February, 2015 BEA Newsletter copy

BEA NEWSLETTERYOUR ASSOCIATION WORKING FOR YOU

Brighton Education Association

Office: BHS Room B- 40

(810) 299 - 4165 (810) 299-4166 fax http://www.iammea.org/bea/ [email protected] brightonteachers

In this issue

February, 2015 BEA Board

Minutes

2

Doing your dues 5

Immunization news

6

President’s Message for February 2015

Gree$ngs All,

To start out with some posi$ve news to share, Elaine French’s daughter, Jenna Mate, has been named the middle school teacher of the year for South Lyon schools. Jenna teaches Spanish at the middle and high school levels, and will be considered for the Oakland County’s teacher of the year this spring. Congratula$ons, Jenna!

Next, I will be traveling to all buildings in the district to update our membership on the latest with the BEA. Topics such as teacher evalua$ons, cer$fica$ons, represen$ng members and non-‐members, bargaining and more will be discussed. Be sure to aNend with any ques$ons you may have. New teachers are especially encouraged to aNend with any ques$ons on your annual IDP’s, recording and aNending professional development or any addi$onal ques$ons/concerns you may have. Mee$ngs take place immediately aSer school with the loca$ons shared out by your building AR’s. Those dates are: BHS – Feb 25th. Hawkins – March 2nd Scranton – March 3rd Spencer – March 4th Hornung – March 9th Hilton – March 11th and finally, Maltby – March 16th

BEA elec$ons are quickly approaching with a few important seats to be filled. Brian Walker has officially no$fied the board of directors that he will not be seeking re-‐elec$on as Treasurer. The Treasurer is charged with maintaining the financial records of the Associa$on and submiang monthly reports. Rhonda Barclay’s posi$on as the MEA/NEA representa$ve is also open. This posi$on involves aNending the Region 8 mee$ngs in Lansing in order to relay the events taking place in the 8D Coordina$ng Council along with repor$ng back to us the ac$ons taking place at the MEA. Rhonda also has aNended the NEA conference held each summer as our voice and vote at the na$onal level. We all thank Rhonda and Brian for their years of service and support.

Finally, my posi$on as BEA President will also be on the ballot as I’ve submiNed my no$ce of re$rement to BAS. It is a biNersweet $me as I wind down my career as an educator in this outstanding district. It has been an honor and privilege serving the members of the BEA for the past four years. Whoever may be interested in this posi$on, could not have come at a beNer $me. With the district coming out of deficit and with a newly-‐elected school board that reflects the integrity of the BAS staff, it’s a perfect $me to take over this posi$on that is so influen$al on the learning environment of our students. If you’re interested in running for these offices, please send the BEA office your resume-‐style leNer of intent to share in next month’s newsleNer.

These and all posi$ons in the BEA are open to all members in good standing. Officially we have 11 members who have opted-‐out of the BEA and approximately 20 members who have not kept up their dues payments. These teachers will not be able to vote this spring in any tenta$ve agreement reached with the district, nor hold office in the BEA along with numerous other membership services. Please keep those dues current, as delinquency is determined as two or more months behind in your dues. I personally received a no$ce from Michigan Educa$onal Credit Union informing me of my updated debit card. If you have received these no$ces from your bank or credit card company, be sure to update your payment informa$on with MEA. This is our number one reason why our members fall behind. Please stay on top of this and help keep our membership chair, Melissa Scherdt, from having to make that uncomfortable phone call.

Finally, there will be an informa$onal mee$ng in April for any BEA members who may wish to speak to our MESSA representa$ve, an MEA financial representa$ve to receive insurance quotes,

Staff bowling partyMarch 19

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February, 2015 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 26, 2015BOARD OF DIRECTORS ATTENDANCE NAMES IN ITALICS WERE ABSENT

