Senate Hearing From Thousands of Public Ed Supporters

By Cynthia McCabe

After months of build-up, it’s finally here. The Senate is scheduled to vote today on education jobs funding and thousands of public education supporters nationwide are jamming U.S. Senate phone lines and email systems to demand that legislators save 135,000 educator jobs.

Roughly $10 billion in funding for those jobs is included in H.R. 1586, a House-passed bill coming to the Senate today. The Senate must first vote for cloture, which clears the way for a vote on the bill and any amendments.

Many parents and students return to schools across this country in just a few weeks and they’ll find class sizes of 40, four-day school weeks, no after school programs, and fewer course selections.

The U.S. House in July passed a version of the bill now before the Senate, allocating $10 billion for education jobs. But the Senate must approve a similar version in order for the jobs to be saved.

Supporters are this weekend and Monday calling 1-866-608-6355, urging their senators to pass the small business bill including the education jobs funding.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked a Senate effort to vote on the education jobs fund. Victims were the millions of American school children who are certain to feel the pinch from an estimated 300,000 teachers, bus drivers, custodians, counselors, and other essential school staff who may not return to work for the coming school year if the education jobs fund does not pass.

Furthermore, the loss of this number of jobs in communities will lead to a ripple effect of an additional 90,000 private sector jobs being lost, according to economic analysis.

NEA and a coalition of more than 120 education and community groups continue to push for a real, unobstructed vote on the education jobs fund in the Senate.  The White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have all expressed their desire to pass this critically needed legislation before Congress leaves for recess.

Learn more about how NEA’s 3.2 million members and supporters are mobilizing to speak up for education and kids at EducationVotes.

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