This week, the Arizona Education Association's initiative (INVESTinED) to fully fund public schools in Arizona was knocked off the ballot in unprecedented fashion by the state’s Supreme Court. AEA's members, educators and supporters worked tirelessly this summer in the hottest months of the year to collect 270,000 signatures from Arizonans who want to vote for a fully funded public school system. This is 120,000 more signatures than required, a huge task completed in fewer than two months. Arizona's state legislature is so afraid of the teachers there that the only thing they could do was to silence them by not allowing the people of that state to vote on this proposal. Arizona's educators and supporters are wearing #RedforEd in response, but the issue of poorly funded schools is a nationwide one. Arizona and the NEA are asking for a National #REDforED day this coming Tuesday, Sept. 4, as an act of solidarity and support.  Please:

  1. Share this Facebook Event with educators, parents, and allies across Hawaii https://www.facebook.com/events/320622295354368/
  2. Join Arizona and other states by wearing red on Tuesday
  3. Post your #REDforED photos on your own page and to the Facebook event, commenting on why you are #REDforED

The HSTA joins our sisters and brothers in Arizona and across the country in calling for better public education funding. That's why in Hawaii, we are pushing for the constitutional amendment that will be in the ballot in November to create a surcharge on investment homes worth $1 million or more to help fund our public schools. See the Constitutional Amendment website here. 

Related posts:

  1.  Vote from home; Hawaii to conduct elections entirely by mail
  2.  HSTA victories: New funding source for schools, pesticide buffer zones near schools
  3.  Isle voters likely to get their say on a property tax for schools
  4.  Parent and children’s groups back constitutional amendment