ELLEN LAFFERTY, BEA PRESIDENT, MIS

MELISSA SCHERDT MS VP, MEMBERSHIP MIS

BARRY GOODE, HS VP, NEGOTIATIONS

MARGARET ADAMS, ELEM. VP, HILTON

KAREN STOREY, BEA SECRETARY

BRIAN WALKER, TREASURER, HILTON

KAREN STOREY, PR, MIS

MATT DUFON GRIEVANCE, BHS

TED BUCKLESS, TECHNOLOGY, BHS

RHONDA BARCLAY, MEA, ELEM. CAUCUS, HILTON

LISA BARAVIK, SE CAUCUS, MIS

ANITA MAYNARD, MEA ELECTIONS, BHS

DIANE CAMPBELL, PAC, SMS

BHS KRYSIA ALEXANDER SEAN CARNEY GABRIELLA HOFFMAN KIM DAVIS JARED JACOBSON ERICA MATHEW ROXANNA MCGONEGAL ANITA MAYNARD

SMSMEG FOLEY JOE KNOERL JEN EVANS LAURIE SMITH

MIS MIKE OSBORN LAURIE HELD KAREN STOREY JODY RENICKER

HAWKINS KATHERINE HEISS CAROLYN JOHNSON CASSONDRA WHEELER

HILTON MARGARET ADAMSDIANE BEAUPRE RHONDA BARCLAY

HORNUNG SOPHIA GARNERHOLLY MASSARD DAVE KILLEWALD

SPENCER TAMMY FERGUSON CINDY KAHL LIZ URSO

President’s message con0nued: MEA legal, and to ask your BEA leadership ques$ons on any contractual concerns. As these representa$ves availability is confirmed, informa$on on the date and $me will be publicized soon. Be sure your home contact informa$on is current through the [email protected] Stay tuned!

In unity,

BEA Board of Directors MeeJngThursday, February 26, 2015 BHS room B-‐36 MeeJng called to

order at 4:26 pm Agenda

I. Minutes of February 2015 meeJng approved, agenda

approved

II. Reports of Officers

a. President: Thank you all for represen$ng your members today – no one appreciates what you do as much as I do! For starters, I’d like to introduce our new MEA Uni-‐Serve Director, Sandy Grier. Sandy is not new to the Brighton school district as she was a former transporta$on employee before that group was priva$zed. During her $me with BAS, she was a strong force in the BESPA unit and con$nues to represent ALL public educa$on employees.

Four members of the BEA aNended the Bargaining Conference earlier this month. At the conference, John Gillis, Melissa Scherdt, MaN Dufon and I aNended valuable sessions that included; represen$ng members, fee payers and non-‐members – understanding educator cer$fica$on, engaging new members, MESSA ABC health plan, the sick bank as compensa$on and K-‐12 School Finance. I will be visi$ng all buildings over the next month to share out not only the informa$on received at this event, but also what’s going on with teacher evalua$on, cer$fica$on, bargaining, member vs. non-‐member representa$on, professional development and upcoming elec$ons.

Those dates are:Hawkins, Monday March 2ndScranton, Tuesday, March 3rd,Spencer, Wednesday, March 4th Hornung, March 9thHilton, March 11thMaltby, March 16th

Please not only remind members in your buildings of these mee$ngs, but also encourage all new members in good standing to aNend.




The Professional Governance CommiNee will be mee$ng on March 5th where current topics include: issues with pos$ng grades in Mi-‐Star on quarterly exams, child-‐care leave/return language, summer construc$on updates for the high school and job descrip$on for music and band at the Intermediate building.b. Treasurer -‐ Monthly budget was presented. Brian no$fied the board of directors that he will not be running for the office of treasurer in the spring.

II. CommiZee Reports -‐a. PR. Fill their hearts drive for meals on wheels seniors pets and clothing for The Bridge. Ends, Friday February 27th. Thank you for all the support. We will announce the winner of the bench next week once we count all of the items. March 19, 2015 Striking Lanes in Hartland from 5:00 to ? Cost is $10.00. Includes games, shoes, pizza and pop. A google document will be emailed out.

b. Grievance -‐ We resolved grievance 1415-‐01 (regarding Schedule C s$pends for music teachers) at Level Two

c. Elementary Congress -‐Elementary Congress MinutesMee$ng Date: Feb. 17, 2015

ANendance: Rhonda Barclay -‐ Hilton,Chair Margaret Adams -‐ Hilton, Elementary VP Tammy Ferguson -‐ Spencer Sophia Garner -‐ Hornung Kathy Heiss -‐ Hawkins

General Discussion Items:1. As the end of the second trimester approaches, teachers are reminded that they can request a Release Day to complete individual student assessments if necessary. The request must be submiNed and approved by your administrator beforehand.2. Are long term subs required to do bus duty? Ques$on was clarified and answered -‐ YES. Long term subs should fill in on bus duty for the teacher they are subbing for.

QuesJons1. Are special ed mee$ngs supposed to be held during the $me that students should be receiving services?

