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Editor, News-Register:
The teachers' union flyers/ads keep arriving in the mail and many of us who have dealt with the West Virginia Education Association (and NEA) know to vote the opposite way. In this case vote FOR both Amendments 2 and 4. Both flyers we have received have so many inaccuracies that it is embarrassing for the teaching profession or at least those who support WVEA.
Both my wife and I are former teachers, she a 30-year language arts teacher, me a former chemistry teacher. I would be embarrassed to be identified as a member of either NEA or WVEA. These unions do not help nor benefit the cause of education in West Virginia. I can remember when I was in the House of Delegates sending a questionnaire to all 134 state legislators to get their views of WVEA. This was after an election where WVEA was also particularly partisan, biased and inaccurate.
When I conducted the survey, on special paper that could not be copied, I told the legislators I would protect the identity of those legislators responding by not releasing their names or comments. I didn't want them to feel intimidated or attacked by the teacher's union if their names were disclosed. About 1/3 of the legislators responded, ones from both parties and the results were devastating for the teachers' union.
– Those responding perceived WVEA's top concern was union advocacy itself (67%), teacher welfare and concern second (26%), and student concern and development third (7%).
– A total of 86% felt WVEA showed an undue focus on politics at the expense of education while 96% felt WVEA showed a partisan or ideological bias focusing on non-education issues.
– Only 4% felt WVEA based their candidate evaluation completely on education issues, while 96% disagreed.
– Only 23% felt WVEA was accurate in how they represented the candidate's views and/or votes, 77% not so.
It is clear from WVEA's current advertising claims, that its bias has not changed since this survey was conducted years ago, that their credibility and dishonesty have gotten even worse. Maybe some new courageous legislator will do a survey update to show that at best with their current flyers and ads, WVEA likely has gotten even more egregious, especially as they push a woke and 1619 equity agendas, appearing more focused on a child's LGBTQ orientation than on their reading and math skills.
So, when you get the WVEA/NEA flyer, vote the opposite way, vote for education accountability and for Amendments 2 and 4.
And why is WVEA opposing improving our jobs climate and the effort to bring and create new jobs and thereby keeping and bringing young people to our state? Why is WVEA opposed to taking off the car tax so working people can better afford transportation to and from work? Who or what is WVEA really representing? Something to think about when you get their next flyer or as a teacher, you're asked to pay dues to this leftist organization or asked to vote for their endorsed candidates.
John Overington
Retired Delegate, W.Va. House of Delegates
Martinsburg