Final Legislative Summary 9 July 2011

This weekly report over the last year has provided the most current education information available and hopefully communicated our mission and message of being 

• A powerful voice for all children,
• A relevant resource for families and communities, and
• A strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child.

     Please continue to share this information with all of your PTA officers, unit members, teachers, and school administrators this upcoming year.  Thank you for your feedback, sharing, and responsiveness to the information provided this year.

Last Advocacy Action Item(s):

1. Please complete preconvention legislative priority survey by July 13th at midnight. This will provide feedback to make sure that we have the most current input for legislative workshops on next Saturday and also provide the new legislative chair and team an opportunity to begin to shape legislative priorities for 2012 legislative session

1. Come join us at the 2011 Georgia PTA's Convention and Leadership Training next Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia for some great training. Details are provided in the above hyperlink.

                                                                          Signing Off

     First, I would like to thank the Georgia PTA Legislative Committee this year for their many contributions and a great year.  The committee members were: Chinita Allen, Rebecca Branstetter, Lynn Cherrington, Barbara Costello, Sally FitzGerald, Diane Jacobi, Wendy Kavanaugh, Andrea Long, Pamela Kent, Lisa Martin, Lynn McIntyre, Vernetta Nuriddin, Sandy Purkett, Abby Shiffman, and Joyce Walden. Each of the committee members contributed to successful Advocacy Training, Student Advocacy Day, PTA Day at the Capitol. They also spent time in the House and Senate chambers at the capitol during the 2011 legislative session.  I appreciate your service and making a difference in the lives our children. 

      The major priorities that we dealt with included: adequate funding, nurse funding, vouchers, and local control. Here is the final legislative summary for 2011. Please review it along with the weekly reports for the 2011 legislative session to prepare for pending legislation in 2012. A couple of legislative bills that we may see again include: vouchers, commission charter schools, and adequate funding. 

      I would like to also thank our exceptional Georgia PTA Membership Chair, Rita Erves, for her outstanding work and collaborative efforts with Georgia PTA's legislative mission.  Rita and I traveled around the state over the past year connecting the dots with PTA units at all levels on the importance of membership numbers and our legislative efforts at state and national       level. She also played a critical role in building a relationship between Georgia PTA and Georgia's new Governor and his staff. As a result of this relationship, Georgia PTA's voice is at the table at the highest levels at our state capitol. Our joint efforts in legislation and membership have made a positive difference. Because of her great efforts, she has been selected by National PTA to serve on the National Membership Committee and share her experiences with the other 54 PTA Congresses on Georgia's collaborative membership and legislative efforts.

      I would like to thank each individual and their local unit, council, and district that hosted elected and school officials at their schools this year and sharing our legislative priorities with them.  Your efforts in communicating with them via emails, phone calls, faxes, and personal contacts influenced and make a significant difference in their decision making processes. You spoke up and they heard the voice of Georgia PTA. Thanks for sharing our daily, weekly, and alerts with all of our stakeholders.  We received great feedback from you and the people that you shared information with during the year.

   In closing, I will be rotating out of Legislative Chair position next Saturday.  It has been an honor and privilege to serve you.  Last month, I was elected as the 2011-2013 National PTA President-Elect, so my legislative focus will shift back to the national level. I will remain on the committee, but a new chairperson will be taking the reins next week and I will encourage them to keep you all informed with weekly reports and action alerts. I know that everyone will provide the same outstanding support and feedback to our new chairperson and continue to be a powerful voice for our children in Georgia.

                                                                        Regards,

                                                                        Otha E. Thornton Jr.

                                                                        2010-2011 Georgia PTA Legislative Chairman

                                                                        2011-2013 National PTA President-Elect

Weekly Quotes/Reading Recommendation 

     Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, which frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."                                   

Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech

The PTA Story: A Century of Commitment to Children : This is a must read book for all PTA members. You will see the rich history of advocacy and PTA's role in the kindergarten movement, juvenile justice, child safety, and many other laws that affect our children and country today.

statelegislation@georgiapta.org