Settlement reached

A settlement was reached with the district this week, for a two-year agreement that will allow teachers to count on salary schedule movement this year and next year. Click here to read opened articles, with commentary on the changes.

Never Give Up

Tuesday night was a hard one. This message from Lily Eskelsen Garcia, NEA President, reminds us that no matter what happened on election day, we will continue to fight for kids! They are why we worked hard during the elections and why we will work hard every day in the classroom! We'll never give up on our kids!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSAsHsPIvk

Online Panel for Achievement Level Setting

As you probably know, Kansas is not using the Smarter Balanced assessments as it had originally planned to do. Instead it is developing its own tests through CETE at KU. I expect our tests to be similar, however, so being a reviewer for the Smarter Balanced assessments could give you valuable insight into the kinds of things your students will be expected to do, and it will give you a chance to give feedback on the level of rigor and fairness of the questions. It is a short-term commitment of under three hours over a three-day window (and you choose which three days). If this is something you might be interested in doing, visit the Online Panel registration page.

NEA grant money could fund your great idea!

If our own Foundation's Prize Patrol didn't bring you a big check this week, you have another option! The next deadline for an NEA Student Achievement grant or a Learning and Leadership grant is October 15.

At both of these sites, you can see examples of the kinds of projects that have been funded in the past. On the Grants to Educators tab, there is a Featured Grantees link as well as a Grantee Archive which is searchable by subject or keyword. The grants are for $2000 or $5000.

Student Achievement grants: This program provides grants to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S. public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection.

Grant funds may be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology, or scholars-in-residence. Although some funds may be used to support the professional development necessary to implement the project, the majority of grant funds must be spent on materials or educational experiences for students: http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/nea-student-achievement-grants/.

Learning and Leadership grants: Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. "One-shot" professional growth experiences, such as attending a national conference or engaging a professional speaker, are discouraged. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Recipients are required to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues. http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/learning-leadership-grants/.

Now teachers are trolls?  Let the governor know that this kind of bullying is unacceptable.

But even more important than contacting the governor's office:  Talk to your friends and relatives about this issue and about public education funding!  If all they know about the situation is what they hear in Brownback's ads, then they know nothing, because those ads are so full of lies and misinformation.

Here are some facts:

1) Statewide, the number of K-12 teachers has gone down by 265 since 2010.

2) In the schools of USD 453, the number of teachers has decreased by more than 5% since 2012-13.

3) In his first budget, Brownback made the largest ever one-time cuts to public education in the state's history ($232 per pupil over 2 years) and declared them to be "a victory for Kansas."

4) The only reason the Kansas legislature addressed the issue of schools that are underfunded in the last legislative cycle is that the State Supreme Court ordered them to do so.  They addressed only the issue of schools that are underfunded because their local property taxes can't make up the difference, and they did so by cutting weighted funding for at-risk children.

5) Our Kansas public schools are now being funded at lower-than-recession-era levels! According to one study, when inflation is taken into account, Kansas appropriated $950 less per pupil in 2013 than in 2008.  

Please start a conversation to counteract the misinformation people are seeing on television!

More information and links to newspaper articles about the misleading information can be found at Fact Check.

P.S. While some ads, like Leadership, Not Experiments, Republicans Endorse Davis for Governor and Brownback's Failed Experiment, are airing in Wichita and Topeka markets, we're not seeing them here, which is another reason to use word of mouth!  Talk it up!

Refuting Brownback's claims about education

What do you do when you are the Kansas Governor and:

• You make the largest cut to schools in state history?
• Your “experiment” leaves the Kansas economy lagging the nation?
• You blow a billion dollar hole in the state budget?
• Your political advisers are under investigation by the FBI?
• More than 100 members of your party endorsed your opponent?
• You lose nearly 40% of your primary vote?
• A new poll shows you losing 51% - 41%?

You release a new ad distorting your record, of course.


Click here for the response from the Paul Davis campaign:  The truth about the claims Sam Brownback is making in his new ad, "Record."

... Davis says the number one issue with Kansans has been education

“I’m hearing a great deal of concern about the future of public education. People realize we have traditionally had good schools in Kansas which is a big factor contributing to our quality of life,” Davis says. “People are concerned about cuts to education funding that are happening at the state level.”

This is an excerpt from an editorial in the Scott County Register. The entire article can be found at http://www.scottcountyrecord.com/news/davis-rides-discontent-with-fiscal-experiment.  Scroll over to the right to access the scroll bar for the article.

