk on the Child’s Side was held for four years.

This year’s rally is sponsored by the Price County Citizens Who CARE (the original sponsor of Walk on the Child’s Side), the Northern Tier UniServ, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.

For more information about the event, visit www.weac.org/capitol. ■

For more news headlines and articles, visit www.weac.org/news

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2009 WEAC Representative Assembly

Delegates set direction Nearly 900 delegates gathered in La Crosse for WEAC’s annual Representative Assembly on April 25-26, deciding an NEA director seat, dues levels and a host of new business items, including attacking revenue caps and attempting to protect teachers from online harassment.

WEAC President Mary Bell opened the RA highlighting the collective action of members, from working to elect candidates who want to see public schools succeed to focusing their dedication on the classroom.

“This collective One that I see before me has power and it has incredible promise. It’s reflected in each face I see here today.

It’s the same Mary Bell addresses look I see in delegates to say “We’ve the eyes of come a long way.” our teachers and education support professionals when I walk through a school hallway,” Bell said. “Look around. These are the faces of educators – educators uniting for action. That is why we’re here, isn’t it? We’ve brainstormed and goal-set, planned and projected. Now we can see just how far we’ve come. And I’m thrilled to tell you: We’ve come a long way. Our successes are pulling us together and providing the momentum we need to stiffen our shoulders, push a little harder, and achieve our goals. Yes, we’re unified.

And we’re ready for action.”

WEAC Vice President Guy Costello told members that their efforts are

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Delegates from the West Central Education Association discuss an agenda item at the 2009 WEAC Representative Assembly in La Crosse.

Find more online Visit www.weac.org/ra2009 for more coverage of the 2009 WEAC Representative Assembly, including a video clip and a photo gallery of the 2009 WEAC scholarship winners and honorees at the annual Awards and Recognition Banquet.

spurring change around issues such as school funding and health care.

Continued work in those areas have led to the School Finance Network funding plan and continued support of federal and state health care reform.

“Whether we’re looking at health care or school funding, we can see that change is on the way. Today, I ask you to renew your commitment to stay in the race. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon,” Costello said.

The 2009 RA marked the 50-year anniversary of Wisconsin passing the nation’s first collective bargaining law

for public employees. WEAC Executive Director Dan Burkhalter said that even now, five decades years later, teachers are advocating for their professions in campaigning against the QEO. “Our union’s history has been defined in large part by our ability to collectively bargain fair contracts that benefit our members and Wisconsin as a whole,” Burkhalter said. “Our history is strong, but the changes that occurred in 1993 have eroded Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law. The QEO and other limitations on our ability to gain fair bargains have made it impossible for teachers to truly be part of the discussion around fair wages, benefits and school quality issues. As a union, we’ve made it our business to demand that fairness and cooperation be returned to collective bargaining.”

This year’s RA brought a contested race for NEA director (seat 1); delegates picked Jeff “JJ” Johnson of Milwaukee to the seat over Britt Hall of Muskego. Both men credited the other for running a June 2009

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New focus put on repealing revenue caps, protecting teachers online Delegates approved seven new business items at the RA, including:

retired member in under 15 years.

■ Revenue caps: The WEAC RA directs the WEAC leadership to aggressively lobby and advocate for draft legislation lifting the state-imposed revenue caps.

■ Local associations: The WEAC Officers and Board of Directors will investigate initiating a Building Full Capacity Locals which focuses on developing the capacity of each Delegates from Cedar Lake United Educators follow the day’s of WEAC’s local events at the 2009 WEAC Representative Assembly in La Crosse. associations. The WEAC Officers local or its potential membership until all and Board of Directors should consider of the original strikebreakers are no longer regional training for local leaders and employed in the teachers’ bargaining a statewide Presidents Academy. The unit by the Hortonville School District.

WEAC Officers and Board of Directors The WEAC will not merge or formally will appoint a steering committee to study affiliate with the AFT-Wisconsin while the feasibility of an initiative focusing on there are any strikebreakers employed Building Full Capacity Locals to report out in the teachers’ bargaining unit by the a recommendation to the WEAC Board Hortonville School District and the of Directors at the January 2010 board Hortonville teachers are affiliated with meeting.

