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<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b style="">Promise Rally – March 14 – </b></font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b style="">Annapolis</b></font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b style="">, </b></font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b style="">MD</b></font><br><br>On March 14 at 6 p.m., Hyattsville-area
supporters of our schools, educators, police, health care workers, public
employees, and community members from around the state will march on Annapolis
to ask legislators to spare the proposed devastating cuts to public schools and
services.<br>
<b style=""><i style=""><br>Free
transportation to the Rally</i></b><br><br>
Supporters have organized a <b style="">bus to
the rally leaving from Hyattsville Elementary</b> <b>School </b>(5311
43rd Ave.). But we need at least 16 more people to
sign up to make the transportation a go. Those who attend will be provided a
box lunch. The bus will leave between 4 and 4:30
p.m. If you’d like to take advantage of this ride, please send you
first and last names, contact number, and e-mail to Rachel Rectanus (Associate
Rep at Hyattsville Elementary for PGCEA) at <a href="mailto:rachel.rectanus@pgcps.org">rachel.rectanus@pgcps.org</a> or deliver
this information to Mrs. Washburn in the school’s main office (301-209-5800).<br>
<b style=""><i style=""><br>From
the MSEA website…</i></b><br><br>
<blockquote><b style="">Our Schools</b><br>
For three years in a row, Maryland's
public schools have been named #1 in the country. With the magnitude of the
proposed cuts, the future may not be so bright. Even though <a href="http://www.rallytokeepthepromise.com/Even%20though%2082%20percent%20of%20Maryland%20voters%20oppose%20it," title="A Path Towards Closing the Budget Gap - Maryland Public Opinion Survey" target="_blank">82
percent of Maryland voters oppose it</a>, legislators are considering a $100
million cut to education funding this year, a move sure to send shock waves
into schools and classrooms by boosting class sizes and threatening widespread
layoffs. <br><br>At the same time, our elected officials are planning drastic changes to the
pension system that will affect our state's ability to recruit and retain the
best and brightest educators. The proposals under consideration would force
educators to pay the bill for Wall Street's excesses, which have hammered the
health of the pension fund.<br><br>Although the fund is already recovering nicely, some legislators are using
these short-term circumstances to call for drastic, permanent changes to the
pension system, which would seriously jeopardize educators' long-term
retirement security.<br><br>The Maryland Pension System already offers one of the lowest pension
benefits to educators in the country. How will we attract and retain the
educators we need to keep our schools #1 with shrunken resources and a sub-par
pension?<br><br></blockquote><br>Thank you.<br>Bart Lawrence<br>
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