CNTA REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

December 15, 2009

CNTA 2^nd Floor Training Center, 1189 Mountain Avenue

Minutes prepared by Beverley Rouse, Secretary

 [Minutes are not official until approved at the next Rep Council.]

I.          CALL TO ORDER—President Bill Fisher called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M.

II.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Vince Flores moved to approve the minutes from November 17, 2009.   Karen L. Jones seconded.  The motion passed.  Vince Flores moved to approve the minutes from December 8, 2009.   Kelly Fisher seconded.  The motion passed.

III.       REPORTS

A.    Vice President—Toni Sandell has been disseminating information about PARS and STRS, working with negotiations, and receiving fewer calls about grievances.  

B.     Treasurer—Anne Freeman said the audit is still in process, so there will be a two-month report at the next Rep Council.

C.    Elementary Director K-3—Angela Genet asked for members to e-mail her their comments about the impact of eliminating class size reduction.

D.    Elementary Director 4-6—Matt Alford wants teachers to get back to him about Zangle, problems staying or getting on line, using the grade book, etc.  He is interested in hearing about philosophical issues such as having the report cards on-line and available to parents.

E.     Intermediate—Ken Christner said that the district says that Zangle won’t be required for gradebooks.  He reported on issues with Zangle shutting down and said the district is working on solutions for this.  With budget cuts, there will be more reliance on Safe Schools Committees. 

F.     State Council Representatives—The next meeting is at the end of January.

G.    High School Director­­—Julie Cooley said that CNTA is working to make sure the Safe Schools Committees are functioning at sites.  Minutes from the committees should show how issues are resolved.  Teachers should know who the three elected members of the Safe Schools committee are at their sites.

H.    Support—JoAnn Ritchie meets monthly with Linda White regarding concerns about support services and special education issues.  Some individuals had said they didn’t have enough materials.  If there are specific concerns, go to Tracy at Special Ed or e-mail Linda White about specific materials needs.  They are monitoring class sizes for special day and resources to make sure they are balanced. 

IV.       OLD BUSINESS

A.    Negotiations Update

1.   Intermediate Banked Minutes—This is not finalized. 

2.   SLP Clarification Language—This is not finalized.

B.  Other Old Business—None.

V.        NEW BUSINESS

A.  CTA State Council Election Results—Elections Chair Suzie Farrell said that Kelly Fisher won the State Council election with 186 votes compared to Jerry Goar’s 117 votes.

B.  Information Gathering and Budget Comments

1.   CNTA is trying to organize reps to get information from their site members.  Packets will be mailed to those who have taken the training.  Reps should get trained in how to lead discussion groups to find what teachers want.  The training will result in consistent information.  Joe Krause, CTA Support Staff, read off the list of schools that haven’t had reps trained in the listening process.  A member asked to have a list of the support services groups, who are based in the district office, who don’t have trained reps yet.  A rep who had done the listening said his staff wanted to skip the “feel good” questions at the beginning and get to the meat of the issue, while another said those questions were important to get teachers warmed up to open discussion.  The questions first ask CNTA’s role in protecting teachers, then move on to a questions about whether the teachers want CNTA to protect wages or to protect jobs.  Listener reps must try hard not to appear biased.   Reps can add their comments after the meeting, so their opinions are recorded, or they can express their opinions at a Rep Council listening session.

2.   CNTA is getting a lot of e-mails about issues to consider in bargaining during this financial crisis.  A member asked how much money could be saved if the administrators had the same insurance coverage as teachers.  Toni said this would save $100,000 - $200,000.  A member asked why principals have the same number of work days when they go to S track; she used the example of how SLPs get cut 20 days when they go to S track schools.  A member said that if the health benefits costs go up, then administrators, who pay nothing, essentially get a raise.  A member suggested investigating those who get free lunch and free transportation to make sure they really qualify, though this money is federal and doesn’t affect our salaries. 