AFT-Wisconsin. However, this does ■ ELL resources: That WEAC will not prohibit the organizations from provide, through its publications and Web working on joint projects or purchasing site, resources to assist English Language services from one another provided that Learners and Bilingual teachers. such are not related to this issue. This policy is to be reviewed annually by the ■ Hortonville: The WEAC shall not Representative Assembly. ■ consider the affiliation of the Hortonville

■ Online disparagement: The 2009 WEAC Representative Assembly charges the Legal Department and the Government Relations Department, in consultation with our allies in the educational community and in state government, to revise all applicable state statutes to better protect teachers, ESPs and other education professionals from online and computer-based harassment, defamation, bullying and/or intimidation.

■ Emerging Voices: The WEAC will allocate $75,000 for the purpose of funding Emerging Voices Programs for UniServs. This funding will be used as a supplement to WEAC program support of Emerging Voices Programs.

■ WEAC-Retired: WEAC shall investigate the possibility of offering a voluntary payroll deduction option (similar to PAC dues or NEA Children’s Fund) for future membership in WEACRetired. For example, a $1.00 deduction over 24 pay periods creates a WEAC fair campaign. Also winning elections were Secretary-Treasurer Betsy Kippers and NEA director (alternate) Brad Lutes, who both ran unopposed for their respective seats.

ESP members be kept the same as the current 2008-09 levels.

This was the off-year in the two-year budget cycle, so the RA did not have a budget to approve.

Kippers said WEAC’s partnerships with groups such as the Wisconsin Technology Council and Institute for Wisconsin’s Future are reaping benefits for schools and technical colleges across the state.

Included in Kippers’s interim budget report was the recommendation, which passed, that 2009-10 dues for Active and

“Our work as an organization is all about coordination, collaboration and relationships. Whether building leaders,

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strengthening professional development, or preparing the next generation to have a seat at the table in coalition with others – our union will be stronger for it and Wisconsin’s pride in its great schools will shine brighter than ever,” Kippers said.

The delegates also approved setting Madison as the site of the 2011 RA. The 2010 event will be held in Green Bay. ■

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• Reductions to per pupil aid under the Milwaukee voucher program by 2.5 percent.

O n

t h e

W e b

• Set revenue limit increases at $200 each year of the biennium in an attempt to hold down property taxes. The revenue limit would return to $275 per pupil after the two years.

“I encourage you – educators and friends of education – to talk about the impact deep cuts have on students and schools.

Together, we can get through these tough times and turn our attention toward the future, rallying for school funding reform that supports great public schools for all Wisconsin kids.”

• Increases to the existing school property tax credit.

• High-poverty aid for property tax relief increases to cover 47 school districts instead of 24 that qualified in the current school year. While counted as school aid, the school levy property tax credit and highpoverty aid are targeted to property owners, and are not used to educate kids.

Coupled with the K-12 education funding cuts, there are also steep budget reductions that will affect state employees, including layoffs and furloughs. The previously approved increases to technical colleges remained untouched.

Cuts will have consequences While the budget contains these measures to improve student learning

us right now. But we also recognize that after 16 years of revenue controls, any cuts to public education will compound the damage to quality schools.

Visit www.weac.org/budget to see a video message from WEAC President Mary Bell, who urges legislators to be mindful of the effect budget cuts will have on students.

and accountability and provide fairness to educators, the cuts will be severe and their impact will be long-lasting, WEAC President Mary Bell said.

“Wisconsin educators will see firsthand the consequences this state budget will have on students,” Bell said. “We recognize that the current budget crisis is temporary and there needs to be give-and-take from all of

Voucher school accountability In addition to repealing the QEO and establishing a fair retirement footing for ESPs, the budget establishes a timetable of measures that move toward greater voucher school accountability, such as requiring voucher school teachers to have bachelor's degrees and ensuring that voucher school students take the same tests as public school students. Voucher schools will also be required for the first time to publicly share testing results the way public schools do.

For the latest news on the state budget, visit www.weac.org/budget. ■

Bills could bring big changes to education With news of an additional $1.6 billion deficit (on top of the previously expected $5 billion), the state budget has a deep impact on schools across Wisconsin. But the impact won't stop there. These education-related bills, being considered separately, are still making the rounds in Madison, and your elected officials will have a say on them: Educator prep time as a mandatory subject of collective bargaining: Senate Bill 67 and Assembly Bill 95 aim to make prep time a mandatory component of negotiations, and both were recommended for approval by committees in their respective houses. The Assembly already has passed its version of the bill.

