OHEA Online

The OHEA Notes represent the informational connection between the Oak Harbor Education Association and its members. Edited by President Mike Watson, the OHEA Notes bring all the latest news to the Association.

OHEA Notes Headlines

• Bargainers to Attend Training - Organizing for Negotiations on Track
• Sick Leave By-Back
• OHEA Scholarship
• $$$$$$$$
• OHSD - OHEA Answer Questions
• Editorial on the OHEA Fall Survey Results In

Bargainers to Attend Training - Organizing for Negotiations on Track -

This past weekend the Association Bargaining Team under the leadership of Chief Bargainer Lynne Carpenter (NWMS), attended WEA sponsored training at the WEA campus in Federal Way. Lynne's team consists of several veteran bargainers, Sherry Wirth (CVE), Eric Christiansen (OHHS), and Nicole Bouvion (OVE). Lynne's team has two new members as well, Amy Coleman (OVE) & Larry Falcon (NWMS). Mr. Phil Becker, WEA-UniServ 4^th Corner Staff, will be a member of the OHEA team. Phil has many years of experience bargaining Association contracts with school districts throughout the state. In addition to OHEA's team, we will have the support of WEA. WEA will conduct an analysis of the District's budget and financial practices for the Association. That analysis will be used to reveal the District's capacity to attend to OHEA members' interests and priorities in the new contract. WEA has also helped OHEA to craft a survey of interests that the Association will use to communicate with members. Those responses and subsequent conversations with members will reveal their requirements for an acceptable contract this coming spring or next autumn.

In support of the team who will be sitting down at the table with the District's representatives in April, the Association has fielded a bargaining support team chaired by Jeff Laiblin (NWMS). Members of Jeff's team are Lori McKole, Denise Snow, Jay Puidokas, Kathy Ridle, Ed Walker, Lori Sandberg, Shay Eisenbarth, Siri Bardarson, Annette Eustice, Carole Schletz, and Stephanie Baumgarden. Jeff's team will collect data, organize and communicate with members during the bargaining season, and otherwise support the efforts to advance OHEA members' interests and priorities at the bargaining table.

In addition to the Bargaining Team and Bargaining Support Team, members within the buildings throughout the District will serve as Building Action Team members. Those members will be coordinating and communicating with members as the bargaining season advances and should the need arise.

Sick Leave By-Back -

You all should have received a "sick leave buy-back" form from the District by now. You can elect to be compensated, or buy back, your eligible accumulated sick leave from your account at the rate of 25% of your daily rate of pay. Advantage...    CASH! Disadvantage... Lower sick leave balance. You should know that you can accumulate up to 180 days of sick leave for the purpose of sick leave cash out upon retirement or for leave purposes. If you are getting close to that number and are close to retirement, it may be to your advantage to do so. Before making any financial decisions, you should consult your financial advisor. If you do choose to take advantage of this opportunity, you must have your form into Kristi in the District payroll office by February 12.

OHEA Scholarship -

If you are a member of the Association and have a child who is graduating or is currently at college, university, trade school, community college, etc. you should know that OHEA offers a one-time scholarship to member's children or dependents. In order to be eligible for the Association Scholarship program, the applicant must be the child or dependent of a current member of the Oak Harbor Education Association. In addition, the applicant must present evidence of a scholastic achievement or grade point average of 3.25 or better in the form of an official transcript. (Confidential transcripts are not required.) Applicants who have been enrolled in a higher education or training program for at least one grading period may not use their high school grade point average. Scholarship amounts will be determined by the number of qualified applicants and the budgeted scholarship fund. The completed application is due by April 1 for consideration. Scholarships will be awarded on or about April 20. Interested members or their children may download and print the application form at www.oheaonline.org , or request a form at mwatson@ohsd.net .

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ -

So... Many (most) of us have heard what Dr. Schulte has had to say concerning the District's budget and some of the (mostly external) factors that will influence how the budget will be built this Spring. The major ones are initiative 728 & K-4 staffing enhancement, local levy match funding, federal stimulus money, federal impact aid money, and local enrollment numbers. OHEA President Mike Watson and Immediate Past President Peter Szalai are members of the District's 2010 - 2011 budget committee. Mike and Peter will be involved in the process and will advocate for the interests of OHEA members. In addition to your OHEA representatives, twenty members of the committee include central office administrators, several building administrators, all of the school board members, and representatives from our sister organization representing our classified colleagues, PSE. At the first meeting of the committee the agenda included...

