Don’t miss it! The meeting on Monday, June 16 will be the first ever joint meeting of NESPA and NSEA—the teachers. Show your respect for yourself, your fellow educators, your bargaining team, and our future as educators by being there. Inglemoor High School Gym. Doors open at 4 PM. Meeting starts at 4:30. Carpool. If you cannot arrange childcare, you are welcome to bring your children and maintain them under your supervision.
· Please make a commitment now. Sign the petition “I’LL BE THERE” sheet.
· Wear your button EVERY DAY.Offer to help your Building Communicator.
- Thank you to everyone who worked so hard this year to build our Communication Network and make our Union a stronger Union.
Thank you to Kathy Emmons, our outgoing President, who stepped forward 3 years ago when no one else would and led us for 3 years. This was a large challenge, especially while working and going to school- Thank you to our NESPA Board of Directors and Committee Chairs for working so hard all year to move us forward.
- Thank you to our Building Communicators who took on extra work this year to build our Communication Networks .
- Thank you to our Network Communicators for stepping up and helping our Building communicators.
- Thank you to our Bargaining Committee working so hard to improve our work conditions
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
As NESPA members, we are an essential part of each school’s team of professional educators. Our work is important. In these negotiations, we are asking that we be treated with professional respect.
The issues in these negotiations are the ones that you asked NESPA to address in your bargaining survey. And they are also the take-aways that the administration has proposed. Here are some:
Adequate Hours. The administration has proposed to eliminate the 20 hour minimum work week that applies to all Para Educators (Special Ed, LAP, ELL, Head Start, and more), Nurses, Deans, and most other jobs. We are seeking minimum workweeks that correspond to what most members currently work, and a process to make it easier to get more hours
Compensation: We are seeking a modest increase. The administration has proposed no guaranteed annual step increases, and no COLA on PSP Stipends. They have also proposed to cut the PSP stipends of 17 members who are at Levels II and III on the salary schedule.
Breaks: We are seeking ways to ensure that all NESPA members can take their break
Transfers: We are seeking a better process that enables staff to more easily get positions at the schools and with the hours they want, when available.
Displacement: When enrollment drops in a school, staff are displaced. We seek to improve the current process, in which most staff have no guarantee of a position like the one they had.
Professional Hours: We are seeking access to unused professional hours, for those who need them.
Representation on School’s Leadership Team: We want to be part of the team.
“School Year Only” Positions: Why are ¼ of us SYO (Single Year Only)—with no job security—even when our jobs continue year after year?
More: There are many other important issues we are working to address.
WILL BEING AT THE MEETING MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
It definitely will! The administration needs to know that your NESPA Bargaining Team speaks for you. The administration needs to know that you care about the outcome of these negotiations. They need to know that you care enough to take the time to show your support for NESPA’s efforts to improve our professional respect.
We’ll start our meeting together with NSEA. If we have a “tentative agreement” to vote on, we’ll separate, and review it together. (A “tentative agreement” is a contract that is agreed upon, tentative to a vote of the membership.) If there is not yet a tentative agreement, we’ll update you, and make plans for late August. It’s important that you show your support either way. And it’s important that you don’t let others make a decision for you.
Your bargaining team is spending hours for you. They may even spend part of August at the table—for you. Please take the time to do your part by being at the meeting. The meeting will be exciting and, after all, it’s about RESPECT!
WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS
On June 1 NESPA’s new Executive Committee and Board Members started their terms of office. Ballots were returned on Friday, May 29. Below is a list of your new Executive Committee and Board Members.
Executive Committee: Elected
President Co-Suzanne Ducotey
Co-Deb Murphy
V-President Bharati Khandekar
Secretary Darlene Durante
Treasurer Bob Warren
Board Positions: Elected
Nurse Rep Peggy Sturm
Sp. Ed Rep. (HS) Judy Ellis
Sp. Ed. Rep (JRH) Donna Smith
Sp. Ed. Rep.(Elem) Lucy Miceli
Sp. ED. Rep. (WM) None at this time
Sp. Ed. Rep. (SORENSEN) Darleen Durante
Lap Rep (Sec) None at this time
Lap Rep (Elem) None at this time
ELL Rep (Sec) Bob Warren
ELL Rep. (Elem) None at this time
School Asst. Rep Kathleen Konarzewski
Sch. Tech Rep Karen Kohler
Dean Rep None at this time
Project Hope Debra Fobes
CSS Rep. Marge Mitchell
Interpreter Rep Jeanni Schwenk
