March 19 is Pink (slip) Day
March 13, 2010 by Webmaster
Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget message included the warning that as many as 17,000 educators will be laid off if a tax increase is not passed this spring. Right now, thousands of IEA members are receiving pink slips – layoff notices for the coming year.
We are asking all IEA members to stand in solidarity with our laid-off members on Friday, March 19th by wearing pink. We also invite administrators, parents and community members to join us, in recognition of the effect that these losses will have on the quality of education our state.
Wear pink to the RA
The two gubernatorial candidates, Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Bill Brady, will be speaking at the IEA Annual Representative Assembly (RA) on March 19 in Rosemont. With our RA delegates in pink, we will show the state the IEA commitment to fair funding, and the impact that funding cuts will have on the goal to build a quality education system and economy in the state.
IEA will issue a statewide news release next week highlighting the fact that IEA members statewide are being encouraged to wear pink.
Please email IEA Communications so your district’s  participation can be highlighted.
Remember:
- If you are coming to the RA: Pack your pink!
- If you are working back home: Wear your pink on the nineteenth!
This is an awesome suggestion. This will show our fellow released members we support them no matter what position they hold. Maybe we could even convince our parents that are speaking out against these rifs to wear pink to their worksites as well. I’m going to spread the word to our supportive parents! It will sure stir up some conversations!
I was one of these teachers to get riffed….in year 4. I will definitely be wearing pink on Friday.
Is this a listing of all staff and teachers that were cut? I am interested in district u-46. Thanks! My thoughts and prayers are with all of you great teachers who were RIFed last week!
I was pink slipped too. I’m so very, very sad, but I will wear pink on Friday. I’m wondering if I should just leave my curriculum on my desk next year for the kids to sort out on their own?
After 32 years of teaching art (24 of them in the same district), my program was “reduced”. In order to continue to be employed full time, I will be teaching language arts next year. I’m just glad I have a “fall back” subject I can teach, but it’s not the way I wanted to spend the last 3-4 years of my career.
Although I am sad to be losing my job next year, as a parent, I’m more upset about the loss of some of our programs. We should start testing art, music, even family and consumer science on the ISAT tests. Maybe then we could keep these valuable programs! I don’t know if there is a good solution – it just makes me sad.
How can we emphasize the importance of education when our state can’t even fund the schools. We encourage our children to work hard, dedicate their attention to education, and they’ll be rewarded with opportunities. These opportunities have been taken away by our state. Shame on all the politicians who site back, collect their big fat paychecks, and watch thousands of teachers and school administrators get cut.
The State of Illinois sure doesn’t delay on taking your tax dollars.
I am devastated. Twenty five years of teaching and now what do I do? Does anyone else feel like a pawn in the governor’s political game? We are being used to pass a tax hike and there is no guarantee the money would even be used to rehire teachers or reinstate programs. I feel so bad for the kids who need more than math and reading to get excited about school. I’m thinking that would be all of them…
Pink on Friday – great idea!
I feel sorry for everyone who has been affected by this, and I feel sorry for myself. I am just starting out in the education field; I just graduated in December 2009 from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in Elementary Education and a Middle Level Endorsement in Math and I know this is the worst time to look for a job with an economy in such trouble…I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my future, but I’m trying to remain positive…
WHAT A MESS THIS IS ALL TURNING INTO. MY DISTRICT LET GO OF A SLEW OF TEACHERS. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO REACH TO THE TOP WITH THE ISATS WHEN I AM GOING TO BE TEACHING 35-37 KIDS IN A CLASS NEXT YEAR. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH EDUCATION TODAY? WE ARE TEACHERS AND TEACHING OUR FUTURE! OPRAH HAS TO START EXPOSING ALL THIS TO THE PUBLIC. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE! SHAME ON ALL THE POLITICIANS!
I am a first year teacher who is losing her job, its crushing. I feel like there is no hope for finding another job. Its so discouraging to see how little the state cares about the education of our children…
I am very saddened that our state doesn’t think highly of our childrens education. This is such a disappointment. My thoughts go out to the teachers that have and will receive a “pink slip”.
I thought the IL lottery was suppose to go towards education/schools…does it still?
What a mess the Quincy Public Schools are in!!!! I know some of the awesome teachers that just got released. Now they are out of a job/career for the meantime (hopefully, just temporarily) and my children will probably be in big old classes. (Don’t comment on large class sizes unless you’ve been a teacher and taught in an actual classroom before, thank you.) We all sound like broken records in our questioning of the state of Illinois priorities, but it is unbelievable. PLEASE OPRAH, HELP US! First Blagoevich, now this. They make us look like a bunch of idiots. Worse than that, you’re messing with the education of our children.