We work as substitute teachers for the Franklin school district. Our salary of $110 per diem during the school year has been reduced to 85 dollars. This decision was finalized in the budget without the input of substitutes, the public, teachers ,parents and most administration. Our children's education should be our top priority; these cuts will result in a loss of valuable, educated personnel and the ability of school offices to fill teacher absences. We are a loyal hard working group who live in your town, have 60 credits or more, years of business experience, often parents with past and present PTO memberships. Some of us are even certified teachers who are out of work. We live in this community, teach your children, and deserve a sustainable wage that ensures parents that we will be there day in and day out, familiar and safe faces. The Board of Education believes "the quality of the professional staff in large part determines the quality of education offered district students." Often we are called upon to fill long-term assignments where we are covering one teacher from anywhere from 2 days to 21 days. In that time we are responsible for lesson plans, quizzes, tests, homework and grading. If we are paid so poorly, our children may not get the education promised. We are here year after year and know the curriculum and the students. We learn up to date teaching skills by modeling the professional staff. Retention of skilled substitute staff saves money and increases student education. We hear the cries of “ there is no money " yet there is still plenty of money to give to the top salaries,professional development, stipends, new schools etc.. America has fallen into a dangerous habit of chipping away at the bottom to give to the top. We teach our students the reason we learn history is so we do not repeat the mistakes of our past yet our own Board of Education approved a decrease in income to the lowest paid personnel submitted by the school management who are the highest paid personnel!! Our six figure paid management has decided to chip away at a segment of their own population who cannot afford the sacrifice. Sounds familiar? The Rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Eliminate the rise to middle class. This is a practice of employers of the past before unions organized the work force. Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under Clinton, has said all low wage earners have a right to unionize without fear of losing their jobs. So if the intent of the Board of Education and school management of Franklin is to repeat the past by refusing to rescind our reduction in wage therefore maintaining it at an unlivable level, or perhaps blacklisting all substitutes who have signed this petition, we are ready with our attorneys and will be left with no option but to organize just as teachers did so many decades ago. The "culture of respect" should be for all of us. Please offer your support by signing this petition.

We are sixth graders writing from our personal experiences last year. We are aghast that an issue we thought was resolved in the nineteen hundreds is still a problem today, into the twenty first century. The pacer test is a standardized test to confirm the physical ability of children in terms of running endurance. It is not fair that boys should have to live up to the expectations of being vastly more physically fit than girls, and girls should not have to be put down by the idea that they are not able to be equal to boys.

The start of this petition is to reinstate the Radford University Men's indoor track & field, Men's outdoor track & field, Women's swimming & diving, and Women's Field Hockey teams.

The Higher Ed, Lower Debt Act (SB 375) introduced by state senators Dave Hansen and Cory Mason would: - Create a state authority to help borrowers refinance their student loans, just like you can a home mortgage; - Allow borrowers to deduct their student loan payments on their state income taxes, just like you can with home mortgage interest; - Require borrowers be given detailed information before entering into loan agreements, offer counseling to students and parents on the implications of student loans and require the state to collect and disseminate information about private lenders and maintain a ranking system; and - Track information about student loan debt in the state to help policy makers better understand the depth and breadth of the debt crisis in Wisconsin. Thousands of borrowers with student loan debt live in Wisconsin. These are students who have worked hard to get their education and deserve to be given a fair shot at being in the middle class when they graduate college. Read more at www.bit.ly/WILowerDebt

The Virginia College for All (formerly, the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program) would offer no-loan guarantees to low-income students and interest free loans to students of middle-income families. Since state disinvestment in higher education is the number one reason colleges are cutting funds from their financial aid programs, this new legislation is a victory in reversing these trends. Other states should follow suit. Read more at www.bit.ly/VACollegeForAll

There needs to be a change the public school funding so that all school taxes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are collected into a single, statewide pool, and then redistributed to school districts normalized for cost of living. Pennsylvania's public schools are currently funded largely on the basis of local property taxes paid by property owners and not by renters. Currently renters do not pay a school tax and some property owners have made homes into a multiple unit complex. This means that richer districts get *much* more funding per student than poorer ones, such as in rural counties or inner cities. The funding formula should be changed so that all school taxes are collected in a way of a "Fair Share Tax" in which a higher sales tax is collected into a single, statewide pool, and then redistributed to school districts normalised for cost of living (eg: it costs less to educate a child in Perry County than in Pittsburgh). Now a "Fair Share Tax"would be be economicaly responsible. The fair share tax would tax all resident, businesses, guests to the Commonwealth The end result of this will be better-educated children across Pennssylvania, improving the state's economy over the long term.

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When we are affected by a special teacher, we need to make sure they have the opportunity to continue to leave a mark on students to come. A teacher such as Brian Pigott is rare and we should do all we can to keep him here at Wake Forest University. We want the very best at our institution. We should not let the time constraints of a Post-Doctoral Fellowship inhibit a chance to keep one of the very best Professors to ever come through Wake. Please pledge your signature in hopes of persuading our administration to offer Dr. Pigott a continued position here at WFU. Thank you for all your support.

Although Union County has many excellent schools, they are severely overcrowded and our students deserve the opportunity to attend highly successful charter schools that can provide unique academic programs without overcrowded classrooms or buildings. Charter schools are an option that Union County residents deserve to have! Please sign this petition to help support school choice and then send it to your friends and family members today.

Almost everyone attending Shepherd struggles finding parking and are always getting parking tickets, even when there is barely any parking for students.

Giving every kid access to high-quality preschool in Texas is a winning investment that levels the academic playing field for students [1] and boosts our economy in the short and long run. [2] Not only that, but this is an idea with bipartisan support. [3,4] The time is now for Rep. Smith to stand up for Texas kids who can’t afford to get into a good preschool classroom. Sources: 1. “Why Investments in Early Childhood Work,” Ounce of Prevention http://goo.gl/2sDtWh 2. “Top 5 reasons why investing in early childhood education can drive better local job creation,” September 2011, investinginkids Blog http://goo.gl/mqSCKA 3. "Oklahoma! Where the Kids Learn Early,” November 2013, The New York Times http://goo.gl/tjlRcu 4. "U.S. Voters Overwhelmingly Support Investments in Early Education,” August 2013, First Five Years Fund http://goo.gl/krup0z

Giving every kid access to high-quality preschool in Colorado is a winning investment that levels the academic playing field for students [1] and boosts our economy in the short and long run. [2] Not only that, but this is an idea with bipartisan support.[3,4] Despite the evidence, Rep. Mike Coffman doesn't currently support the Strong Start for America's Children Act which would expand access to preschool. The time is now for Rep. Coffman to stand up for Colorado kids who can’t afford to get into a good preschool classroom. Almost a thousand four year olds in his district are on waiting lists right now for public pre-school. Sources: 1. “Why Investments in Early Childhood Work,” Ounce of Prevention http://goo.gl/2sDtWh 2. “Top 5 reasons why investing in early childhood education can drive better local job creation,” September 2011, investinginkids Blog http://goo.gl/mqSCKA 3. "Oklahoma! Where the Kids Learn Early,” November 2013, The New York Times http://goo.gl/tjlRcu 4. "U.S. Voters Overwhelmingly Support Investments in Early Education,” August 2013, First Five Years Fund http://goo.gl/krup0z