Individual Building Comments

Hawkins -‐ Con$nuing issue of loss of prep $me. (Please remember that teachers from all buildings are able to request a team Release Day as compensa$on for loss of prep $me. Again, this must be approved by your administrator beforehand.)

Spencer -‐ No comments/concerns

Hilton -‐ No comments/concerns

Hornung -‐ No comments/concernsPGC -‐ there was not a PGC mee$ng in December/January. A few issues were resolved outside of PGC. Elementary prep Jme -‐ see memo from HR regarding the team planning day. Sub zero temperature days….a ques$on came to us last month about bus duty on sub zero weather days. The sugges$on is talk to your Administrator and make a plan. One idea might be that you do shifts and switch off with another person every 5 minutes or so. There needs to be adult supervision outside in the morning and aSernoon for bus duty. As stated in last month’s minutes AN ADULT MUST BE OUTSIDE FOR SECURITY REASONS.Next meeJng date: Monday, March 16 (Changed from Tuesday, March 17) at Hilton in the Media Center 4:10

d. Membership -‐ We have 12 people that are non-‐members. Please make sure that you are up to date on your dues. Check your credit card -‐ expiraJon date.

e. ElecJons -‐ Open posiJons:President, Treasurer, MEA/NEA Delegate & various building ARs.

f. Flower and Card -‐ None

g. Bargaining -‐ Did aNend conference and approximately 1.5 million in fund balance projected in budget.

h.CoordinaJng Counsel/Region 8/MEA Delegate CoordinaJng Council Notes from 1/28/2015News from local affiliate’s: Pinckney -‐ will be aNending the MEA Bargaining Conference and has put together their bargaining team. Fowlerville -‐ successful board-‐level grievance where new teachers were hired and given steps beyond what current teachers are receiving. Howell -‐ they’ve established their bargaining team. Have an interim superintendent -‐ again. Hartland -‐ pleased to have Chris Costa (husband of Michelle Costa) as their newest school board member. Chris is a teacher from South Lyon and first-‐$me board member.

MESSA rates will be out earlier this year, expected in early April. All MESSA plans will be covered at the March 21st 8-‐D bargaining conference.

8-‐D CoordinaJng Council will be u$lizing the new MEA Training program, which brings training modules to our local office.

Council presidents met with local legislators that are new to the House. Lana Theis of HD 42 and Hank Vaupel of HD 47,met with local presidents to discuss topics such as equitable school funding, charter schools, the teacher evalua$on bill and the “road bills”. Local presidents shared their concerns on the unfunded mandates passed down by legisla$on, leaving nothing leS to take care of our students in the classrooms. The lack of accountability of charter schools and their lack of financial and educa$on transparency was an area of disagreement. We agreed to disagree on this fu$le topic. The reten$on of third grade students who fail in reading proficiency was discussed in great length. Without inves$ng in early-‐educa$on for all students along with wrap-‐around service for at-‐risk families, this bill is nothing less than a puni$ve measure to unsupported students. The legislators and local presidents felt it was a worthwhile evening, which provided an opportunity for civil conversa$on on legisla$on that directly affects the learning condi$ons of all students.

PAC -‐ Highest Achieving Coordina$ng council is our own, 8-‐D, with a 22.7% contribu$on rate. This is approximately 4x the statewide average of 5.9%.

CoordinaJng Council Notes from 2/25/2015

News from local affiliates: Fowlerville -‐ a teacher who spoke out during a school board mee$ng on a grievance was deemed unprofessional and as a result, was given a minimally-‐effec$ve evalua$on. FEA President fought the ra$ng, ci$ng numerous legal decisions regarding free speech. The evalua$on ra$ng was changed to effec$ve! Hartland -‐ admin. is aNemp$ng to solve the shoryall from the Governor’s budget, without wai$ng for the final budget from the state. The number of PD sessions (every Friday for one hour) has caused an excessive hours resul$ng in an extended school calendar. Looking to reduce the PD hours in next years calendar. Howell -‐ some of their PD hours have been moved to the online format due to hours being over and above the calendar days mandated by the state. Staff $mes will be restructured to cover the PD in the future. Pinckney -‐ preparing for bargaining.

