Barring an unforeseen special session, the work of the General Assembly will end on April 15th with the reconvened or veto session. So, allow me to be abrupt in asserting that it is already time to begin working on the 2016 session.
November's elections give us the opportunity to elect 51 friends of public education in the House and 21 in the Senate. We need to make sure that those issues of importance to our schools (early childhood education, over-testing, low pay for school employees, and a lack of state support) are election issues.
The session ahead will be crucial as it is a budget session, and Governor McAuliffe will be presenting his first budget. We need to be the squeaky wheel as the budget is being developed, and that process is ongoing.
So, I have two things to ask of you at this crucial juncture.
First, come to Richmond to participate in the Put Kids First rally on April 18th. Check out http://www.goodforvirginia.org/putkidsfirst for the details and to RSVP.
Second, mark two dates on our calendar. June 9th will be the date of the House and Senate primaries in many districts in Virginia. In many of our partisan districts that is the only vote that matters. So if you have a primary, please plan to vote on June 9th. And please mark November 3rd on your calendar. This will be a crucial election day as all 140 members of the House and Senate will be up. Please ask all you know to mark their calendars.
These two actions will make all the difference in the 2016 General Assembly.
Thank you,
Robley Jones
VEA GR&R