 By Penny Marksheffel September 30, 2006
First, the 250+ members of the Ketchikan Education Association are very clear: "We do NOT endorse candidates." We encourage all our members to get out and vote, and although we might urge members to support certain issues pertaining to public education, we do not encourage voting for any particular candidate. The most important thing to know is the Ketchikan Education Association does NOT spend one dime "financing" any candidate. KEA does not have a political action committee, we are not registered with APOC, and we do not budget one cent for candidate support. We are audited every year and our audits are clean: our expenditures match our budget and we make no political contributions. I am very proud that the members of the Ketchikan Education Association work hard to support the things and the people they believe in. KEA members are active in local churches, coach and referee local youth sports, are members of most local organizations and boards, volunteer all over our community in many different capacities, and spend thousands of hours outside the contract day with school activities. As individuals, many of us support candidates for political office. If we choose to do that, it's because we are responsible citizens acting on our own behalf. The accusations made against Earlene Brown by Mr. Barrett are reprehensible. She was a devoted teacher to hundreds of students in this community. After she retired, she wished to continue working for the children of Ketchikan. She chose to run for a seat on the school board, she served faithfully and tirelessly for many years, and she didn't ever receive one dime from the Ketchikan Education Association while doing so. Mr. Barrett didn't contact KEA to ask any questions. He made assumptions and then wrote untruths. That is unfortunate. Penny Marksheffel Received September 29, 2006 - Published September 30, 2006
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