I faxed the following letters Saturday afternoon in support of the proposal to save up to 140,000 teaching jobs using some funds allocated to RTTT and other Duncan initiatives (more here).

To President Obama:

We at PURE were very sorry to hear that you have threatened to veto Congressman Obey's proposal to use funds previously committed to the Race to the Top and other programs in order to save teacher jobs. We know that you support funding jobs for teachers. However, we strongly disagree with your opposition to paying for this initiative with funds previously allocated for Race To the Top (RTTT) strategies, teacher pay-for-performance programs, and charter school expansion. While you characterize these strategies as “sweeping reforms,” we believe that they are unproven, reckless, wasteful experiments which put our most vulnerable children at risk. In fact, we would like to see all the funding for these programs cut unless and until they have developed a true track record of success rather than simply a modestly effective public relations campaign.

Full letter to President Obama here.

To Senator Durbin:

We at PURE were very disappointed to read your letter to Senator Inouye opposing Congressman Obey's proposal to use funds previously committed to the Race to the Top and other so-called reform programs in order to save teacher jobs. We understand that you support funding jobs for teachers. However, we strongly disagree with your opposition to paying for this initiative with funds previously allocated for Race To the Top (RTTT) strategies, teacher pay-for-performance programs, and charter school expansion. You call these programs “vital,” “bold,” and “critical reform efforts.”

We see the Obey amendment as a win-win situation.

Full letter to Sen. Durbin here.