Report for Terry Scharf, MESSA Rep: Remind members can access a registered nurse through the NurseLine, available 24/7 at 800-‐414-‐2014 to get answers to medical ques$ons as needed. NurseLine can help set your mind at ease when making decisions regarding medical care for yourself and your loved ones. This can help avoid unnecessary emergency room visits or expenses. Also, there is a Case Management Member Support Programs that cover specific areas such as Asthma, Diabetes and Cardiovascular, who are able to provide one-‐on-‐one service. Call Member Services at 800-‐336-‐0013 to ask for this support. There was a good turnout at the recent Expectant Parent workshop. Informa$on on the payable benefits for expectant mothers

was provided along with future well-‐baby/child care visits and immuniza$ons.

Coordina$ng Council members have scheduled training through MEA’s member training modules in the area of “Assessing your Employer’s Finances” along with SPARKS training.

i -‐ PAC PAC Mee$ng Feb 25

Reports:Legisla$ve Report (See Capitol Comments at www.mea.org)

-‐ The 8D CC Presidents met with local legislators to keep lines of communica$on open and build rela$onships; mee$ng with Vaupel and Theiss went very well; tenta$ve date for next mee$ng April 20 or April 27 from 5:30 – 7:30

PAC Drive-‐ no reports Old Business-‐PAC Summary report – Brighton EA has 44% of membership contribu$ng to PAC. 8D Council is the highest percentage of contribu$on members in MEA. New Business-‐Reauthoriza$on of ESEA (No Child LeS Behind)-‐ they are sugges$ng changes such as reduce amount of $me spent on tes$ng and spend more on teaching). To support this plan we can:

-‐ Sign NEA’s pe$$on -‐ Go to www.getESEAright.com and send e-‐mail to

Congressman with message about new vision for ESEA or call Congress at 866-‐331-‐7233

-‐ Use websites and Facebook posts to get out the message

Governor’s School Budget Proposal -‐. There has been to Senate or House Budget proposals, only the Governor’s. If the road bill were to pass, we could get $200 per student

j. - Special Ed. Caucus -‐ One concern was resolved. Next mee$ng April 16th at 4:15 at the BEA office. When does the special ed waiver expire?

III. RepresentaJve Comments:

High School -‐ None

Spencer -‐ None

Hilton -‐ None

Hornung -‐ None

Hawkins -‐ None

Scranton -‐ some of the heat issues have been resolved.

Maltby -‐ None

Mee$ng adjourned at 5:12 p.m.


http://www.mea.org

http://www.mea.org

http://www.getESEAright.com

http://www.getESEAright.com


DOING YOUR DUES, UPDATE Now What?

Make sure MEA has your home email address to take full advantage of these new features – add it online with your other contact informa$on through the Members Only website at www.mea.org/eDues. Paying your dues electronically? No ac$on is required, but you can log in online to see your statements & modify payment/schedule op$ons.

• Paying by check? Provide your home email address to begin receiving electronic monthly invoices and send your payment to our new fast and secure check processing center: MEA, P.O. Box 638341, CincinnaJ, OH 45263-‐8341. Ready to sign up for eDues? Go online and sign up for the automa$c electronic payment & enjoy the no-‐cost, value-‐added dues paying benefits.Ready to become a member of MEA?Contact your local associa$on president or go online at www.mea.org/join to download a membership applica$on. With the New Year comes a new, improved associa$on eDues payment experience! All ac$ve MEA members can take advantage of these great new benefits and features, including:

• Same Day Processing To ensure payments show up accurately & quickly on your bank account or credit card, eDues is now powered by leading edge automa$on soSware that improves payment data reliability and speed.

• Payment OpJonsFrequency & payment solu$ons that work for you – one-‐$me, pay up-‐front, quarterly, bank account (EFT/ACH), Visa, MasterCard,Discover, AMEX or check – you choose!

• Monthly Customized Statements (star$ng February 2014) Available by email or online, including each member’s payment informa$on & breakdown of eDues that comprise the total payment. You asked, we listened...and delivered! Link to check on dues amount: hNps://neyorum.mymea.org/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?WebCode=LoginRequired&expires=yes&Site=MEAMbrsQues$ons? Learn more at www.mea.org/eDues

Also, if you have any membership ques$ons feel free to email melissa scherdt at [email protected]

THE TRADITION CONTINUESTHE COMMEMORATIVE BAS BOARD MEMBER NAME PLAQUE STARTED BY BEA PR CHAIR TODD DAY IN 2008 WAS RECENTLY UPDATED.

