November 4, 2012
Dear colleague,
It is not a stretch to say that Hurricane Sandy put everything into a different perspective, when life, family, and property became paramount in our lives and those of our family and friends. It is difficult to equate an abstract thought such as a way of life to the very real, concrete idea of family safety and loss of home and property that may or may not be replaceable.
As difficult as it may be to bring the passion to this election that you may (or may not) have had before Monday, many important elections will take place on Tuesday November 6, 2012. First, there is the election for the Presidency of the United States. Second, there are the elections for US Senator and House of Representatives. Third, there are the elections for State Senate and State Assembly. Finally there are the local County and Town elections and judgeships on both the State, County, and Town levels.
There are very stark choices between most of the candidates running in this election. For whatever reason, it is difficult to find two major party candidates for the same office that have very few philosophical ideas separating them. It should not be difficult to pick a candidate to vote for and that is what I am asking you to do. VOTE!
Elections on the State level are critical for us to focus on this year. Much of what has occurred over the last two years that affect our professional lives, and by extension our private lives, has come from the state level. I believe that you should consider the position the party and the candidate espouse with respect to public education, unfunded mandates, the tax cap, Tier 6, the pension system, the Triborough Amendment, LIFO, and testing, examining what they say and have done or proposed. I will tell you unequivocally that only three members of the entire State Senate and Assembly voted against the tax cap. They are Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, Assemblywoman Michelle Stimmell, and Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan. They deserve our support and our vote. I don’t believe that any State official that says they will not look at reforming the tax cap should get your vote because more than any other piece of legislation this impacts your profession and livelihood. The tax cap will kill public education if it is not amended (possible) or repealed (unlikely).
I personally see no reason to support the incumbent candidate when their actions have harmed our profession, our earning power, and potentially our retirement income thru changes to the pension system. The only time that I would not follow my own advice is when the challenger has stated positions that let you know that they will harm our profession, our earning power, and our potential retirement income more than has been done already.
This is why I favor President Obama over Governor Romney. I have not been happy about some of the decisions regarding education policy of President Obama especially his choice of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the move towards charter schools and the models of reform advocated for “failing schools”. I have been happy with the $8 billion dollars of money directed to public education, the jobs bill which kept many teachers working and the decision to ease off the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” legislation(which was unfunded and a hardship on states, public schools, and taxpayers). I see a Romney presidency as a continuous attack on teachers unions, attacks on defined benefit pension systems such as ours, greater movement to a voucher system for private and charter school development, a greater reliance on testing than even exists now, and a move towards the elimination of tenure as we know it along with a move to remove our due rights.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Please exercise your constitutional right to vote this Tuesday, Nov 6th !
In Unity,
Stu Napear
Schools are open for students on Monday, November 5th and Tuesday, Nov 6th
Resources: www.freeportteachers.org for NYSUT Disaster Relief forms, and information contained in this letter that you can refer to friends and family.
Emergency phone numbers and contacts: Copy and paste URLs into your browser:
· Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For disaster relief: email www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA (7am – 10pm). FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Center at Nassau Community College( 1 Education Way, Garden City) from 8 am – 8 pm until further notice.
· LIPA 1 800-490-0075 for power outages. http://www.lipower.org/stormcenter/
· National Grid: If you smell natural gas call 1-800-490-0045. No natural gas service call 1-800-930-5003. http://nationalgridus.com
· NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services: http://www.dhses.ny.gov
· Nassau County Offices of Emergency Management: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OEM/
Employee Assistance Program: Great resource to get help finding and using the resources you need for you and your family to cope and recover from this disaster, including emotional support services.
NYSUT Social Services: Great people to talk with who have extensive knowledge of resources and how to best utilize them for you and your family to cope and recover from this disaster. Experienced Certified Social Workers who will take the time to listen to you and help you deal with any type of problem that you might have from this storm or any other life event. They have an extensive list of sources for referrals to deal with most any problem you might encounter including children and parent issues. 1-800-342-9810, ext. 6206 email to
United Way: Call 211. You will get a hotline number that may be able to help you find emergency resources to get you thru a tough time.
News from Governor Cuomo: He has announced that homeowners will not have to pay hurricane deductibles.
Absentee Ballot Application Deadline extended.
All absentee ballot applications must be made in person at your county board of elections by Monday, November 5th.
Extension of Absentee Ballot Receipt Deadline
The State Board of Elections has approved an extension of the deadline for absentee ballots to be received and counted from 7 days after Election Day to 13 days after Election Day. Ballots must still be postmarked no later than Monday, November 5th, however they now have until November 19th to arrive at the local Board of Elections
New York City Information For the latest information concerning the Board of Elections in the City of New York please follow this link:
http://vote.nyc.ny.us/html/temp_hours/temp_hours.shtml
Known Extended Hours for Absentee Ballot Pickup New York City, Nassau and Suffolk County Emergency Hours and Contact Information. (77KB) Copy the link below into your browser
http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/counties/ExtendedAbsenteeHours-Update-Nov3.pdf
Poll Site Changes due to Hurricane Sandy County Board of Elections Poll Site Changes due to Hurricane Sandy.
http://www.elections.ny.gov/CountyBOEStormInfo.html
CAR POOLING: If you need to be the rider or are willing to be the driver please e-mail me ()as soon as you can with a phone number at which you can be reached and the town in which you need to be picked up and if you need to ride or can drive. I will try to set you up with someone in your area.
NOT BEING ABLE TO REPORT TO WORK: Contact your principal or school if you can as soon as you can. If you can not, please contact your building corrdinator or some other teacher to let people know you will not attend school and the day(s) you will miss. Try to get onto www.jacobssubservice.com if you can. Call these personal days. We will work out what is happening as soon as we can with respect to your absences due to conditions resulting from SANDY.
NEEDS SURVEY: Please fill out the survey that is below if you or any one in your immediate family needs emergency assistance due to SANDY. Please be watching out for a needs list that we will generate Tuesday night and try to help us take care of each other. Thanks to those of you who already pitched in at the GATHER FREE MARKET yesterday (Saturday, 11/3).