By Bobbie Margo
The Open Hearing on the Proposed NEA Strategic Plan and Budget took place virtually on June 25, 2020 and lasted for one and one-half hours. NEA Secretary-Treasurer Princess Moss was the Presiding Officer.
Moss opened the hearing by stating that when it is all said and done, the 2020-2022 Budget will remain the same as the 2019-2020 Budget. However any current budget expenditures will have to be incorporated into NEA’s future goals:
1) advancing racial justice 2) coronavirus help to affiliates 3) membership organizing 4) election 2020
By not having a face-to-face 2020 Representative Assembly, there has been a savings of some $5.5 million. This overflow will be used:
1) to recover and to redefine equity and opportunity for all (students, educators, communities)
2) to evaluate and to adjust our growth, our strength and our capacity
The modified budget for the aspiring educators and for the retirees will also remain the same. The independent auditors of CALIBRE CPA GROUP in Bethesda, MD stated the results of their audit:
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements in all material aspects present fairly the financial position of the National Education Association of the United States and its subsidiaries as of August 31, 2019 and 2018, and the changes in its net assets and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
In other words, at this point in time, even through the JANUS decision and COVID 19, NEA is in sound financial shape. The last one half hour of the open hearing was used to answer questions from the 3,000+ NEA members listening by phone to the open hearing. Approval of the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan and Budget will be decided by secret mail-in ballot from the delegates to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly.