Dear Colleagues,
The April CHTU Executive Board meeting is being held virtually tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. All members of CHTU are welcome to attend Executive Board meetings, but only Executive Board members may participate in the meeting. If you would like to attend the meeting, please use this link. The Committee Reports for this month are at the bottom of this email.
Have you signed up for the Spring Social yet? The CHTU Spring Social will take place on Friday, April 21, 2023 from 4:00-6:30 p.m. at the CLE Urban Winery. Please see this flier for more information. You can sign up to attend the social here.
In Union,
Karen Rego
CHTU President
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ARC (Appraisal Review Committee): No updates at this time. The next ARC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 23.
Social: The spring social will be held on April 21, 2023 from 4:00-6:30 p.m. at the CLE Urban Winery. Please see this flier for more information. You can sign up to attend the social here.
ER&D: The deadline to sign up for summer ER&D courses is May 5. ER&D courses earn 2 credit hours each and are offered at a rate of $155 per course. Course offerings and information can be found here. Each course needs a minimum of 10 participants to run. At this time, we are very close to our minimum enrollment for every course. Please sign up immediately if you would like to take a high-quality, low-cost course this summer.
DISCIPLINE STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT (SCOC): The discipline task force met on April 12, 2023.
Heights Coalition for Public Education: No new events scheduled as of right now.
INSURANCE: The Insurance Committee met on Monday, March 13. We will meet one more time before summer recess with the meeting date TBD.
Members who sign up for Weight Watchers between March 1st through April 30th will receive a Free WW Mystery Box. Members receive discounted WW memberships too! Visit WW.com/us/mmomembers to learn more.
MOBILIZATION: CHTU members were called to action to attend the Board of Education meeting on April 4, 2023. President Rego spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting to inform the Board that safety is a huge concern in our district. As a result of this action, a meeting has been scheduled with Board President Wright, Superintendent Kirby, CHTU President Rego, and CHTU 1st Vice President Underhile. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 20.
OFT (Ohio Federation of Teachers): The Ohio Teacher Leadership Summit will be held June 14, 2023 at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus. The goal of the summit is to build a statewide network of teacher leaders and administrators to promote and strengthen teacher leadership in Ohio.
Reaching Heights: The annual Reaching Heights Spelling Bee is scheduled for May 10, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at Heights High. CHTU will sponsor a team. Please contact President Rego if you would like to be on the CHTU team.
STRS News: The STRS election this spring is taking place now for an ACTIVE [contributing] seat for the STRS Board. Arthur Lard is the incumbent. He rarely speaks at Board meetings and is chair of the Health Committee. He has been challenged by another Board member to call a meeting of the Health Committee but stated that health plans at STRS are fine and there is no reason to have his committee meet. OFT and ORTA have endorsed Pat Davidson, an active teacher from the Berea City School District. The Berea Federation of Teachers is an OFT affiliate
SUMMIT: Summit was held on Friday, March 10. We discussed Intervention Specialist concerns and the discipline task force. We will continue to discuss Elementary Report Cards and PPS surveys between now and the next Summit meeting. Our next meeting will be held on Friday, April 14.
Grievances and Unfair Labor Practices:
A Step 2 grievance was filed on Tuesday, December 20 by a member who received excessive discipline (suspension) for alleged “Inappropriate Abusive or Offensive Conduct (non-criminal),” “Inadequate Supervision of Students,” and “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities.” The grievance meeting was held on Tuesday, January 10. The grievance was denied. Step 3 mediation was held on February 1. We were unable to reach a settlement. The CHTU Executive Board approved taking this grievance to arbitration at the February meeting. Arbitration has been scheduled for April 24; however, the district issued an offer to avoid arbitration. The offer has been approved by the member, and we are awaiting a signature on the MOU.
A Step 2 grievance was filed on Tuesday, January 10 by a member who was denied assault leave. A meeting was held on Monday, January 23. The grievance was denied. The member has waived the right to Step 3 Mediation. The CHTU Executive Board approved going to arbitration at the February meeting. Arbitration has been scheduled for April 24; however, the district issued an offer to avoid arbitration. We are awaiting a decision.
