Greetings,

Here are the Facts:

The turnaround of our state is dependent on high quality education at all levels. 

If we don’t fix the structural problem in funding education with enough revenue we will have 10,000-15,000 education employee layoffs across the state this year, and the same next year because of how school districts fund unemployment. 

The current state budget denies low-income students access to higher education because financial aid has been gutted.  Not just the Promise Grants, but programs like work-study which help the neediest of students.

We can't solve the structural budget crisis with cuts alone, it is time to raise taxes.

No one likes to pay taxes, but the reality is that, as school employees our very income and benefits come from tax dollars.  The Higher Education budget has passed and it is a disaster.  We have managed to stall the K-12 budget with your calls and emails to legislators but the solutions being discussed now - one-time fixes, moving money around, slight of hand - will leave us in worse shape next year. 

It is time to ask our legislators to raise taxes and fix the structural budget deficit.  The only way they will cast that difficult vote is by knowing that we will support them.  Please take action today and ask your legislators to raise taxes.

Subject: I am asking you to raise my taxes

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

We need to solve the budget crisis with more than just cuts, moving money around, and one-time fixes; it is time to raise taxes.

The turnaround of our state is dependent on high quality education at all levels. If we don't fix the structural problem in funding education with enough revenue we will have 10,000-15,000 layoffs across the state this year and the same next year because of how school districts fund unemployment.

The current budget denies low-income students access to higher education because financial aid has been gutted. Not just the Promise Grants, but programs like work-study which help the neediest of students.

We can't solve the structural budget crisis with cuts alone, we need to look for revenue-generating policies.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]