Mandatory 5K attendance: Both the Senate and the Assembly held public hearings on bills requiring mandatory attendance for those enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten. These bills make that attendance mandatory for those enrolled in public kindergarten programs. The Assembly Education Committee approved the 5K attendance bill on a bipartisan vote.

Anti-bullying: A bill before a Senate committee would require DPI to create a model school policy on bullying by pupils. The policy must define and prohibit bullying and institute a procedure for reporting violations.

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Educator tax deduction for non-reimbursed classroom purchases: Separate bills referred to committees in both houses of the State Legislature aim to create tax deductions of $250 and $500 for classroom purchases that are not reimbursed.

Indoor environmental quality in schools: A bill referred to a Senate committee would create a task force to make recommendations to the Department of Public Instruction for the development of a model management plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in Wisconsin’s schools.

School conference and activities leave: Senate and Assembly bills would allow any employee in the state to take up to 16 hours of school conference and activities leave during the year from their employer. School conference and activities leave may be taken to attend school conferences or classroom activities relating to the employee’s child that cannot be scheduled during nonworking hours. WEAC has presented testimony about the measure in the Assembly Education Committee.

Keep up to date on the progress of these bills at the Issues & Advocacy section of www.weac.org. ■

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Laid-off workers flock to tech schools Some enrollments expected to increase nearly 30 percent

president of her local education support professionals union, organized periodic lunches between the leadership of the union and the college’s administration.

“It’s to discuss ‘hot topics,’ so they don’t turn into grievances,” Roehl says.

“It is not necessarily related to contractual items, but to develop the relationship. We need to stay in constant communication.”

The economic collapse has had a side effect for some educators. At technical colleges across the state, laid-off workers are going back to school to learn new skills to help them get back into the job market – with teachers, counselors and support staff arranging new courses, sections and financial plans to help them.

Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville has seen more than a 20 percent increase in enrollment in part due to auto-industry layoffs in that area. Mid-State Technical College in Marshfield has seen a 14 percent enrollment increase in the last year.

At Gateway Technical College in Kenosha – where all three counties it serves have double-digit unemployment rates – educators are seeing an 11 percent increase in enrollment, and technical college staff see the influx as just the beginning.

“I think we’re seeing the tip of the iceberg,” says Tanya Burton, a counselor at Gateway. “People really want to come back to school and get new skills.”

Some dislocated workers are using funds provided by their former employers to get new training, entering technical schools in their area. Others are waiting for their financial aid applications to be approved, a process that can take more than a month. Burton says she has been referring many students to the fall semester once they learn their financial aid still is being processed.

Adds Tammy Roehl, an administrative assistant in the Business and Information Technology Department of Blackhawk: “I know we’re expecting another increase in the fall. There’s definitely going to be challenges in terms of classes getting full and dedicating resources to help the new students.”

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Technical colleges got a bit of help from the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee this spring.

Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville has seen more than a 20 percent increase in enrollment.

Technical college educators typically have taught recent high school graduates looking to get specialized training. Now they’re seeing former factory workers who haven’t written a report in decades or might have limited knowledge of computers.

The committee protected previously approved investments in technical colleges that would alleviate $3.37 million in cuts proposed by Governor Jim Doyle, increased general aid by $1.84 million over the biennium, and increased financial aid for Wisconsin Higher Education Grants for technical college students by 3.5 percent per year.

At some schools such as Blackhawk, basic courses were added to the recent spring semester; they typically are offered only in the fall when new students begin classes.

Mid-State Technical College, where paper industry layoffs have hit “If you stop and think about it, a lot the community hard, is offering classes of people in factory such as career jobs have been awareness and working in those resume preparation factories their whole specifically geared life. They might not to getting displaced have the technical workers or or communication returning veterans WEAC represents many skills needed for into the job technical college staff other jobs,” says market. workers across the state, including Maggie Hilgart, a “When people support workers at Blackhawk software instructor at are displaced, many Technical College in Janesville and Mid-State Technical people have lost both faculty and support personnel College. “They’re the job they’ve at Gateway Technical College in coming to us to learn had their entire Kenosha. the skills they need life,” Hilgart says. to get back into the “They’ve lost their job market.” identity, they’ve

Did you know

The increased enrollment has meant expanded hours and new duties for technical college staff. Roehl, the

lost their confidence. They need nurturing to get them back on track.” ■

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When it comes to investing...

