Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1543424
A CVEA member signs the Prop. 55 petition. Joshua Henness "With [CTA's Local President Release Time grant], I've been able to do site visits and talk to members about Prop. 55. It's been invaluable." —WVEA President Joshua Henness building a vested interest in it," says Joshua Henness, presi d ent of Walnut Val l ey Educators A ss o ci ation (WVEA). "en, members become more comfortable as ambassadors for the initiative and talk to their neighbors and families." In Walnut Valley, educators organized a Prop. 55 extension signature-gathering drive in conjunction with a districtwide Day of Action late last year to continue building a buzz for the campaign. With two main asks for the event — wear red and sign a petition — site reps set out to gather across the district. "ere was a little bit of friendly competition going on — we had one elementary school that had 100% of members sign with one member who was on leave even coming in to sign. Between our three middle schools, there were only eight mem- bers who didn't sign," Henness says. "Our reps are why we did so well, because they know their sites. We have great site reps who attend our meetings and care about representing our members." With $20 million at stake, Henness says WVEA members know just how much it would impact their students and community if we fail to extend Prop. 55. Henness says it would mean drastic cuts to programs, services and people. "It would leave kids under-resourced," he says. "We're a very high achieving school district and we have high expectations for our teachers and students — and without those funds, we'd be making it so they can't achieve to their highest ability." The initial drive during the Day of Action resulted in 73% of WVEA members signing Prop. 55 extension petitions. Henness plans to do tar- geted follow-ups with members who have not yet signed — a task made much easier with the Local President Release Time grant, which provides Henness with an ultra-precious resource for any union president: time. " With that time, I've been able to do site visits and talk to members about Prop. 55," he says. "It's been invaluable." A screenshot from LUTA's video for members about the importance of signing the Prop. 55 petition. 20 cta.org Feature CVEA site rep Daisy Delacruz