1)  Review of the committee's charge

2)  Review of the Board's Budget Guidelines from last year

3)  Review of the Superintendent's Budget Guidelines from last year

4)  A summary of revenue and expenditure issues and how they might positively or negatively affect district staff and programs for 2010 - 2011

5)  Initial discussion of Parameters that might be used to guide budget reductions if needed any time during the next several years

Meetings are scheduled at the Administrative Service Center (ASC) for Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., on February 2, February 16, March 2, March 16, March 30, and April 13. The meetings are open to the public.

OHSD - OHEA Answer Questions -

OHEA President Mike Watson and OHSD Executive Director for Human Resources Dr. Mellody Matthes are visiting with the staffs of all of the schools in the District. In a collaborative effort to help make members aware of the contract language, their options, the processes, variables, and criteria that will be considered as the need to make staffing decisions for next (SY 2010-2011) proceeds through the spring. As issues and/or questions arise, members have been invited to contact either their OHEA Building Res(s), Mellody, or Mike.  

- Editorial -

OHEA Fall Survey Results In -

Priorities:

It is clear that the important issues for our members center on control of time and workload. Roughly, two-thirds of our colleagues rate those as central. With ever increasing demands and fewer and fewer resources, demands upon teachers' time, especially if those demands are of little utility or are to some degree, irrelevant, are less and less tolerable. Some of the comments by our colleagues also seem to support the supposition that, while some improvements are in evidence, there remains a need to honor and retain as much non-student contact time as possible for the teachers' use. These issues go to professional autonomy. Taking teachers' precious time, and then expecting, either implicitly or explicitly, that they will donate professional services outside of the workday is not ethical, not good for teachers, and therefore, not good for students.

Conferences:

So...     You can't please any of the people any the time. Conferences are not "bargain-able" and are therefore not a part of the contract. OHEA Leadership has been asked to weigh in on the issue, hence the question in the survey. Turns out that about 50% of the respondents would like to see some change. One-quarter don't really care and roughly 20% want things to stay the same. We have reported those findings to the District. That said, after a couple of years of conversation concerning the issue, OHEA leadership have determined that it isn't contractual; though the it is "educational". So... the OHEA Executive Board has determined that conferences are a management prerogative. OHEA President Mike Watson and Vice-President Cynthia Story have advised the District that the conference schedule, intent and format of conferences, grading, reporting, etc. is the District's responsibility to determine. Conferences then should be administered by the District in a manner and on a schedule that seems to them and their building Principals to be "educationally sound". That said, we have advocated for a thoughtful re-consideration of the intent and work-load implications of parent conferences; e.g., is progress reporting synonymous with conferring? That said, the first question that I as a parent want to ask my own kid's teachers? "Well... How's she doing?" We have also advocated for considering the possibility of going to a "trimester" reporting schedule. The District's response has been negative. To be continued...

Salary:

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. Really depends on where you are on the scale. If you are at or near the bottom... NO! If you are at or near the top... in my opinion... still NO!

Technology/Computers:

No longer optional. Good news is that the majority of our members are pretty happy with the customer service they get from the IS/IT department. Bad news is that around two-thirds of the members who responded don't feel that they can "count on" technology. There does appear to be a rising trend in the degree of satisfaction with the technology that the District provides though. Perhaps our members are also feeling more comfortable and are, in fact, more skilled at using the technology as a consequence of the T-3 staff development program offered to staff. So overall... Room for improvement but the outcome looks promising.

Copiers:

No longer optional. YIKES! Lots of room for improvement. These machines must be available and functional at all times. The curriculum adopted by the District recently assumes a fair amount of copying. This must be improved in three areas, access (# of machines), capacity, and reliability.

