WCDW Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Saturday, February 11, 2023

What We're Up To:

  • Full Officer Slate

  • Immediate & Ongoing Action

  • Emerge Arkansas Galentine's Day Brunch

  • Women in History Nominations

  • Educational Programming

  • Book Club

  • Calls to Action

Hello ALL!

 

WCDW is kicking off the year unified with a full officer slate elected by acclamation. Thank you Carol, Mary Alice, Glenda, and Leana for stepping up.

 

I hope everyone stayed safe during the recent winter weather. We've had to be flexible with our schedule because of it. Due to time constraints on our Zoom-only meeting in January, we had a last minute agenda change and heard from Leah Frieden from the Washington County Women in History Coalition (more on that below). We had 35 in attendance. Thank you to all those who logged on and kicked off 2023 with us. We're moving forward with programming that speaks to the direct causes of undermining democracy in Arkansas.

 

I hope to see you Sunday at Emerge Arkansas' Galentine's Day Brunch in Fayetteville. Together, we are raising funds to recruit and train more Democratic women to run for office in Arkansas. I'm a proud Emerge Alum and I directly credit this organization's training program for making my JP 15 race the closest it's ever been in history.

 

Last and certainly not least, the first major legislative initiatives that Democrats unveiled in the 94th General Assembly are the RAISE Act of 2023 and a companion bill to raise classified school staff pay. This is good policy. This helps people. THIS is why we need to elect more Democrats, especially Democratic women. Because education professionals are predominantly women, I'm asking our membership to lead the charge in advocating support of this legislation and Arkansas public education. See below for more details.

 

 

In Service,

 

Ash Lee Hicks

WCDW President

IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING ACTION: State-Level

"In her inaugural address on the steps of the state Capitol, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "We will reward our teachers with higher pay." Just minutes before, in her first address to the state Legislature, she strongly delivered the line, "If you send me a bill that rewards our teachers with higher pay, I will sign it."

 

-Arkansas House and Senate Democrats Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Full article HERE.

 

Democratic caucus leaders Senator Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville) and Representative Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock) unveiled the RAISE Act of 2023 and classified staff raise bills. Every Democratic member of the state legislature is a co-sponsor of the bills. If passed, the educator raises would be funded from a portion of the state’s general revenue, with the state budget surplus having exceeded $1 billion last year.

 

The RAISE Act of 2023 (Raising Arkansas' Investment in Schools and Educators, or RAISE) will raise teacher salaries by $10,000 and lift the minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000. This legislation is not proposing one-time bonuses, but a permanent elevation of the teaching profession to bring our state's teachers' salaries out of the cellar and to not only a more competitive regional level, but the best in the South.

 

The companion legislation in the Senate for support staff and classified staff raises comes from a recommendation out of the legislative adequacy study last fall and provides sufficient funding for a $4/hour raise for school support staff, like teachers' aides, cafeteria workers, janitors, and others who are a vital part of our school communities. This represents a $42 million investment in the workers who keep our children fed, supported, and safe at school. 

What can WCDW members do?

  • Tell your Representative to pass the RAISE Act.

    • House: 501-682-6211

    • Senate: 501-682-2902

  • Share graphics on social media.

Speaking of public schools, school board elections are coming up. Interested in running? Email WCDW for more info.

IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING ACTION: County-Level

In Arkansas, we have a form of "Direct Democracy" referred to as "Referendum” (Arkansas Constitution Amendment 7). This powerful tool empowers everyday citizens - that's us - to check the power of our legislative bodies when their decisions don't reflect our values, or when they go against the will of the people.

 

On November 8, 2022, Washington County voters soundly defeated a proposal to build a $113,500,000 jail expansion. Yet on December 15, 2022, the Washington County Quorum Court decided to go against the will of the majority and do it anyway by passing two ordinances that will use over $18 MILLION of our American Rescue Plan Act dollars to expand the Washington County Detention Center and add more jail beds. No provisions are made for the ongoing expense of maintaining and operating this larger jail- the current cost for maintenance and operations is $18M. The increased jail capacity will add additional millions. (Which means a tax increase for us.)

 

Worse is the fact that these COVID relief monies cannot legally be used for correctional facility expansion because construction is more expensive than other mitigation measures. Because it’s an illegal use, taxpayers will have to pay this money back the Federal government.

 

A majority of county officials have repeatedly ignored recommendations by jail experts to reduce overcrowding in our local jail. Some solutions include: pretrial services, mental health court, expanded veterans' courts, mental health treatment facilities, and a sobering center. These cost a fraction of the $18 million a majority of county legislators have allocated our money to do. We have cheaper solutions available. Through Referendum, we can use our voice to tell them to use them. They work for us.

 

Your signature on these two Referendum Petitions will allow us, the citizens of Washington County, to have an election and use our voice to tell our representatives that we do not support jail expansion. We support using our taxes in common-sense solutions to jail overcrowding which will make our communities stronger and safer.

What can WCDW members do?

  • Sign the Referendum Petitions.

  • Volunteer to gather signatures. Paid opportunities available!

Take Action

February 12: Emerge Arkansas Galentine's Brunch

Reminder for ticket holders that the Emerge Arkansas Galentine's Day Brunch is today! This is a sold-out event.

February 18: Women in History Nomination Deadline

WCDW is a proud sponsor of the Women in History Coalition. The coalition is made up of several women's organizations including University Women, Business and Professional Women, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Altrusa. The coalition is currently accepting nominations for notable women in our community until February 18. The Women in History Banquet will honor 4-5 women on Monday, March 27th at 5:30 pm at Mermaid's in Fayetteville.

Nominate an exceptional woman today! Complete the application linked below and return to washcowhm@gmail.com

Nomination Form

February 28th: Monthly Meeting

This month's program takes a look at the Department of Transformation and Shared Services created under Governor Hutchison. What has happened since then?  What will happen next?  What can we do to stop the undermining and privatizing of all state human and public services as we know them? Join us February 28th to learn more.

Register Here

At our January meeting, our membership asked that we start a monthly book club for a deeper dive into monthly programs. Email us to sign up!

 

This month's books:

1.   Automating Inequality: How High Tech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor, by Virginia Eubanks

2.   The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back, by Donald Kohen and Allen Mikaelian 

 

Don't forget to complete the annual membership form. Now is the renewal period. Dues are currently waived.

 
Membership Form
 

Participate in our ongoing fundraiser so we can support future Democratic women candidates.

 
Fundraiser

Calls to Action:

  • Contact your representative in support of the RAISE Act.

    • Share information on social media.

  • Sign the jail expansion Referendum Petition.

    • Volunteer to gather petition signatures.

Education . Encouragement . Engagement

P.O. Box 4760 Fayetteville, AR 72702

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