We'd like to remind those of you who are Kansas citizens that the deadline to register to vote is October 14. For details about the documents needed and where to submit them, see https://www.kdor.org/voterregistration/.

Why Due Process Rights Matter to Students and Teachers, and Primary News

Sometimes it's difficult to explain to people in other professions why we were so disturbed by the Kansas legislature's decision to stop granting due process rights to K-12 teachers. This article hits the nail on the head!   It's Not the Firing; It's the Threatening

The primary is over!  Ruth Striggow mentioned the KNEA legislative bulletin Under the Dome in her convocation speech today. It comes every day or two while the legislature is in session but infrequently for most of the year. Here's a link to today's encouraging message about the primary: Under the Dome.  To subscribe to the newsletter, click here and scroll right.

KNEA PAC recommended candidates in your Issues magazine

KNEA members should have received the last Issues magazine by email from KNEA on July 11. On page 6 is the list of candidates recommended by KNEA PAC after members like you interviewed them and reviewed their votes and public statements. Please email us at lneanews@gmail.com if you need to have that resent! If you live in Leavenworth County, you can view a sample ballot from the Leavenworth County website.

Settlement Reached

The LNEA bargaining team is very pleased to report that we reached agreement with the BOE for the 2014-15 school year at our meeting Friday, July 18.

Summary of Agreement

• Teachers who lost out on movement last year will move two steps down on the salary schedule.
• Teachers who were new last year will move down one step on the salary schedule.
• Teachers who have earned lateral movement and filed the appropriate paperwork will move over on the salary scheduled.
• Teachers who take the district health insurance will have $400 per month paid in 2014-15 and $450 in 2015-16. (This amount was $305 for a single plan in 2013-14, so this amounts to an increase of $1140 for the year for those taking the single plan.) The premiums for all our insurance plans are going down this year. For example, with this increased contribution by the district, the cost of the Blue Choice 1 plan for an employee with no dependents will be only $26.53 per month in 2014-15. The district contribution will be $400 this year regardless of the plan the teacher selects.
• The salary schedule is posted here. Note: Two years ago we agreed to renumber the steps at the left, 1 through 22. If you are not sure what your current step number is on this schedule, log into Alio and view a recent pay stub. The district has been using the new numbering system for almost a year. The changes to the schedule itself are minimal this year.
• District committee work meeting outside the teacher duty day will be paid at $18 per hour. A stipend will be paid to the sponsor of FCCLA since competition is required to collect State CTE payments, and to the POC Step Team sponsor. The Color Guard stipend was raised to compensate for its increased numbers of cadets and appearances.
• Provisions that could have shortened lunch periods for teachers (but were not being used) were eliminated.
• The grievance procedure is unchanged.
• A teacher's class can be covered by another teacher (with principal approval and with no dock in leave time or pay) no more than 8 times in a school year.
• A written response to a document placed in a teacher's personnel file must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the time the document is presented to the teacher.
• A teacher who does not maintain licensure may be suspended for more than 10 days and can be transferred to another position if not dismissed.
• When a teacher resigns after May 31, a fee(which has not changed) must be paid to the district before the teacher will be released from the contract, unless the teacher remains in the position until a suitable replacement takes his/her place.
• The high school can offer "zero hour" courses which are held before the regular school day begins, under certain circumstances. In this situation the teacher day will begin and end earlier than other teachers but will not be longer than the usual teacher work day.
• Negotiated minimum days off for 2015-16: September 7 (Labor Day), November 11 (Veterans' Day), November 25-27(Thanksgiving), December 23-January 1 (Winter Break), January 18 (MLK Day), February 15 (Presidents' Day), March 14-18 (Spring Break), March 25, May 2 (unless needed as a snow makeup day), May 30 (Memorial Day)

Exact language for the changes will be posted soon. We will send an email with a SurveyMonkey link to vote for or against ratification. Teachers who are part of the bargaining unit (i.e., who are not retired and rehired) can expect to receive that email soon, using the district email system. Questions or remarks can be left within the Comments here or emailed to lneanews@gmail.com.

Progress Made on Negotiations

LNEA's negotiations team has met twice with the Board's team.  We know salary is the item you're most interested in, so we'll start there. The BOE's latest offer is lateral movement (for college credits), vertical movement (one step) and an additional $200 to $350 on every cell of the salary schedule, as well a total of $400 per month toward premiums for those taking the district health insurance. This represents an increase of $95 per month for those on a single plan, $65 for those on the plus one plan and $10 for the family plan.

