October B.E.A. Line

October 2016 Issue

TQ Money and Master’s Degrees

What could be better than the District paying for your Master’s degree?  Mr. Coen has been dangling this tantalizing prospect out in the public for over a year.  He has mentioned it in several board meetings, newspaper articles, presidents’ meetings, and even opening day at the auditorium.  Interestly, the proposal was not brought to the Teacher Quality Committee until this past month.  This is the committee that by state law determines how TQ money is allocated, that it is allocated equitably, and that it is allocated in compliance with the TQ statutes.

Recently, Mr. Coen revealed a few more details of the plan to BEA.  Mr. Coen stated that he feels it is time for him to do more for teachers and to live up to his motto “teachers always”.  What better way than paying for an advanced degree? The ultimate goal of this plan is to get some teachers Master’s degrees in select areas so they can be adjunct teachers for SCC.  He is not interested in funding Master’s degrees in areas outside of the ones he and SCC have determined will allow BHS teachers to teach dual enrollment classes. High school students would be able to dual enroll at SCC and BHS.  They would earn college credits.  Mr. Coen describes this as a win-win for the student and the teachers.  It is also a win for the district. The District receives more state funding because the weighting of these students is 1.3 instead of 1.0 in the state funding formula.  SCC also benefits financially from this arrangement.   But will the teacher who receives this District funded Master’s degree benefit financially? Currently, our contract reads:  “No more than two credit hours per year may be earned and counted for a lane change if earned during a district-paid professional development day or during classes for which the employee received additional compensation.”   When pressed on this issue, Mr. Coen said he would consider opening this article at negotiation and changing it.  It was unclear whether he would open it for ALL district training or just for his specific Master’s degree program.

BEA and ISEA are currently researching districts that use TQ money in this manner.  We have obtained a copy of the contract provisions of one district that does this and are reviewing it.  We will continue to gather information about this, including information from you, the BEA member.  A survey will be sent out in the near future about this issue.

Committee Reports

Communication Committee - The list of officers and representatives has been updated on the blog.  A survey was conducted recently about the District’s PLC trade time plan. 112 members responded to our survey about the system. Here are the results:

63.4% like the trade time system.

54.5 % would rather not have scheduled early outs and collaborate during contract hours.

Election Committee - There are representative vacancies at Grimes and Aldo.  There will be elections in the near future to fill the vacancies.  Please consider running.

Insurance Committee - The committee has met with Greg Reynolds and Jeremy Tabor once to get an overview of the insurance.  They contacted ISEA for assistance in understanding the plan.  They will be meeting with a Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative in the near future to discuss insurance.

Membership Committee -

Membership enrollment is slowing down for 2016-17. We received the majority of the enrollment information update forms; this is the form that everyone signs at the beginning of the year, typically at the auditorium before the first meeting. This form is to verify your information and for you to make any changes necessary - address update, building move, etc., so please make sure you look over all of the information on those forms. If you have any changes throughout the year please let me know so I can forward that information to ISEA. A quick note about the forms; you are still a member of the union even if you don't return this paper.

A person can still become a member of the union at any time during the school year, so if you know someone who is thinking about it let me know and I will get you a packet of information to pass along.

Things to keep in mind for next year - consider changing your payment method to EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). The funds are taken directly out of your personal checking account and this will spread your dues over a twelve month period instead of ten as per the school's payroll deduction. You will receive a letter for tax purposes at the beginning of the year in order deduct your union dues from your taxes. Also, ISEA and Geode will conduct drawings for partial reimbursement of your dues; who doesn't like the possibility of winning some money? All it takes to change to EFT is a voided check.

Negotiations Committee -  Insurance cost increases will be a major part of negotiations this year.  During last year’s negotiations, the District kept valuable information concerning this topic from the BEA until we entered mediation.   It was for this reason and current trends in insurance costs, that the Insurance Committee was resurrected this year.  Based on Iowa insurance trends,  insurance cost may increase from 20% to 30%.

Social Committee -  The general assembly meeting is 4:00 P.M.October 18, at Aldo Leopold.   Refreshments will be served and there will be door prizes. Andy Isaacson, ISEA Uni-Serve Director will be there.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Teacher’s Rights Committee -  There is an open grievance at the high school in reference to Article 5.B. safety.  

Scholarship Committee -  No report at this time.

Just One More Thing….

It's about this time of year when morale starts to dip particularly for new teachers. We’re neck deep in writing lesson plans, teaching, grading, attending professional development, PLC, BEA meetings/events,and a myriad of other committees.  We pledge to achieve balance between our professional life and our personal life, but our day becomes longer and longer in an attempt to get everything done.  Some of us hit the pile of tasks early in the morning and others burn the midnight oil to do this.  Few people outside the ranks of K-12 public education (except our families) understand the many hours teachers put in beyond contract time.  Thanks to each of you for all you do for the students of this district.  You are the foundation of our educational system.