Improved Personal Leave!

We are delighted to report on an improvement to our Personal Leave. Please read this complete email, for how to ACCESS this improved personal leave.

In late Spring, at one of our monthly “Labor- Management” problem-solving meetings with Jeff Sherwood, we (Deb Murphy and Marge Mitchell, NESPA Co-Presidents, and Judy Ellis, Bargaining Team Chairperson, and me) suggested a change to the NESPA Agreement, to make it similar to the NSEA Agreement and to new Board Policy on personal leave.

This proposal was accepted, and ratified by the NESPA Board. As a result, personal leave can now be used for ANY personal matters. No reason needs to be given. (The previous language stated that personal leave was not to be used for “recreational purposes.”)

In addition, the blanket restriction on using personal leave adjacent to a break or holiday weekend have been removed. Now, up to 15 NESPA members—the first 15 requests--may use personal leave on a day adjacent to a holiday or vacation break. (A similar limitation, though higher, is in the NSEA Agreement. We all want to ensure that there is adequate staffing in our schools, and sufficient substitutes to cover absences. The Human Resources Dept. is working on ways to implement the 15 person limit; you do NOT need to contact HR or the sub office about whether you qualify under this limit. If you are not one of the first 15 on such a day, you’ll be informed of that.)

Please note that we must continue to COMMUNICATE IN ADVANCE our intention to take a leave. Whether your school requires that you schedule leaves with your principal, vice principal, or the office manager, you do need to schedule it at least one week in advance, except in cases of unanticipated circumstances. Please continue to use this professional courtesy and required process. Personal leave continues to be recorded on your time sheet.

Here is the actual REVISED contract language:

33.10 The District shall grant each employee two (2) days of personal leave, figured at the actual hours worked per day, with pay for personal reasons.

33.20 Personal leave can be taken in half-day increments and may be used for personal matters. No more than fifteen (15) employees may use personal leave on a day adjacent to a holiday or vacation break. Only the first fifteen (15) such requests on any given day shall be granted.

33.30 Personal leave shall be cumulative to a maximum of six (6) days.

33.40 Personal leave, except in cases of unanticipated circumstances, will be scheduled at least one week in advance.

NESPA appreciates the cooperation of HR Director Jeff Sherwood, HR Executive Director Laurie Ferwerda, and Supt. Larry Francois in making this possible.

BALLOTS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY TUESDAY.

Dear NESPA Colleague,

This Tuesday, August 18 is the last day to vote in the Primary. There are at least 2 key races whose outcome will impact Northshore educators and our community.

For NORTHSHORE SCHOOL BOARD, all 3 educator groups—NSEA (teachers), NESPA, and NEOPA (office staff)---recommend JULIA LACEY. She will bring a much-needed fresh perspective to our School Board. Info here http://northshoreea.blogspot.com/2009/06/nsd-school-board-primary-lacey.html and here http://www.julialacey4nsd.com/ . Please tell your family and friends, as they’d probably want to know who Northshore educators support.

For COUNTY EXECUTIVE, WEA members from throughout King County interviewed the candidates, and WEA is recommending both Dow Constantine http://dowconstantine.org/index.php and Larry Phillips http://larryphillips.com/welcome/. You can get important info on this race---including the other candidates at http://www.ourvoicewashingtonea.org/recommendations/kingcoexec.php . This site explains what educators have to gain and lose in this race.

Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday.

It’s a democracy. Be sure your voice and vote count. Elections matter.

Kraig Peck

Benefits

Open enrollment started yesterday, August 10, and continues through September 10. Benefit changes will be effective on October 1. If you are interested in enrolling in the Section 125 plan, a representative from American Fidelity will be available in the Administration Center from 9-3 during open enrollment dates.

We are encouraged to attend the Benefit Q&A on September 1 from 2:30-5:30 at the Administration Center, Ricketts Board Room. There will be someone there to answer all your questions and assist with filling out forms.