Our latest request was for an increase of over $800 in each cell and vertical movement for the year, plus an additional step for teachers who lost step movement last year. We've also asked for $475 per month for each teacher who takes the district health insurance.

On the supplemental salary schedule, the Board's latest offer is no changes.  LNEA had asked that the pay for Curriculum Committee work be increased $3/hour, that small stipends be paid to the sponsors of FCCLA (a required activity for CTE funding) and the POC Step Team, that the Color Guard stipend be increased to coincide with its increased appearances in the community, and that the title for the stipend for NCA Steering Committee be changed to reflect the fact that accreditation will not be through NCA next year.  The BOE's latest offer includes none of these changes.  In a previous proposal, they had agreed to some of them and proposed a tiny increase in the base for supplementals and a bigger increase in pay for school psychs, speech pathologists and occupational therapists.

On the article on Duty Day, we have agreed to establish some "zero hour" classes for which the teacher would start and end their teaching day earlier, but we still differ on one item. We have asked that high school teachers teach 5 classes per day instead of 6, to facilitate collaboration and improve instruction; so far the Board's team reports that they are not willing to make that change.

On Article 8, Teacher as a Substitute Teacher, the board proposed to remove the provision that a teacher could cover another teacher's class with principal approval, but they have agreed to settle for putting a limit of 8 on the number of times this can be used. It was never intended to be used in an ongoing fashion.

On Article 9, Teacher Files, both teams have agreed to a 30-day limit on the time allowed to attach a written response to a document that is placed in a teacher's file.

On Article 10, Grievance Procedure, the Board has proposed to remove access to binding arbitration. In these uncertain times, while Due Process rights are under litigation, an unbiased decision maker is especially important to teachers. For the same reason, we have proposed a new article on Fair Dismissal, that would guarantee due process. The Board's team says it will not entertain such a provision.

On Article 13, Suspension and Discipline, we have agreed to reduce the number of possible disciplinary actions to three (from four).  Because administration can start disciplinary action at any level anyway, we felt this was acceptable.  We have also agreed to allow suspensions longer than 10 days if a teacher has let their licensure lapse.

On Article 14, Resignation, both teams have agreed that if a resigning teacher remains in the position until a suitable replacement is found (no lapse of time between the teacher's last day and the replacement's first day) then the teacher will not be responsible for monetary damages to the district.

On Article 30, Calendar, these holidays have been agreed to:
Labor Day
Nov. 11 – Veteran’s Day
Nov. 25-27 – Thanksgiving
Dec. 23-Jan. 1 – Winter Break (Teacher workday Mon. Jan. 4)
Jan. 18 – Martin Luther King Day
Feb. 15 – President’s Day
Mar. 14-18 – Spring Break
Mar. 25 - Non-Working Day (Easter Sun. Mar 27
May 2 – Off unless needed for snow makeup
May 30 – Memorial Day

The next Negotiations Session will be held on July 11 at 9 a.m.

Submitted by your bargaining team:
Ginger Riddle, Leavenworth High School
Dennis Dickson, Leavenworth High School
Bryan Walker, Warren Middle School
Michelle Smalls, Henry Leavenworth Elementary

Davis Supporters Begin Planning

If you answered our LNEA survey, we thank you! Many of the comments teachers left indicate a desire to know more about candidates who are pro-education. Starting at the top state office, Paul Davis is the son of two teachers and is a believer in a return to moderate, commonsense, bipartisan government in Kansas.

Watch this short video to learn more.

Davis's Leavenworth supporters are meeting on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month from 7:00-8:30. On Tuesday, June 10 their meeting location will be the Unity Center of Leavenworth at 1620 Rose Street. If you would like to be notified of future meetings, email Jake at jdm235@gmail.com.

