November 27^th there was a meeting at Aloha High school to discus school funding, it was well attended.  The message I took away from the meeting was that unless there are fundamental changes to Oregon tax structure school funding will not be stable or adequate and that Oregon voters won’t except that change unless they see that government is seriously working to curb spending and PERS cost are a big part of that.

            I see our challenge as helping guide policy so that retirement benefits will be delivered in the most cost effective way with out diminishing those benefits that have been

We had a great meeting last Tuesday with a good turn out.  There was a presentation on LegalShield, an OSEA member benefit.  We also encouraged our members to attend the upcoming informational meeting on school funding, and our upcoming Steward training December  7th and 8th please RSVP Kim Bonner or any member of  our chapter executive board if you are planing on attending.  At the end of the meeting gift cards where awarded by drawing to two members in attendance.  We do not have a meeting in December so our next meeting is January 8th 5 p.m.. at the SPED office, I look forward to seeing you

 November is a time we remind ourselves to be thankful, for the men and women who serve our country, for family and friends, and for a political system we have a voice in, I hope we can all keep thankfulness in our harts year round, supporting those who have and are serving our country, relishing our time with family and friends, and remembering that our voice does not end with our vote.  I hope this year to, at least monthly, remember to find a way to show support for those past and present members of the armed forces, show a loved one they are appreciated, and to share with my represenitives

My name is Kirk Wilkins, I am OSEA Chapter 48 President. I’m not the person you were expecting in this position, this is not the position I was expecting to be in. Events happened and the situation changed, and we are now reacting to that change. There is a lot of change coming that will effect our work place, we can sit back and wait to react to that change or we can become active and work to influence and shape this change. I want to see our Chapter work to provide all of us the tools and training that will help us effectively tell our stories, letting the politicians and decision makers