A Step 2 grievance was filed by a member on Wednesday March 1 for being denied union representation during an interview that led to a fact-finding. We believe this is not only a violation of Article 2.A. of the negotiated agreement, but also a violation of the member’s Weingarten Rights. The grievance meeting was held on Wednesday, March 8. The grievance was denied. We moved to a Step III Mediation, which was held on Tuesday, April 12.
A Step 2 class-grievance was filed on Thursday, March 2 by President Rego for violation of Article 6.E.1.a.i of the collective bargaining agreement for PD held in less than half-day increments exceeding the allowed 4 hours specified in the contract. The grievance meeting was held on Friday, March 10. The grievance was resolved, and members who attended the PD session were approved to arrive late or leave early on the March 24 PD day (their choice) for an equivalent amount of time as the PD.
A Step 1 grievance was filed on Friday, March 3 by a member who received excessive discipline (written warning” for alleged “Inadequate Supervision of Students” and “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities”). The grievance hearing was held on March 17. The grievance was denied. We are determining next steps.
A Step 2 grievance was filed on Friday, March 3 by President Rego (class grievant) and a member for excessive and unwarranted discipline (official reprimand) for alleged “unauthorized absences.” A grievance meeting was held on Thursday, March 9. The grievance was denied. We moved to a Step III Mediation, which was held on Tuesday, April 12. We did not come to an agreement. We will be requesting approval from the Executive Board to move to arbitration.
A Step 2 grievance was filed on Friday, March 3 by a member who received excessive discipline (official reprimand) for alleged “Inappropriate, Abusive, and Offensive Conduct (Non-Criminal).” A grievance meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 24. The grievance was denied. We are determining next steps.
Fact-Findings/Discipline
A member was called to a fact-finding for alleged“Inappropriate Abusive or Offensive Conduct (Non-Criminal),” “Lack of Teamwork,” “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities,” “Breach of Chain of Command Protocol,” and “Board Policy 3210 - Staff Ethics” based on an investigation done by an independent third party. The fact-finding was held on Thursday, March 9. We are awaiting disposition.
A member was called to a fact-finding for alleged “Inadequate Supervision of Students” and “Board Policies 4213 Student Supervision and Welfare” for leaving a student unsupervised while assisting with other students. The fact-finding was held on February 10. We are awaiting disposition.
A member was placed on paid-administrative leave for alleged inappropriate actions and judgment regarding interaction with students. There has been no fact-finding scheduled. We are awaiting an investigation from a third-party investigator.
Another member was placed on paid-administrative leave for alleged inappropriate actions and judgment regarding interaction with students. A fact-finding has been scheduled for alleged “Inappropriate, Abusive, or Offensive Conduct (Non-Criminal),” “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities,” “Inadequate Supervision of Students,” and “Board Policies 4213 Student Supervision and Welfare and 5630 Corporal Punishment.” The fact-finding was held on Tuesday, February 21. A disposition was held, and the member received an official reprimand. We are working with the member to determine next steps.
A member was placed on paid-administrative leave for alleged “Inappropriate, Abusive, or Offensive Conduct (Non-Criminal),” “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities,” “Inadequate Supervision of Students,” and “Board Policies 4213 Student Supervision and Welfare and 5630 Corporal Punishment.” A fact-finding has been scheduled for Thursday, March 16. We are awaiting disposition.
A member was placed on paid-administrative leave for allegedly failing to intervene during student altercations in class on more than one occasion. A fact-finding was held on March 21. We are awaiting disposition.
A member was placed on paid-administrative leave for alleged “Inappropriate, Abusive, or Offensive Conduct (Non-Criminal),” “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities,” “Inadequate Supervision of Students,” and “Board Policies 4213 Student Supervision and Welfare and 5630 Corporal Punishment.” A fact-finding was held on March 20. We are awaiting disposition.
A member was called to a fact-finding on February 21 for alleged “Inadequate Preparation of Employee Job Responsibilities.” The member received a disposition of official reprimand. We will be filing a Step II grievance.
A member was called to a fact-finding for alleged “Inadequate Preparation for Employee Job Responsibilities” and allegedly violating Board Policy 3210 “Staff Ethics” on March 13. The member received a disposition of official reprimand. We are determining next steps.
Mrs. Tiffiny Underhile, M.A.Ed