Workload:

Only ten out of 182 respondents said that, "yes", they are able to, "plan and prepare for teaching all of  the curriculum adopted and required by the District during my regularly scheduled planning time. When we went into education we understood that there would be occasions where we would have to spend some time at home and on the weekends to do our work....     But come on! Once again, "... expecting, either implicitly or explicitly, that teachers will donate professional services outside of the workday is not a sustainable practice. Preparation, planning, grading, and reporting of the entire adopted curriculum must be able to be done by a typically skilled and experienced teacher within the contracted work-day irrespective of grade level, subject taught, and/or teaching assignment.

A significant majority of our members said that, "yes", they would be willing to work with the Association to increase preparation and planning time and my control of non-student time during the upcoming bargaining season in the spring of 2010.

Special education and special services:

Only six out of 178 respondents said, "yes" to, "The District has provided me with sufficient time to comply with the provisions of IEP's and "504 Plans" for the disabled students in my classroom."

Only five out of 181 respondents said, "yes" to, "The District has provided me with sufficient resources, e.g., curriculum, supplies & materials, technology, etc. to comply with the provisions of IEP's and "504 Plans" for the disabled students in my classroom.

Only nine out of 179 respondents said, "yes" to, "The District has provided Sp.Ed. and specialist staff sufficient time, resources, and support to meet the needs of the disabled students in my classroom.

Only six out of 177 respondents said, "yes" to, The District has provided Sp.Ed. and specialist staff sufficient time, resources, and support to meet the needs of the disabled students in my classroom.

DOUBLE YIKES!!    We were frankly very surprised and not a little dismayed after reading the results and comments. Special education and "Section 504" continues to be an area of frustration and concern for Sp.Ed. providers and their General Education colleagues. Moreover, it is clear that the level of vigilance and accountability expected by the District for our members is more evident. These matters are very worrying and must be addressed in a substantial and effective way.  A significant majority of our members believe that support, i.e., training, staffing, legal guidance and expertise, curriculum, supplies & materials, and technology, are insufficient to meet their needs and the needs of their students. Classroom teachers are left to deal with the un-met academic needs and their student's psychological, behavioral, and conduct challenges, usually without sufficient adaptations or support for the curriculum or a clear understanding of what their special needs students require or how that is can happen. Sp.Ed. teachers are left without sufficient resources, especially time, to do that work or provide that support. They are required to provide services to students with an enormous range of academic and physical, sensory, behavioral/conduct, needs and disorders with precious little in the way of supplies, materials, curriculum, and time. Their focus has had to become providing IEP minutes, compliance with statute, due-dates, meeting requirements, etc. In addition, virtually everyone who has some responsibility for these students is in the position of having to attend statutorily mandated staffing and parent meetings outside of the contracted day, thereby requiring a donation of professional services to the District. There also appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding about what these programs and services are and what the law says about their administration. This situation leads to conflict between Gen.Ed. and Sp.Ed. teachers when neither party really has the power to make things better, let alone make sure that they are in compliance with the law. That being the case, we will be strenuously advocating for reasonable class-sizes, support, training, and most importantly, sufficient time within the contracted day, to accomplish this work for everyone who has responsibilities for these students and their programs.

Leadership:

YEA! It is clear from the results that a significant majority of our members believe that our Principal colleagues are competent, capable, and fair. They manage to balance their legitimate need for accountability with their staff's need for professional autonomy and creativity. They are also viewed by the majority of the respondents as complying with the contract.

A Final Word Concerning Negotiations-

Bargaining a new contract is the primary, and the one with the highest stakes, activity that any Labor Union engages in. All of its members' work lives, compensation, working conditions, leave, performance evaluation, job security, etc. are at issue in a new contract. All of the benefits that we enjoy were not "given" out of the goodness of someone's heart or because we "deserve" them. No... Quite apart from the eighteen days of "supplemental pay" that OHEA has negotiated for each of us, our sick-leave, health insurance, fair professional performance evaluation, class size numbers, planning time, protection from arbitrary and capricious discipline at work..., the list goes on, are ours because our Union sat across the table and negotiated for them. Those negotiators were able to demand those benefits for you at the table because of the organizing work and involvement of the rank and file members. So...   Fill out the survey. Ask your Building Rep. or a Bargaining Support Team Member what you can do. Be engaged. Get online and read the blog. Think about what is important to you. Be involved.                                It matters.

M. Watson

President, OHEA