Dear Colleagues,
We are very happy to report that after many discussions with the district, Summit has approved AFLAC as voluntary, supplemental insurance. AFLAC offers many different options that might be right for you and your family. We now have a group plan and district representative, Derrick Fellows, who can help you with any supplemental insurance you may need. AFLAC plans are available for post-tax payroll deduction. This is all completely voluntary and separate from anything that is offered through our union or the school district. You can read more about AFLAC and what they offer here.
This month’s Executive Board meeting will be this Thursday, October 20, at 4:00 at our Union office in the Coventry Peace Campus. Please read through all our updates this month.
In Solidarity,
Karen Rego
CHTU President
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ARC (Appraisal Review Committee): ARC met on October 4 and October 11 to discuss the High Quality Student Data (HQSD) requirements for OTES 2.0. All teachers are required to have two forms of HQSD for their evaluation year, even if their ratings are carried forward. Please see the OTES handbook and email from ARC for more information. CHTU is represented on ARC this year by President Rego, Vice President Underhile, Treasurer Bennett, and Lisa Stewart.
ER&D: There will be no fall sessions this year. Please look for spring classes soon.
DISCIPLINE (SCOC): The district has yet to schedule the first meeting.
INSURANCE: It’s very important to understand our insurance benefit plans. If you are not on the Medical Mutual website you can click here to sign on . This website will track your out of pocket expenses. The Medical Mutual app is also a great tool to keep up-to-date with out of pocket expenses and Explanations of Benefits.
MOBILIZATION: October 28 from 5-Midnight is the Coventry Peace Pops event. This event includes a candy crawl, Halloween costume selfie booth, live performances, spooky stories, and s’mores making etc…. CHTU will be passing out candy by our office. Please join this family friendly event that is part of the Coventry road candy crawl. For all the information about this event please click here.
OFT (Ohio Federation of Teachers):
OFT Executive Council met on September 24 to finalize endorsements for the general election on November 8. All OFT-endorsed candidates can be found here.
The Department of Education has posted a Frequently Asked Questions document for the recently released list of approved 2022-2023 Tier 1 Dyslexia Screeners. The Frequently Asked Questions document, approved list and other detailed information are available at the List of Approved Assessments page on the Department’s website. Please send questions to statetests@education.ohio.gov.
Reaching Heights: Reaching Heights has several openings for their board. If you are a district resident and are interested in being a part of this excellent organization please contact Krista Hawthorne atkrista@reachingheights.org. It's a great way to give back to this amazing organization that does so much to support our schools.
STRS News: Here are some fun facts about the oldest surviving recipients of STRS retirement benefits: As of June 30, 2022 STRS has 209 benefit recipients who are age 100 or older – of which 179 are female and 30 are male. Most of these centenarians are service retirees while 61 are beneficiaries of retirees or survivors of active members who died, and three are disability recipients. The oldest recipient age is 110. This member retired in 1980 at age 68 after 25 years of service. Her final salary average was $21,000; her original benefit was $873 and has increased to $2,197. She began teaching for an annual contract of $5,300. The retiree who has been receiving benefits the longest is a disability recipient who began receiving a benefit in 1957 at the age of 27. The monthly benefit has increased from $162 to $1,078. STRS has been paying this recipient for 65 years. Active members also have longevity in the classroom with 16 members having 50 or more years of service and 247 members exceeding 40 years.
SUMMIT: Summit met on Friday, October 14. We discussed pacing guides, 2nd quarter ELA pilot, Infinite Campus, Registration, and substitute coverage. Summit will be publishing a meeting summary every month in the Weekly District Update, Staff Edition, sent by Cathan Cavanaugh.
Grievances and Unfair Labor Practices:
An Administration/Union concern was filed on September 2 on behalf of the kindergarten teachers. They have ongoing disputes with the district's registration procedures, class sizes and kindergarten preparedness. The meeting for the AU Concern was held on October 6. We are awaiting a response from the Superintendent.
A grievance was filed on September 2nd regarding expenses charged to a teacher for computer damages. The computer “damages” were not the member’s fault, yet the member was charged over $300. The Union believes that the Board has mis-applied its policy (7530.03 Board Owned Communication Devices) resulting in bargaining unit members being wrongfully assessed. The grievance meeting was held on October 11. CHTU has waived time in the district’s decision, and has a date of October 28 for a response from the district.
A grievance was filed on October 17 by a member who received excessive discipline for an unproven incident that happened on August 29.
Fact-Findings/Discipline
A member was called to a fact-finding on August 23 for alleged “Inappropriate and Offensive Conduct (non-criminal)” based on accusations made by a parent to the Ohio Department of Education, which resulted in the member’s license renewal being delayed by the ODE Office of Professional Conduct. We are awaiting disposition, which we believe should specify “no-finding”.
A member was placed on paid administrative leave on Friday, September 2nd for alleged inappropriate comments made by the member while alone in a closed classroom which were overheard and reported by another staff member. The disposition was held, and the outcome was an official reprimand. The member has returned to work.
A member was called to a fact-finding on September 23 for alleged “Dishonesty (Non-Criminal)” and “Falsification of/Failure to Accurately Provide Information (Non-Criminal)” based on information provided during the investigation of another fact-finding. We are awaiting disposition.