Student Growth Measures

Beginning next year, Kansas requires teacher evaluations to include measures of student growth. This is true for all teaching staff, regardless of subject, level, or teaching assignment. Decisions about what those measures will be and how much of a teacher's evaluation will depend on them must be submitted to KSDE by the end of June.
To inform teachers about KSDE's expectations, Dr. Church will be holding two meetings this month:

• May 20, for 6-12th grade teachers
• May 21, for teachers of pre-K to grade 5

These meetings will be held at Nettie Hartnett. Dr. Church will be contacting teachers with meeting times and details soon. This affects all teachers, so we encourage you to attend. Then, on the morning of June 4, Dr. Church will invite a group of teachers to meet with district and building administrators to collaborate in selecting measures for USD453. LNEA is developing a list of teacher participants in this important decision making process. We would like to have a diverse group who represent a variety of levels and subject areas. If you will be with USD 453 next year and are interested in being part of the collaboration on June 4, please contact me with your name and teaching assignment.

A "Poster Child" for Teacher Due Process Rights in Kansas

Speech by Leota Coats
To the South Central UniServ May Banquet
May 1, 2014

I’d like to tell you why due process is vitally important to the teaching profession.   In April, 1980, I was in my seventh year as a language arts teacher and department chair at Wellington High School.   I was also five months pregnant with my second child.  One day in April during my third hour class, the principal walked in and dropped a sealed envelope on my desk without so much as a word about its contents.   I was not prepared for the news in the envelope; I had no inkling that it was my nonrenewal notice supposedly because of reduction-in-force.   As I read it, I felt my world had ended, or at least some really bad mistake had been made.   I was angry, hurt, surprised.  In retrospect, there were signs.  There was the off-handed remark of a student earlier in the month who said, “Mrs. Coats, the Coach says you’re not going to be back next year.  Is that true?” There were other comments, other whispers, that at the time I laughed off and tired to ignore, but looking back I could see the ominous indications of what was yet to come.

I was known as a fair teacher with high expectations for my students.  I expected them to do their work, do their best and behave themselves.  Occasionally I’d rock the boat when I turned in my list for student athlete eligibility.  That fall, I’d caused a ruckus because one of the star football players was ineligible to play in a crucial game because of his grades in my class.  I was pressured to change the grade so he could play, but I couldn’t justify doing so. I was there to TEACH, not enable dishonesty.  I became a target for non-renewal.

 Right after school, I went to our local KNEA president , Ernie Jimison, who put me in touch with Dave Kirkbride, our South Central Uniserv Director.  As my husband and  I talked it over, we never questioned whether to fight, but how to fight.   There was, after all, a principle at stake (no pun intended).   I had been treated unfairly as a tenured teacher and there were other obvious options were open to the board.

We met with Dave the next day, and as events unfolded, I became aware of the tenuous status of a crusader.  Few of my building colleagues wanted me to fight the nonrenewal – it would rock the boat, and “things” might get unpleasant.  Their lack of support hurt deeply and reveled how deeply-seated was their fear of drawing attention to the capricious injustice of the school board.   Finishing the school year was, to say the least, tedious.  Nasty little things happened, like notes left in my box saying I’d never teach in again Kansas and rumors that I was blacklisted.

In June, the due process panel gathered but not without turmoil.  At that time, due process began with a hearing before an impartial three-person board.  The administration chose a member of the board, the teacher chose the second person, and those two would choose the third person.  The board appointed its own attorney as their “impartial” panel member.   My representative was a local attorney who was known for his pro-education stance.  Getting the third panel member was difficult as none of our suggestions suited the board and none of theirs was even remotely viable.  So the District Court was asked to appoint the third panel member who was supposed to serve as chair of the panel.  The judge appointed the husband of his secretary, a local farmer.  The appointee was, as time went on, obviously out of his element.  He later told my husband and me that he looked up the word tenure in a dictionary, and it didn’t have anything to do with teaching so he voted against us.

The hearing lasted two days, but it seemed like an eternity.  Our darkest hours came when the panel found two to one against us.   We immediately appealed the decision of the due process panel to the District Court.

To be clear, our lawsuit did not focus on the athletic turmoil.  That just made me the administration’s obvious choice for non-renewal.  Basically we took two issues to litigation:  whether a tenured teacher could be non-renewed over a non-tenured teacher whose position the tenured teacher was qualified to fill; and whether the board’s appointment of its own attorney as a member of the impartial hearing panel was correct.

That September was especially hard on me.   It was the first beginning of school that I hadn’t started since I was a first grader in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth.  My spirits were low and my hopes were dragged down with them.   But a strange, somewhat ironic series of events occurred beginning with the second week of September.   I received a call from the principal at Belle Plaine, a small town 17 miles away.  He said, “I understand you’re an English teacher.  Would  you be able to come interview and perhaps start right away?”  He explained that the teacher who had started the year had abruptly resigned and left so he was desperate.  (Made me feel good to be the “desperate” answer to his problem and wonder what made the teacher flee so abruptly.)