2009-2010 NESPA board

Your 2009-2010 NESPA board is already hard at work planning for a great new school year. They are:

Co-Presidents: Deb Murphy (nurse, Woodin)
Marge Mitchell (CSS, Bothell)
Vice President: Bharati Khandekar (special ed para, Bothell)
Treasurer: Suzanne Ducotey (special ed para, Woodmoor)
Secretary: Karen Kohler (STS, Hollywood Hill)
Nurse Rep: Rosemarie Dunlop (Frank Love)
Special Ed Rep: Judy Ellis (SAS)
Special Ed Rep: Donna Smith, (NJH)
Special Ed Rep: Lucy Antonio (Kokanee)
Special Ed Rep: Liz Gordon (Woodmoor)
School Tech Rep: Karen Kohler (STS, Hollywood Hill)
Title/LAP Rep: Joanne Allen (LAP, CPJH)
Ell Rep Elem: Janice Seino (ELL tutor, Lockwood)
ELL Rep Secon: Suzanne Fujinari (ELL tutor, NJH)
Jeani Schwenk (Interpreter, WM)

Elect your School Board!

THE SCHOOL BOARD PRIMARY ELECTION IS HAPPENING NOW THROUGH AUGUST 18! ELECT YOUR SCHOOL BOARD!

We've all received a ballot in the mail for Northshore's School Board elections. The School Board governs the District, makes budget decisions, and is the group that decides what the District will agree to when we negotiate to improve the quality of Northshore's education and to improve our work lives.

We have until Tuesday, August 18 to return our ballot.

NESPA, along with NSEA and NEOPA, is recommending support for JULIA LACEY, who is running against 3 others. NESPA leaders, along with NSEA and NEOPA leaders, interviewed candidates, reviewed questionnaires, and reviewed the incumbent's record. They worked hard to determine who would best serve Northshore and decided that JULIA LACEY is the best candidate for Position #1. She is the only candidate we are recommending in the Primary.

Below is a statement from Julia and a link to her website: http://www.julialacey4nsd.com/. Please ask your family and friends to vote for Julia Lacey!

NSEA, NESPA, NEOPA School Board Candidate Questionnaires
Click on the name of the candidate below to see how they responded to our questionnaire:

District 1
Sue Buske
Arthur Hu
Julia Lacey - recommended by NSEA, NESPA, NEOPA)
Jeff Warrick

District 2
Todd Banks
Cathy Swanson

Click here to see all candidate responses to the NSEA/NESPA/NEOPA questionnaire. Note: Sandy Hayes is running unopposed for District No. 4. NSEA/NESPA/NEOPA leaders did not ask Ms. Hayes to complete a questionnaire, nor was she interviewed. NSEA/NESPA/NEOPA will meet with Ms. Hayes this fall.

Message from School Board Candidate, Julia Lacey -

Northshore Teachers, Staff, and Nurses:

My name is Julia Lacey. I am emailing to tell you that I am running for a director position on the Northshore School Board and to ask for your support. I came to my decision to run because of my experience as a teacher and deep commitment to this community. I know I have a lot to contribute and would be a strong school board member.

I am very appreciative of the endorsements that I have already received from the employee professional associations: NSEA, NEOPA and NESPA and hope to continue fostering a strong, open relationship with them once elected.

How to support my campaign:

Vote for me, twice! Once you receive your primary ballot, those of you that live in the district, please vote for me. Historically, few people vote in primaries so every vote is very important. Assuming I win the primary, I'll need you to do it again for the November General Election.

Spread the word. Tell everyone you know about the Northshore School Board election, the August primary, and ask them to vote for me. Forward this email to anyone you know that lives in Northshore and who values education.

Get Involved. There will be opportunities to help with phone-calling, door-belling, and putting up signs. Any support is always appreciated.

Please go to my website to read more about why I am running, my experience, and what I would bring to the board at www.julialacey4nsd.com.

