STANDING UP AGAINST CHRONIC UNDERFUNDING

WHEREAS, school districts have dealt with chronic underfunding for years; and

WHEREAS, many districts have used the underfunding of schools to implement alternative attendance, some of which goes against research-supported educational models. These programs, be they a four-day week, cyber classrooms or fast-tracked education, negatively impact students, members of the paraprofessional and school-related personnel (PSRP) community and our public schools; and

WHEREAS, in requiring schools to divide an ever-dwindling pool of resources, there is an emerging trend that relies on making decisions based on the financial bottom line rather than proven educational standards and practices. A school district’s need to save money should not outweigh the needs of parents, who want safe, good education for their children. And the need for a district to save money should not be at the expense of taking away full-time school support staff jobs in our communities; and

WHEREAS, alternative attendance models disproportionately impact school support staff, who most often live in the community in which they work. When an hourly school support worker loses an entire day’s worth of wages/hours, the entire community is negatively impacted. The less money PSRPs make, the less they are able to spend in the community and the less of a tax base they are able to give toward the schools. It’s a no-win situation:

RESOLVED, that, in accordance with the American Federation of Teachers’ long history of advocacy, the AFT will support research measures that will evaluate the effects that these alternative attendance schemes have upon both staff and students. The AFT will use these findings to advocate for better contracts that create the best possible learning environments for both students and staff; and

RESOLVED, in continuing the AFT’s commitment to fair and equitable school funding, the union will support measures to identify best practices in education funding that recognize the social and economic issues of the communities that schools serve. This will ensure that higher-need schools get the adequate resources to support their students; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will educate our members and communities about how alternative attendance models negatively impact our school support staff and our public schools; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will support research efforts that will help us to better understand combative funding tactics and give us appropriate models to challenge the chronic underfunding of schools, because when workers are unified, their best interests are put forward.