I explained that I’d be delighted to interview, but I was about to have a baby so I couldn’t start immediately.   The next day I interviewed.

During this time, Dave consistently went far above and beyond the call of duty, tirelessly advocating, organizing and agitating for our cause.   Fortunately for our cause, the principal at Belle Plaine was brand new as an administrator and still rather respected the UniServ directors.  He called Dave who met with him and assured him of my competence and ability to do the job.  The Board at Belle Plaine was reluctant to hire me because of my case pending in District Court.   They were probably also prejudiced to my case because their attorney was the same man who served as the Wellington school board attorney.   (Remember the man who was the “impartial” panel member? )  

In his persuasive way, Dave convinced the principal to give me a chance.  The principal told Dave, “If this doesn’t work out, I’ll never trust UniServ directors again.”  I was offered a contract in, of all places, St. Lukes Hospital just hours after having given birth to our second daughter, Sarah, thereafter referred to at the UniServ office as “Baby UniServ.”   The contract offer was contingent on Dave’s helping to find a substitute for me until the doctor would release me to go back to work.  Dave worked a miracle, and I was back at work six weeks later.

Meanwhile, our case sat gathering dust in District Court.   The waiting was extremely trying.   I frayed nerves all around me:  my own, my family’s, Dave’s, and my KNEA sponsored attorney, Lee Kinch.   It seemed to me that part of the punishment of nonrenewal was in the torture of waiting and waiting.

In 1982 the District Court in Wellington found in our favor and ordered my reinstatement at WHS.  We tempered our excitement with the fairly sure knowledge that the decision would be appealed, as it was to the  Court of
Appeals.  More waiting seemed like adding insult to injury.

Just as it seemed as though nothing was ever going to be resolved, the wheels of justice got a little shove.  The Kansas Supreme Court agreed to take our case, citing its “novel relevance to labor law” and the certainty that whichever side won in the decision in the Court of Appeals, it would be appealed to them.  

On the way to Topeka for the arguments before the Supreme Court, Dave and I talked about the impact the Court’s decision would have.  Win or lose, the case of Coats vs. USD #353 would be far reaching for years to come.   If we lost – we shuddered to think of that outcome.  If we won, tenure for teachers would actually mean something.

In January, 1983, the Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments in Coats v. USD #353.  I’ve always found the mechanisms of legal proceedings fascinating, yet listening to my name being bandied about was an unnerving yet unforgettable experience.   We left feeling hopeful but cautious.   The court wasn’t known for its kindness to educational causes, especially teachers’ rights.

In April 1983, the Kansas Supreme Court voted unanimously in our favor on all counts, the first unanimous decision for teacher rights.  Due process and tenure had legal teeth in the battle for teachers’ rights.  I’ve referred to “our” case throughout because it really was a case for all of us.

With the Kansas-NEA, we rocked the boat but the result was a safer ride for all of us, all 23,003 of us who make up the Kansas NEA.

But now, 31 years later, it’s all changed, thanks to the Kansas legislature and Governor Brownback.  The Governor and his legislative cohorts signed away our due process rights and we are now targets once again for capricious, arbitrary and irrational administrations and school boards.

For all these decades, due process has worked well.  Contrary to our opponents’ assertions, due process does NOT protect bad teachers.  Administrators who won’t do their jobs protect bad teachers.  Due process gives good teachers the opportunity to teach even when the occasional administration or school board acts irrationally.

And now without due process protection, that specter looms large.   Any number of scenarios haunt us: a principal may have a sister-in-law who wants your job.  You’re out.  You may have a difference of opinion about a school board member’s child.  You’re out.  You may have a losing basketball team.  You’re gone.  You may disagree with the administration about a policy.  You’re gone.  Or a principal may just not like you.  These nightmares could go on and on.

Tenure gave Kansas a stable corps of qualified educators.  Now, there may be wholesale turn-over throughout the state.

But enough gloom and doom.  I heard the cutting of due process described as Kansas teachers’ Pearl Harbor.  Like the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor,  the legislature snuck up on us and sank our ships.  But it didn’t work out so well for the attackers then, and it won’t for us now. . . .if we fight back.

