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February 2017

COMMITTEE REPORTS


ARC (Appraisal Review Committee): At the meeting on January 23 ARC discussed the Intervention Support Plan specifics as well as reviewed an update to the Board evaluation policy.  Next meeting February 27, 2017


Cuyahoga County Educators Summit – Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 4:30


DLT (District Leadership Team):  DLT Steering meeting is February 24.  DLT is March 22.


ER&D:  Summer Registration starts March 20.  Dates for classes were sent out and posted.


INSURANCE:  Nothing new since November 2 meeting.


MASTER TEACHER: The committee will be finalizing the process for scoring Master Teacher initial and renewal submissions.  Scoring training is scheduled for committee members.  


MOBILIZATION:

DeVos – many members were involved in trying to lobby Senator Portman to vote against the nomination of Betsy DeVos for US Secretary of Education.  Keep up the emails, demonstrations, and calls to let your opinions be known on all sorts of topics.  Get involved with lobbying the state around ESSA – fewer people are going to know what to do to help make things better in Ohio.


Save the date April 22 from 11:30-4 when Local 795 is signed up to volunteer at the WVIZ auction.  Answer phones, help in the stock room, and many other ways.  Great fun and for a great cause.


RETIREMENT:  The STRS Board had a retreat in January, no decisions were made, but discussion and presentations ensued.  The main concern is that more money is going out than coming in.  Retiree health care for those under 65 may be on the chopping block.  Cost of Living raises may be cut.


SOCIAL:  Save the date – May 5 for our spring social at Nighttown.  Not too early to be thinking about raffle baskets (or who will be in charge on one for your building)


SUMMIT: Met January 27.  Discussed middle school transition and new license possibilities through ODE.  Next meeting February 17.


TRANSITIONAL WORK PROGRAM:  nothing new 


  1. Negotiations –
    1. Over 240 members came to the membership meeting on February 7.  Everyone stood to reject the Board offer during a standing vote taken before the secret ballots were distributed.  Absentee ballots will be collected through Tuesday, February 14. 520 ballots of 541 were received.  93% of members rejected the Board offer.  We met February 15 to negotiate from 8am to 1pm.  Although we discussed roadblocks and have some conceptual solutions to some issues there are no new proposals.  The Board team also told us at the very end of our session that they were not given any authority to bargain raises beyond the 0%, 1%, 1% offer.

  1. Our Organizing Committee met February 9 to determine messaging strategies in response to the Superintendent’s February 3 FAQ.  We meet again on February 22. 

 

  1. Heights Coalition for Public Education  - Steering Committee Wednesday, Feb 15 at 7 pm at the Main Rd Library.  We organized around 4 major task areas.  The Charter School Walk planning is taking place within the next two weeks to chart out how it will work.  We will try to meet the 4th Wednesday of each month.

 

  1. Listening Project 2016-17  - Vice Presidents Rego and Frost are starting to set the process in motion for this year.

 

  1. Grievance:  Personnel files – a grievance has been filed on November 15, 2016 because the Assistant Superintendent of HR and Operations has placed materials in personnel files in a manner that does not comport with the contract.  Met November 30. Denied.   Step 3 Grievance Mediation happened on January 11.  We did not finish, so rescheduled for February 13.  We have reached an agreement that we will ask our Executive Board to vote on at our February 16 meeting. 

 

Grievance:  Evaluation not on time – a grievance was filed Jan 31 on a behalf of a member whose evaluation was not completed by the January 15 contractual date.  We withdrew the grievance for the member because we were looking at the second cycle and not the first.

 

Unfair Labor Practice:  On February 9th we filed an Unfair Labor Practice against Superintendent Dixon for publishing to our members before the contract vote.  We have also filed a records request for contact information on who was sent the Board’s FAQ on Negotiations.

 


  1. Fact-Findings  -
    1. A tenured Intervention Specialist who is on an intervention plan had a fact-finding November 3 on grounds that the member is unprepared for class because no plans are left when the member is absent, not using district curricular materials, and allowing too many break periods during transitions.  The teacher was given a 3 day suspension received by our Union while the member was out on an extended sick leave.  The member met with President Klein, signed the acknowledgment and waived his right to meet with administration to discuss the action.  The suspension was served before his return to assignment.
    2. A teacher was put on administrative leave Thursday, January 12 for allegedly restraining an out of control student in a substitute’s room.  The teacher received an official reprimand for trying to help control the situation and was returned to work January 23.
    3. A member had a fact-finding on January 20 because the principal thought the member sent an email with a “disrespectful tone.”  Awaiting disposition.
    4. A member had a fact-finding on January 27 for a plethora of accusations of poor IEP documentation.  While awaiting disposition we received a second invitation to a follow up fact-finding for February 16. The meeting is postponed as the member is not at work due to complications from an assault while breaking up a fight between students.

7.  High School Scheduling – A simple 50 minute period schedule was developed and presented to staff on January 31.  TBTs were used to discuss the schedule in more depth on February 7.  Still getting feedback.  The big question will be how to handle Intervention Specialists schedules so that they maintain a dedicated period for IEP planning and caseload responsibilities.



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