Fees matter You wouldn’t buy a car without asking the price. So why would you buy a retirement investment product without finding out how much you will be paying for it? Surprisingly, national statistics indicate that four out of five investors do not know about fees associated with their retirement savings plan. Are you contributing to a retirement savings account such as a 403(b)?

How much do you know about the fees associated with your plan?

The market downturn hit account balances of those invested in stocks pretty hard. Unfortunately, you have no control over what the markets do – the value of stocks and bonds can rise or fall on any given day. It’s a fact of investing. However, account fees also take a bite out of your balance.

account over the next 35 years average 7% and fees and expenses reduce your average returns by 0.5%, your account balance will grow to $227,000 at retirement, even if there are no further contributions to your account. If fees and expenses are 1.5%, however, your account balance will grow to only $163,000. The 1% difference in fees and expenses would reduce your account balance at retirement by 28%.

Find out more online To help you get a better feel for potential fees and assist you in choosing a provider that fits your needs, consider the following informational resources: ❑ www.sec.gov/investor/ teachers.shtml Created by the Securities and Exchange Commission “just for teachers.”

This example is hypothetical and is not intended to represent actual performance, rate of return, or actual accumulations to account assets.

❑ www.403bwise.com Created by two teachers to provide teachers with unbiased 403(b) education. ❑ www.weabenefits.com Find definitions of fees associated with retirement savings accounts and information about the WEA TSA Trust 403(b) program.

After asset allocation, the No. 1 factor that affects your rate of return is cost. Fees matter! While an extra percentage point in fees may seem insignificant, the effect on your account can be dramatic. The good news is you have control over how much you pay in fees and expenses.

According to Lukas, there are a number of different types of fees to be aware of, such as management fees, investment expenses, commissions, mortality and expense fees, and surrender charges. “The best time to uncover fees and surrender charges is before you invest. It truly pays to do your homework before choosing a provider.”

says Jay Lukas, a Retirement Investment Specialist for WEA Trust Member Benefits.

The following example, provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, demonstrates how fees and expenses could impact your account balance over a given period of time.

“Fees vary greatly among vendors and across investments. Take the time to understand what you are paying and why,”

Assume that you are an employee with 35 years until retirement and a current retirement savings account balance of $25,000. If returns on investments in your

TSA program securities offered through WEA Investment Services Inc., member FINRA. This article is for informational purposes only and not intended to be legal or tax advice.

Consult your tax adviser or attorney before taking any action. ■

O U R PA RT N E R S I haven’t started saving yet!

What should I be doing right now with my investments?

I’d like to retire, but…

Help is here! Get details and register at weabenefits.com.

Summer ‘09 • FREE • Seating Limited

Financial Tune-Up Seminars 10

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1% Cash Back!

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When you refinance your Auto Loan with WEA Credit Union !

For example: refinance a $20,000 and earn $200 - and enjoy WEA’s low rates!

800-457-1142 . weacu.com *Membership eligibility required. Offer available for limited time only and loan must remain open for 90 days. 1% Cash Back incentive is valid only for refinances of autos from other institutions. Maximum reward $250 per member. Approval subject to normal credit standards.

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By Bob Moeller – WEAC Member Benefits Take control of your personal finances

Be careful of ‘gifting’ property to heirs When meeting with individual members, I frequently am asked whether it makes sense for them to gift some property to their children. Frequently the concern is that if they go into a nursing home then the gifted property won’t be “available” to pay their nursing home costs, so perhaps Medicaid will.

While the thought behind gifting is generous, it is something you have to approach with full knowledge of possible consequences. First, just in terms of nursing home costs, any gifting done fewer than five years before applying for Medicaid will not be protected. So, if Dad has early stage Alzheimer’s it might be too late to go that route.

Next, remember that a gift is a gift.

Once made, it not something you can just change your mind about easily. So, if you give your cottage to your two children, and title it in their names, this might look like a great family move … until one of the children gets involved in a divorce. Or gets sued. Or runs into financial problems.

Be careful.

Then you should realize the tax consequences of gifting. Generally, if you gift property, the person who gets your property also gets your tax cost basis.

That means that if you paid $5,000 for stock that is now worth $20,000 and the person receiving your gift sells it for

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June 2009

$20,000, he or she must pay income taxes on the $15,000 gain, the same as you would have if you sold it. Similarly, if you gift a duplex that you are renting out and have depreciated, the new owner (let’s say your son) gets your cost basis for depreciation purposes, which means they may not have a lot of depreciation left and will thus have more taxable income.

