Welcome back! We are back at the table and this year we will be doing things a little differently. I am pleased to report that we have a more regular negotiations schedule (finally) and are scheduled to meet at the table the first and third Wednesday of each month (with minor adjustments for holidays) until we finalize a contract. This will certainly make things easier on the children and the negotiations team members, Randy Pearson (Elementary), Debbie Gal (Special Education), Brad Frank (Middle), Dave Harris (High School), Lee Edwards (Child Care, Adult Ed., Nurses, Speech, ect.), Denise Jennex, Executive Director, and myself.
We continued to meet over the summer, as we have not ratified an amendment to the contract this year. We have a contract that is effective July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2003. The tentative agreements we made last year and those that we make as we complete our negotiations will not be binding until they are ratified by BTA members. If you need to look anything up, the final authority is our current contract which has a wine colored cover.
Having said all that, let me tell you what progress has been made. We have agreed to present the findings of the Evaluation Committee to the Negotiations Team at the end of October, and you should be aware that, unless you are on an improvement plan, you need only have one objective, two observations, and either write a summary or conference with your evaluator, whichever you prefer. Details and forms of the Evaluation process can be found beginning on page 29 and 140 of the contract.
We have done quite a bit of work on Article 9: Hours of Employment. Setting a.m./p.m. Kindergarten teacher work hours to occur between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., in consensus with their teaching partner and submitted to the site principal. We agreed to limit the length of IEPs, SSTs, etc. to 90 minutes, or end by 4:30 (rescheduling the meeting to be completed at a later date). We added language that allows fourth and fifth grade teachers to put their release days in their sick leave bank in lieu of taking them (especially since they are not always able to). We added language to allow teachers to collaborate with their principal to develop a rainy day schedule that preserves the regular lunch.
This year’s bargaining survey results indicate that the major concerns of our members are salaries and lifetime benefits. I can assure you that we hear you! I would, however, like to take this opportunity to clarify our benefits situation. Our current contract provides the continuation of benefits for retirees from ages 55 to 65. All unit members who did not ìsign offî on Medicare (I think that was in 1982) picked up medical benefits through Medicare at the age of 65. This benefit no longer picks up automatically at 65. Medicare established a sliding scale of two months per year beginning in 1930 and ending in 1960 which created up to a two year gap in medical coverage. That is the gap that we need to close, and we are working on it.
In the meantime, we continue to discuss, and hopefully resolve, the issues you submitted on the bargaining surveys and wish you a successful Back to School.