A monthly publication of the Burlington Education Association
Making a difference by imagining the possibilities
Senior Step Update – From Nick Molander, Grievance Chair
Those considering retirement this year or next are guaranteed their "golden handshake" based on their sick days (either 1/3 or 1/4). The Senior Step program, however, is no longer guaranteed. This option let people do a project their last year of teaching, and add their "golden handshake" to their final year's salary for retirement purposes. The State Retirement Board has the final say in accepting Senior Step proposals. The State Board is currently drafting new rules, and has indicated our current program will not qualify. Everyone will get their money owed to them through the "golden handshake", but it will not apply towards retirement benefits. This major change is being challenged by the BEA and VT-NEA, and we will keep the membership informed as new information becomes available.
Mark Your
Calendars!
Thursday, May
1, 2008 Annual BEA meeting – BHS Cafeteria
This meeting is open to all members and will include this year’s reports from the President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Membership, Awards, Elections, and Grievance Committee.
Wednesday, May 21 (date
change), Heart of Education – Ethan Allen Club
We
will celebrate our colleagues’ careers. Please let your BEA Representative know
ASAP if there is someone retiring or leaving from your building.
Focused Assistance Plans
Please inform
Grievance Chair, Nick Molander, if you have been placed on a Focused Assistance
Plan.
Member Email System
Thank you to Executive Board Member, Donna Iverson, for developing our email list serve for all BEA members! If you have not been receiving BEA emails, or know of a member who has not, please let your building representative know.
A Warning About Email
District computers and bsdvt email are the property of the district and are not secure.
Indoor Air Quality
At the April 1st Board Meeting, Rebecca again addressed the board about the air quality problems at the high school. Last month, she voiced BEA concerns and asked for some answers. We asked to know what, if anything, has been done since then. Her full statement is available on the BEA website.
“When I addressed the board a month ago, I implored you to consider the costs of inaction on this issue. These costs are not monetary. They are far more concerning, which is why the BEA will continue to ask the board to answer our questions, respond to our requests for proactive leadership, and to respect our sincere desire to eradicate this health issue from our schools.”
2008-2009
Teacher and Para-Educator Contracts
Teacher contracts will arrive soon. Check it for accuracy, sign it, and turn it
in as soon as possible. The deadline comes shortly after our spring break and
you don’t want to miss getting it signed and delivered.
Know Your Contract!
Article 4.5 (e) Written notice will be given on or before April 15 to Para-educators whose performance may result in non-renewal for performance related reasons. Notice for Para-educators of non-renewal will be by June 15. Notice will include the reasons for non-renewal.
Note : If you do not receive written notice on April 15th followed by confirmation of non-renewal by June 15th, nor RIF notice before July 22nd, you can expect your contract in the mail in late July.
Next Steps With SEI
Whatever name you know it by: SEI, Excellence and Equity, Dream Schools, Dream District, or something else, we seem to be making progress. Teacher participation will be absolutely crucial in the next stage of the process. Nancy Radley and Anne Tewksbury-Frye are representing the BEA on the Visioning and Steering Committee. Nancy, Anne, and Rebecca are serving on the “Future” Team. The following is Jeanne’s description of the next step, the Master Planning Committee:
“The process will continue with the “Future Team” forming several grade-grouped master planning teams. The week of May 5th, separate master plan meetings will focus on elementary, middle and high school grade groupings. A community meeting will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th to provide a progress update. Input from these meetings will be used to help develop the Excellence & Equity master plan. The plan is expected to be presented to the school board and the public in September.”
Alternative Spring Break for
some BHS Students
This April, a group
of eighteen juniors and seniors from Burlington High School have chosen to give
up their vacation and travel to Arizona to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s
Collegiate Challenge. (Burlington High School is one of a handful of high
schools to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge, as it was
designed for college level students.) There, the students will communally work
to construct new homes for low-income families. Typical tasks the students will
be involved in are framing, siding, roofing, installing sheetrock, laying tile,
and painting. This unique experience will not only expose them to many aspects
of construction, but also allow them to see a different part of our country,
experience a different culture, as well as a better appreciation for where they
come. The skills that they will gain can be applied time and again in their
future careers and lives.
To help off set the costs of this unique experience, the group has held several fund-raisers. If you missed these, tax-deductible donations are welcome -- thanks in advance for your support! Make checks payable to “Alternative Spring Break” and send to Alternative Spring Break, Burlington High School, 52 Institute Road, Burlington, VT 05408
President’s Corner – Rebecca Smith, BEA President
Spring is finally upon us! I kicked off the month of April by spending the day with the FUTURES committee at UVM addressing the results of the parent survey regarding Socio-Economic Integration (SEI). Teachers, parents, city councilors, school board commissioners, school staff members, community liaisons, community partners, and administrators worked together all day trying to plan some steps to move us forward with the process. Please see the article above for more information about next steps and getting involved.
Our negotiations team will start meeting this month to start to develop a vision and a plan for our upcoming contract. Thank you to everyone who participated in the online survey. We had over 200 teachers respond with input! If you have any other contract specific input you would like to share with the negotiations team, please contact Chief Negotiator, Daniel Treinis.
Our Early Bird Membership Drive starts this month! Non-members will have the opportunity to join now and pay no dues until next school year! Building Representatives will be contacting all para-educators with a tote bag full of Association information, reasons to join, and early bird membership forms. This year, we nearly doubled our membership among para-educators! Let’s keep the momentum up for 2008-09 especially as para-educators start to feel the benefits of our recent wage victory. We also added 14 new teacher members this year! New members can help out by talking to non-members about why they chose to join the BEA.
This year’s Vermont Representative Assembly in on Saturday, April 5th, at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington. I am so thrilled to be joined this year by 11 of our members! A Burlington delegation of 12 will really show other locals around the state that the BEA is vibrant, strong, and committed to our union. Our local participation is what keeps our democratic process working. Thank you so much to our delegates: Janice Case, Daniel Treinis, Christine Cook, Allison Letourneau, Debra Blumberg, Shannon Walters, Ann Kalinoski, Holly Carroll, Kerry Bechtloff, Fran Brock, and Nick Molander.
On a personal note, I’ve been spending some time teaching at the Vermont Workers’ Center’s Solidarity School. I facilitated workshops on wage inequity, immigration issues, and workplace equity to a group of a dozen workers from diverse sectors of Vermont’s workforce. I’ve also been asked to present a workshop about the generational shift in leadership happening in our workplaces and in our unions at the 2008 Labor Notes conference in Detroit this month. In all my free time, I’m planning a wedding, learning Spanish, and practicing Pilates. Have a wonderful April.
Dianne Tkach
Champlain Elementary School
Learning Center
dtkach@bsdvt.org
(802) 864-2226