Thank you for your support,
Julia Lacey
Candidate for Northshore School Board, District #1

RA was last month in Spokane - here are Liz Gordon's thoughts -

"My first RA. Big, lots of people and things to see. The people were very friendly and helpful. I arrived Thursday evening, exhausted from a cold and wanted to sleep. I had been told to register right away. I dragged myself across the hotel entryway, to the convention center. What a difference! People greeting me, offers of help, smiles and nods. I managed to get my delegate badge and stumbled off to bed. My fellow ESP delegates, Deb Murphy (also my roomie), Donna Smith and Bharati Khandekar were so incredible and friendly. The Assembly was a real eye opener. Very correct about parliamentary procedure but all items were discussed openly and then voted on. I was excited about some of the issues and really listened to the speakers. I had polled most of Woodmoor's paras on the issues. I wanted to really represent their opinions. It was valuable and I certainly learned a lot. It would be great to go back next year."

Good News!

As you may recall, in our negotiations with the administration last year and during the summer, we sought to enable NESPA members to elect a representative to their schools' Leadership Teams. At the time, the administration would not agree to this addition to our Collective Bargaining Agreement. They argued that the Leadership Teams are a creation of the NSEA-District Collective Bargaining Agreement, and they agreed to meet with NESPA, NSEA, and NEOPA together to discuss what to do.

As a result of these discussions, NSEA, NESPA, and NEOPA and the District administration have agreed to a process by which the certificated staff (NSEA members) at each school can choose to vote to modify their contract to permit the NESPA and NEOPA members to elect one joint representative to the school's Leadership Team.

Essentially, certificated staff (NSEA members) would need to vote by a 90% margin (or 80% if accommodations are made to those who don't agree) to waive Article 17.4 of their contract. Article 17.4 defines who is on each Leadership Team. Currently, classified staff are not included on the Leadership Team unless the certificated staff have submitted a waiver. (Woodinville High School and Woodmoor Elementary are schools that have long had a representative of the NESPA staff on their Leadership Teams.)

If NSEA members wish to vote on this waiver, a vote is conducted by the NSEA Building Reps and the Principal. (There is no requirement that this be considered and voted on, however, NSEA members would need to initiate this. Generally, waiver requests are initiated by the NSEA Building Reps or the school's Leadership Team, though any NSEA member can initiate a waiver.) Only NSEA members vote on the issue of waiving a portion of the NSEA contract. The NSEA staff is also free to modify this waiver request, that is, to customize it. However, if it is changed, it would need approval by NSEA and the administration.

If the NSEA staff vote for this waiver by the margins specified above, "...the NESPA Building Communicator and the NEOPA Building Representative shall jointly conduct a fair election process, including open nominations and secret balloting by NESPA and NEOPA bargaining unit members." Those are the only conditions. Together with the NEOPA Building Rep., you'd decide how to conduct this fair election for the school's Leadership Team, to begin next year. (You are free to consult with us on ideas for how to do this, if you wish. There is not "one right way". By "open nominations", we mean any process that enables any NESPA or NEOPA member to be nominated or self-appointed---not a process of self-selection or appointment by the Principal to the Leadership Team.)

The role of the Leadership Team (technically called the Site Decision Making Leadership Team) is important. They make many important decisions for the school. They are a decision-making team, not an input or advisory team. If your certificated staff agree to this waiver of Article 17.4 of their contract, and you are going to conduct an election for a NESPA/NEOPA representative, be sure that the NESPA members get a copy of the full Article 17, so they understand what the Leadership Team does.

If you think it's a good idea for NESPA and NEOPA members to have representation on your school's Leadership Team, talk with the NSEA Building Reps at your school, or your school's Leadership Team---or other NSEA members---to encourage them to proceed with this. (If you don't know who the NSEA Building Reps are, just ask a teacher.)

Keep in mind that there is nothing you have to do unless the NSEA staff vote for this waiver. However, you are free to communicate your wishes to others, and to encourage your colleagues who are NSEA members to proceed with this.

At this time, we are unsure if there is a June 8 deadline for all of this. We should be able to clarify this later this week, and Kraig will email us.