We must organize a state-wide campaign to change the legislature and the governor’s mansion.  Elections have consequences.  And we can get back our due process rights, working together.

I’ve heard it said that we deserve what we tolerate.  I say we cannot tolerate legislative incompetence any longer.  Let’s clean House and Senate and the Governor’s mansion.  So I’ll leave you with one word: VOTE.

Leota to the South Central legislators: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_hPao-FhJ4#t=98&hd=1

Barnes and Noble events for readers

Barnes & Noble at Zona Rosa announced some end-of-school-year events that will excite students in elementary, middle and high school and inspire them to start their summer reading! Being hosted in their store, located at 8625 NW Prairie View Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64153 are the following:

Thursday, May 8th at 7:00 PM
Dark Days of Spring Panel Event
Panel Discussion/Signing with the following Teen Authors and their newly released books:

• The One by Kiera Cass
• Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
• The Taking by Kimberly Derting
• Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Saturday, May 31 at 2:00 PM
Talk/Q&A/Signing
Professional Baseball Catcher, Jason Kendall
Throwback: A Big League Catcher Tells How the Game Is Really Played

Saturday, June 7 at 1:00 PM
Summer Reading Kickoff Party for 1st-6th grade students
Harry Potter themed activities!

They are also having their annual Buy Any 2, Get the 3rd Free* Music and DVD Sale from May 13 through June 2, 2014.

Please feel free to contact the Community Relations Manager if you have questions:

Sherry Polito
Community Relations Manager
Barnes & Noble at Zona Rosa
8625 NW Prairie View Road
Kansas City, MO 64153
o 816.505.3355 or 816.505.1092 (Voice Mail)
816.505.1096 (Fax)
crm2184@bn.com |www.bn.com |www.nook.com

What you can do

1.  Contact the Governor.

KNEA’s legal department will review the language of the bill that passed late Sunday night, as soon as it is fully available.  As soon as they have specific details we will update our members.  In the meantime, we ask our members, their friends, family, and colleagues to contact Governor Brownback’s office using the links that below and tell him “we (I) expect you to veto this bill that seeks to silence teachers from advocating for their students.”  (Some other key points from the KNEA press conference today are listed below.)

 

Governor’s Email:  https://governor.ks.gov/serving-kansans/constituent-services/legislation-and-policy-issues

 

Governor’s Phone: 877-579-6757

 

2. Answer the DUE PROCESS RESPONSE FORM

What have you done for a student or school, that you might have been reluctant to do without due process rights?  http://www.jotformpro.com/kneacomm/dueprocess
Tell us how you have used due process to advocate for a child, your class, your school, etc. Some common examples are given. You may not have realized how due process could have played a role if it were needed.

 

KNEA held a press conference this afternoon, here are some of the key points:

·       KNEA supports a clean finance bill without policy amendments and call upon the Governor to veto HB 2506.
·       Statutory due process for probationary teachers cannot be achieved in the future under this bill.
·       This bill has no statutory impact on bargaining as reported by some misguided legislators.
·       Under due process, bad teachers can be fired.  With no due process, good teachers can be fired.
·       The loss of due process only increases the need for legal support for our members.
·       When asked if this will hurt membership – we replied that now people have a greater, not lesser need for support and protection

KNEA Press Release this afternoon for today’s press conference http://www.knea.org/assets/document/KS/HB2506PressRelease_(2).pdf

 

3.  Plan ahead for ELECTIONS!  Click http://www.knea.org/home/286.htm  to donate to KPAC using PayPal so that we can support public education friendly candidates in November. If you prefer a KPAC form be emailed or mailed to you, please request it from jen.siefer@knea.org.

 

4. Contact YOUR representatives to say “Thank you” for supporting us or to tell them they have lost your vote for the House elections in November, whichever is appropriate.   To look up your representatives in the House and Senate, click here: http://www.knea.org/home/286.htm

 

5. Invite your colleagues to join us.  The first request for a KNEA membership application came at 7:09 this morning and requests have continued through the day.  Talk to people about joining us.  There are two enrollment forms available:

·       The “Early Enrollment” is for anyone who has never been a member before. There are no dues involved until September 2014, but there is also no legal coverage or liability until that time.
·       The “regular” Enrollment Form is also available for teachers who have been members before.  Please let people know that dues are prorated. (Dues for April to August are $240.42.)

Email jen.siefer@knea.org to request an enrollment form.

