June, 2004
From: Ellen Bernstein, Kathy Chavez, Christine Trujillo
HELP US WIN THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

We're serious about winning the November elections, so beginning Monday, June 21, we will get together and take a message to our neighborhoods. We will walk door-to-door and visit with union members.

With Bush's underfunded No Child Left Behind (NCLB), an overburdened state budget, and the increasing cost of health care --- there is much at stake for educational employees in the November elections.

PLEASE VOLUNTEER FOR THIS ACTIVITY! We only need two or three hours of your time.

We will have an orientation session each day. We will also have maps which identify where union members live, and we will walk in pairs.

Orientation begins 9:00 AM each day at the NM Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO office, 130 Alvarado NE (one block south of Central, between San Pedro and San Mateo).

Call Tiffany Fiser at 266-6638, 800-224-3270 or email her at tbfiser@aol.com to sign-up and help on one of the above days.

Together, we can make a difference!

Thanks,
Ellen, Kathy, Christine

June, 2004
Press Release From: Ellen Bernstein, President, ATF

TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT ASKS FIRST LADY TO EXPLAIN NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND FUNDING GAP WHILE VISITING ALBUQUERQUE ON THURSDAY

Albuquerque Teachers Federation president Ellen Bernstein said today, "When First Lady Laura Bush, a former public school librarian, is in town at Reginald Chavez Elementary School on May 20, I hope she will explain to teachers, educational assistants, students and parents why the President refuses to invest all the money he promised New Mexico in the 'No Child Left Behind Act'."

Bernstein further stated, "The First Lady's husband promised $187 million would be invested in New Mexico's Title I education programs. But, President Bush's budget funds only $120 million, leaving a gap of $67 million."

Bernstein concluded, "We will remember in November the damage President Bush's under-funded federal mandate, the so-called 'No Child Left Behind Act', has done to New Mexico's schoolchildren and teachers."

The teachers' union also released data (see below) showing the funding gap between Bush's 2005 budget for No Child Left Behind Title I -- which is targeted for disadvantaged students -- and what is needed to fund the program in New Mexico.

The data illustrates the type of education reform initiatives that could be funded with the money that President Bush fails to deliver.

$67 Million New Mexico Funding Gap in No Child Left Behind Act means:

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