BILL FLECK, BESPA PRESIDENT INSTALLED THE CURRENT MEMBER’S NAME TAGS THAT WERE PURCHASED BY THE BEA IN FEBRUARY, 2015.

! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! !

Thank you to all who donated to our BEA PR sponsored community outreach event during the month of February!

FILL THEIR HEARTS

http://www.mea.org/eDues


http://www.mea.org/join

http://www.mea.org/join

https://netforum.mymea.org/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?WebCode=LoginRequired&expires=yes&Site=MEAMbrs









News from Nurse Posly: Are Your ImmunizaDons Up to Date?

Pertussis (whooping cough) and measles have been front page news recently.Now is a good $me to search out your immuniza$on records and make sure you are up to date. In the event of a measles or mumps case in one of our schools, students and staff who are not fully immunized (or able to provide proof of immuniza$on) could be excluded from school for a minimum of 21 days. CDC recommenda$ons:

All adults age 19 and older should have a one $me dose of Tdap for pertussis protec$on, then boost with TD every 10 years.

All adults age 19 and older should have had 1-‐2 doses of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella). Anyone born before 1956 is believed to have natural immunity.

New Waiver LawMichigan has one of the highest immuniza$on waiver rates in the na$on. The new waiver rules require parents to go to the health department and obtain a cer$fied waiver. At this $me they will have the opportunity to talk to health department staff and have a discussion about the risks of vaccine preventable diseases. It is the hope that fewer parents will choose to waiver their child's immuniza$ons.

The 2015 BEA Scholarship Committee is collecting donations during the weeks of March 9th through April 30th. Michelle Costa & Angie Szymczak (BHS) are once again scholarship chairpersons. Please make checks payable to the BEA. Thanks in advance for your kind contributions. The scho larsh ip commit tee awarded three scholarships in 2014.

Hey all ye lads & lasses! You’re invited to a Brighton Area Schools

staff bowling party! To be held on Thursday, March 19th

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hartland Striking Lanes Bowling 1535 Old US 23 (near M-59) Hartland, MI

Cost is $10 per person and includes shoes, bowling, pizza and pop!

Questions: email Karen Storey or Elaine French(Look for online sign - up)

It’s BEA Scholarship

donation time!March 9

through April 30

Coming in! ! ! ! !BEA PR will again sponsor a bus for teachers

to attend graduation at Eastern Michigan.


2015/16 School Board email addresses President, Jay Krause [email protected]

Vice President, Dave Chesney [email protected] Treasurer, Ken Stahl [email protected]

Secretary, Beth Minert [email protected]

Trustee, Andy Burchfield [email protected] Trustee, John Conely [email protected]

Trustee, Bill [email protected] on this link to view BAS Board Meetings. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1sMZbfiXRX-nCQ43m7i-A?sub_confirmation=1 2015 BAS Board meeting dates: March 9 & 23

April 13 and 27 May 11 & Tuesday, May 26 June 8 & 22 July 13 August 10 & 24 September 14 & 28 October 12 & 26 November 9 & 23 December 14 7:00 pm in the BECC Board Room.

School/officer position

Candidate Status

BEA President: 2 yr. term

Open

MEA/NEA Rep: Open

MEA/NEA Rep: 2 yr. term

Open

BEA Treasurer Open

BEA Secretary No term up

BHS Incumbents Kim Davis, Erica Mathew & Sean Carney will run.

Hawkins One opening

Hilton One opening

Hornung No terms up

Spencer No terms up

MIS No terms up

SMS One opening

2015 BEA OFFICER/AR ELECTIONS

ARE COMING UP IN MAY!

17 BINS WERE PAINTED & DISTRIBUTED TO SCHOOLS BY ELAINE FRENCH, BEA OFFICE

Please email & let Elaine French know before spring break if you would like to run for an open officer or AR position at your buildings. The online election will take place the week of Monday, May 4th through Thursday, May 7th.

Those who would like run for BEA president should submit a short candidate biography to the BEA office prior to the publishing of the April BEA newsletter.

REMEMBER: ONLY MEMBERS IN GOOD

STANDING MAY VOTE. PLEASE CHECK YOUR

ACCOUNTS. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A VOICE IN

WHO WILL REPRESENT YOU

Just a handful of the hundreds of donated items to Bridge and Senior’s pets!















https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1sMZbfiXRX-nCQ43m7i-A?sub_confirmation=1






Your Association working for you!

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February, 2015 BEA Newsletter copy

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