 

(From KNEA; Sent to members April 7)

School Finance bill passes with worrisome policy changes

Your LNEA representatives returned from Topeka about 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, after a long weekend advocating for students and teachers. They were sleep deprived, but determined to make some changes at the capitol in November!

Your elected representatives attended the annual KNEA Representative Assembly in Topeka this weekend. They also participated in a rally held in front of Topeka High celebrating KNEA's 150th anniversary, and then marched to the Capitol to witness the Kansas Legislature considering the school finance bill. They spent much time, into the wee morning hours, observing the legislative process and lobbying for our kids. At issue was a finance bill designed to satisfy the Supreme Court order for equitable funding with several very worrisome "strings" attached, straight from the ALEC legislative agenda, for the legislature to consider. Increased funding dangled in front of them but only if they agreed to:

• Abolish due process rights for K-12 teachers
• Approve tuition tax credits for families sending their children to unaccredited private or charter schools
• $10 million in tax credits for corporations providing scholarships to leave public schools for those same unaccountable private schools.

This bill, created in conference committee from a Senate bill that the House refused to pass, was NEVER discussed in either house's education committee, never presented for public hearings, and had been rammed through by the Republican majority. By 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, after 12 hours of cat and mouse, the House defeated the bill because of these odious attachments. This required the two houses to craft another bill in conference committee. They took the House's bill and added provisions to make it almost identical to their first one (they did drop the tuition tax credits), and again it was rammed through, despite strenuous objection from the Democratic minority. This time the vote was much closer, but we were unable to prevail. The House convened at 9 p.m. Sunday evening to consider the Senate's bill and passed it 63-58.

While of course we wanted the finance piece to pass, KNEA opposes the policy changes, straight out of the ALEC legislative agenda, which were attached.

If Governor Brownback signs the bill, it could hinder your right to advocate for your students, to call for safety in your schools, and to challenge people who aren't standing up for your kids, without fear of being fired with no reason given. It will also provide $10 million in tax credits to corporations to send kids to unaccredited private schools.

We'll have more information about what the law means for you once KNEA legal staff have had an opportunity to read it carefully--something that should have been possible before the legislature voted, but was not!

Teachers who gave all or part of their weekend, and lost a lot of sleep, are Ruth Striggow, Ginger Riddle, Dennis Dickson, Sharon Mueller, Pat DiFonzo, Linda Schukman, Michelle Smalls, Shelley Maas, and Trish Klima. (Emailed to members April 7)

Agreement ratified

Wednesday at the Board meeting, LNEA reported that the teachers had ratified the new negotiated agreement. Fifty-seven percent of teachers voted, and of those a majority voted yes. The Board of Education then voted to ratify. Back pay for lateral movement or longevity, and the $500 payment for teachers who were with the district in 2012-13, should be paid by April 26.

Cooperative dissolution is on State BOE Agenda

The state board of education agenda for April 8 includes the dissolution of the Leavenworth County Special Education Cooperative as a consent item. The joint petition to dissolve the coop is available by clicking here.

Agreement reached for 2013-14

LNEA has settled with USD 453 for 2013-14. We believe this is the best agreement we can make with the district for this difficult year.

Here is a short summary of the proposed changes to the agreement:

• Under Article 23, Lateral Movement, teachers WILL get their lateral movement if they took classes or earned a new degree, BOTH this year and next year. The payment for lateral movement this year will be retroactive to the beginning of the school year. Some outdated language was also removed.
• All teachers who take the district’s health insurance next year will have $390 per month paid by the district. For those taking the Single plan this is an annual increase of $1020 per year. Teachers who take the Employee + 1 plan will have $660 more per year paid by the district.
• Under Article 26, Salary Schedule, the salary schedule will not be altered this year. Teachers who have been with the district long enough to earn longevity pay WILL get that pay, retroactive to the beginning of the year. Longevity pay will be guaranteed for next year also. Teachers who should have received movement this year will get a one-time payment of $500 within one month of ratification of this agreement.
• Article 24, Vertical Movement, is frozen for 2013-14.
• For teachers in Leavenworth schools, this agreement extends the school day without extending the duty day, in order to make up lost time.

USD 453 teachers should have received a Surveymonkey link to place a ratification vote. If you did not receive this message, please first check your junk mail or spam folder. If the message is not there, contact lneanews@gmail.com. Give your name, teaching assignment, and email address. All current teachers are eligible to vote except those who are retired through KPERS.

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