3.   The decision about furloughs will be made by the 2500 CNTA members.  CNTA must discuss furloughs because the district made a demand to bargain furloughs.  CNTA leadership will do what the members indicate they want, while giving all the information available to members.  The number of proposed furlough days is based on how much money the district believes they need to save after they have made all other cost reductions they can.  It is based on a hope for 100 retirees and some anticipated growth.  The state has set 175 days as the full ADA figure, so the district won’t lose ADA money by having five furlough days.  If members vote for the furloughs, teachers will be asked when they want the furlough days.  Another asked if the days can be customized per level or if all the days must be scheduled at the same time, which cuts costs for the district because of utilities, etc.  CNTA will make sure the electronic voting is done legitimately.  If members don’t like the negotiated MOUs, they can vote them down and ask for more give from the district.  Reps  were encouraged to find out from their members what they want in exchange for furlough days. 

4.   CNTA should negotiate to get something back if teachers give up salary because of furloughs; these things should make teachers’ lives better without adding costs.

5.   The money for the PARS early retirement incentive is a gamble by the district, which is hoping that the retirement incentive will allow them to save all jobs and still save money over the next five years.  The district could pay up to $700,000 for the retirement incentive. 

6.   The district has said in writing that if the furloughs are voted, no permanent or probationary jobs will be lost.  A member asked whether jobs could still be cut, even if teachers vote for the five furlough days, if the budget gets worse.  A member said her principal is strongly pushing furlough days, which makes those who are against furloughs look greedy.  When a principal does this, it is negotiating away from the table, which is not permissible.

7.   Reps voiced concerns about furloughs.  A high school teacher said that getting through the curriculum will be more difficult if there are fewer school days and testing remains the same.  A member said that that the fact that when the administrators take a five-day furlough, it is a lower percentage of their salaries, and this needs to be publicized.  A member would like to know about cuts in the district office before she is asked to take a salary cut through furloughs.

8.   Today’s school board meeting will show what the cuts could be, so more information will be available in the next few days.

9.   CNTA will write language in the negotiations to protect teachers. When a member asked about furlough language written to get things to help teachers, CNTA said the listening groups and e-mails are there to get ideas about what members want.  When a member asked about language that could help teachers without adding costs, Bill gave a few examples and asked reps to ask teachers for ideas about what could make their lives better.  Possibilities included elementary duties, transfer language, intermediate opportunity, seniority, and discipline.

10. Every school should have a functioning Safe Schools Committee, composed of one administrator and three teachers who are elected each year, to deal with safety issues.  Teachers at the sites should know what the committee does. 

11. A member asked for a CNTA blast with more accurate information than the newspaper prints.  Bill said that his blasts take a day to prepare because he checks every detail with the relevant people so that it will be accurate.  A member would like to see the newspaper give the teachers’ side, not just the district’s side of any issues, but until CNTA has the information from the teachers, CNTA won’t be sending out press releases.

12. A member asked about what would happen to the extra half hour of planning during music that the upper grades get if the lower grades have the same number of students.  CNTA will need to negotiate it and will want input from members so that CNTA will best represent members. 

C.  Race to the Top Update—When two competing bills came out of the legislature, CNTA asked a legislator to listen to their concerns.  The better of the two bills, which allows negotiation, will go to the Senate and, if approved, will then go to the governor.   

D.  First Financial Presentation—Rollie Myrold, from First Financial Credit Union, reminded members that First Financial is the credit union endorsed by CTA, which means that a CTA panel helps members if there is ever a problem with First Financial.  Because their employees are union members, they understand unions.  FFCU offers free checking for life, a reduced car loan interest rate, a VISA card with a fixed rate for life.  Profits go back to members in the form of higher interest rates on savings and lower interest rates on loans.  Family members of teachers can establish accounts.  They have a free financial review.        

E.  Other New Business—None.

VI.       BREAKOUTS—Reps met for breakouts with the Elementary K-3, Elementary 4-6,  Intermediate, High School, and Support Services directors.