2-Minute Talking Points for Simple Majority at PTA Meetings

No matter what the length of the talk, make sure to define what Simple Majority is, and how the audience can help.  If you have more time, spend more time on #2, the reasons Simple Majority is important to your community.

1.           Explain Simple Majority

a.      School levies currently must pass with a “Super majority” 60% approval

b.     “Simple Majority” will allow school levies to pass with 50%+1

c.     'Bonds' = Buildings, 'Levies' = Learning

2.          Explain why Simple Majority is important in your community
       (Pick and choose what works in your community)

a.      Because local school levies provide fundamental needs

·  Local levies pay for books, teachers, reduced class sizes, technology

b.     Because schools need help

·  Washington ranks 47th in the nation in class size. 
Simple Majority doesn’t solve all of our problems, but it’s a first step.

c.     Because levy failures hurt our kids

·  Levies typically pay for 16-20% of schools' operating budgets.  

·  Last year 33 school levies received a majority vote but failed because they didn’t get 60%

d.     Because the 60% rule is unfair to our kids and schools

·  It is easier to vote in a new park or jail then it is to pass a school levy that buys books and more teachers.

e.      Simple Majority is a first, necessary step towards fixing Ed funding

·  4204 tells our Legislators, the Press, and ourselves that Education is important to us

·  We can't have Simple Majority for Bonds, unless we first pass Simple Majority for Levies

3.          How YOU can help:

a.      Endorse the campaign www.simplemajority.org

b.     Donate to the campaign at www.simplemajority.org

c.     Volunteer at www.simplemajority.org

d.     Contact your local Bond & Levy Committee.   (Don’t know how?  Contact your Superintendent or School Board member)

e.      Get your members to vote on November 6.

 

 

Does this 2-minute talk serve the needs of your unit?   Did you modify it heavily, or use something else for your Legislative Advocacy report?   Send me an email with your comments and ideas, and feel free to attach what you did use for your report to it, so we can use those ideas in future 2-minute talks.

You can 'copy' and 'paste' from this webpage into a Word document.

 

-pat-

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735-6791 anytime