|
March is Advocacy Month
March 19th is Virtual Lobby Day
Dear Friends &
Neighbors:
It’s
hard to believe that it is already that time of year when we begin planning
for next year. All the units are currently planning events and meeting dates
for the 2008-2009 calendar. It is a very exciting time as we look to the
future.
To
secure the best future for our children and the community, PTAs across the
state take part in Advocacy month and Virtual Lobby Day in March. This year,
two issues are of great concern to NYS PTA. Every member and friend of PTA
is urged to participate in the legislative campaign to address the issues of
Property Tax Caps and Healthy School Foods.
The
campaign is two-fold: Letter writing to the Governor and our representatives
in Albany, and on Virtual Lobby Day, March 19th, we are asked to
email, phone or fax our legislators. The more members that participate, the
stronger our message becomes.
The
letter writing campaign and Virtual Lobby day are outlined on the
NYS PTA website, with instructions, letters & postcards for download,
talking points to write your own letter if you prefer and legislator
contacts with addresses including email to send your message.
The
message is simple:
Ø
PTA
supports Healthy School Foods
Ø
PTA
opposes Property Tax Caps
Please
take the time to take part in this very important campaign and be let your
voice be heard for the future of our children.
If you
would like to be kept informed of the issues, become a member of the
Advocacy ListServ by signing up for the for the
Education newsletter from NYS PTA.
Locally, the Commack PTA Council budget committee has been working
tirelessly to spread the word of Governor Spitzer’s proposed cuts to state
aid for education. In our last edition of the Council Voice, we announced
the letter writing campaign to the Governor addressing our concerns with his
Budget planning.
Cuts
in state aid will greatly affect the quality of education in Commack and all
of Long Island. This campaign is still on. Members of the committee have
been at many school evening events spreading the word. The committee is
encouraged by the positive action taken by everyone they have approached. If
you have not sent in a letter to date, please
print one out and mail it in as soon as possible.
Thank
you for supporting our children.
Laura Werner
PTA Council President
As always, if you have any questions about PTA you may contact me by
telephone or send me an email at
CommackPTACouncil@yahoo.com
.
|