On the other hand, if your son inherits the property, his tax cost basis is not your cost basis, but is “stepped up” to the value on the date of your death. In our duplex example, that means the new owner (your son), can now continue renting it out but take depreciation on a much higher cost basis. This “step up in cost basis,” which is a fancy IRS type term, is very valuable when you are leaving stocks, mutual funds, buildings, etc., to your children through inheritance. There is no step up for the various types of annuities, which is one reason they are not good places to invest.

Sometimes it seems like a good way to pass assets to children is to put them as joint owners on your account. But the same problems arise. Divorce, lawsuit or financial problems the children have can all possibly get to those assets. And, sometimes, unfortunately, so can they get to them.

Much better is to put a “pay on death” designation on the assets, which you can usually do for free. You can still give your child signing rights if you wish to, but make

sure you trust them. You can even put a pay on death designation on your home by seeing a real estate attorney.

Finally, since we are on the subject of giving, you should make sure you have all your beneficiary designations the way you want them. I recently read about a case that is going to the Supreme Court involving a daughter who did not inherit a retirement account when her father died, even though her mother, when divorcing her father years earlier, gave up all rights to the account in the divorce agreement. The father, unfortunately, did not change the beneficiary in the retirement account. Anything in his will would have no bearing if the beneficiary hadn’t been changed. The ETF assures me that this kind of thing happens with ETF accounts.

Again, your will has no control over beneficiary designations. Or pay on death designations. Or accounts held in joint name. Next, it is a good idea to name contingent beneficiaries.

Never name minors. That would probably require a court supervision of distribution. You can prevent that by naming a trust for the minor.

Make it a point to go over each and every one of your major assets and make sure the beneficiaries are named as you wish them.

For a summer financial planning appointment with Bob Moeller call (800)362-8034, extension 253.

Leave a comment at the Dollars & Sense blog at www.weac.org/dollars

This article is for information purposes only. ■

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2009 WEAC Summer Academy

Moving forward, uniting for action

Wisconsin La Crosse Center | La Crosse,

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Twelve courses are available covering a wide range of topics that convey this year’s theme of Uniting for Action. Bargaining, Contract Enforcement, Creating a Campaign Success, and Activists and Advocacy will provide the skills required to unify around doing the work of your local for its members.

Local Leadership Development and Emerging Voices welcome elected leaders and new members, respectively, to grow and experience how to be local energizing forces. The member professional development courses include National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards Candidate Preparation, NBPTS Facilitators Institute, the WEAC Licensure Support Toolkit, and ESP Professional Development, and they provide exciting growth opportunities. Many courses qualify for either Bargaining Certificate or PDA ESP Certificate hours.

In addition to the coursework, there will be a variety of fun events and networking opportunities. On Monday night, dinner and social activities will be provided by WEA Trust. On Tuesday morning, there will be a “Movin’ and Munchin’ Wellness” option with Wisconsin Olympians Suzy Favor Hamilton and Casey FitzRandolph. The Tuesday afternoon break will be sponsored by WEA Trust Member Benefits. On Tuesday night, optional choices are a Mississippi Riverboat dinner cruise or a La Crosse Loggers baseball game and picnic. All in all, there will be time to meet new friends and reconnect with members from across the state!

Go to www.weac.org/summeracademy for a brochure and registration information.

Online registration is the quickest way to register. Paper registration forms are available online for downloading. Your UniServ is available to assist you in registering and to

33 Nob Hill Road, P.O. Box 8003 Madison, WI 53708-8003 800-362-8034 www.weac.org

The 2009 WEAC Summer Academy will be held July 26-29 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse. This will be another July 26 – July 29, 2009 exciting opportunity to learn new skills as well as network with other members.

Team and individual discounts continue through June 30, but courses fill quickly so early registration is recommended.

answer questions about possible financial support. You may also contact Gayle Isermann at IsermannG@weac.org for other questions.

Come join us and your fellow members and be a part of Uniting for Action this summer in La Crosse! ■

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A word from Ron Kind In a column to teachers, Congressman Ron Kind says the federal stimulus package will help support excellent teachers. Visit www.weac.org/news for more.

Did you know that 77 percent of respondents in a WEAC poll support repealing the September 1 school start date in favoring of an earlier school year? Check out our other polls on the WEAC web site by visiting www.weac.org/multimedia. ■