ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

In the spirit of having our blog represent a full range of opinion, here is the equivalent of a letter to the editor of our blog. Comments can be included under each posting. This comment is posted here to get the ball rolling.

I would like to remind NEA representatives that there is a (perceived) minority opinion out here that believes that the calendar change is a positive move. Parents have been asking for this for years. Each year students miss the beginning of school because vacations, visits to family, camps are not done. Many of us work in schools that are not air conditioned and the weather in August is more likely to be hot and uncomfortable than it is in mid June.

I know you received a substantial response to the questionnaire from employees who are concerned about the pay gap, but many of us didn't respond because we felt that the calendar change was positive for students and teachers and that given adequate notice we could make financial adjustments on our own. Others responded but didn't feel that it was an indication of protest over the change --just voicing an opinion about how to best handle the financial implications.

Sincerely,
Shari Cassutt
Acequia Madre

HOLOCAUST WORKSHOP

"New Mexico: Teaching about the Holocaust: A Conference for Language Arts & Social Studies Classroom & Pre-Service Teachers Grades 7-12" will be held on March 11.
This workshop, designed specifically for secondary classroom and pre-service teachers in public and private schools in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area, will explore methodologies and rationales for teaching the history of the Holocaust and the use of literature and technology to teach about it. There will also be a presentation and discussion with a Holocaust survivor. Participants will receive free educational materials. The workshop is sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. For more information, contact jnorton@amadorcoe.k12.ca.us

GETTING READY FOR MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

ARs and building contacts for NEA-Santa Fe are preparing for the upcoming membership drive that is planned starting March 6, 2006. Visitors to your schools are gearing up to visit early in the morning, at lunch, and at the end of the school day. If you have any questions, call Marguerite Kearns at 505-986-2856.

CALENDAR CHANGES WITHDRAWN (FOR NOW)!

The SFPS School Board on Tuesday withdrew (for now) the proposed calendar changes for the coming school year. Because of the large response to the NEA-SF survey and in particular testimony teachers from Capital High School at the Board meeting yesterday, the Board has requested the Calendar Committee reconvene to attempt to resolve the pay gap problems caused by the proposed calendar.

This does not mean that anything will necessarily change, but it does allow more time for more input to resolve this conflict. The Business Office has indicated that they have limited abilities to implement any substantive changes to the pay cycle for the current year. Changes for next year pay cycle could be made through collective bargaining, but any delay in the calendar will ultimately result in at least a week this year without income, no matter what the check cycle is.

NEA-SF President Laura Hlinak recommended the following solution: that the Board commit the entire amount of money resulting from the recent increase in funding from the state, as a result of a change in the unit value, to resolving the pay gap. The Board made no response to this, but clearly, employees CAN make a difference. Deputy Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez is looking to reconvene the Calendar Committee on Tuesday, February 28 at 4 p.m. Employees who are concerned about the pay gap and calendar design are encouraged to get involved NOW.

A special thanks to everyone who has followed the issue and taken action!

PASS IT ON!

Turquoise Trail Charter School is currently seeking to hire a half-time bilingual teacher with experience in kindergarten and first grade, effective immediately. Focus is on providing small group instruction in Spanish literacy. Retired bilingual teachers who might want to return to work half-time are encouraged to apply. Please contact Sandy Davis, principal, at 467-1702 (fax 474-7862).

ACT ON THE ACTIONLINE

Don't say we didn't ask. The e-mail addresses for SFPS school board members are listed below. Send them an e-mail about how you feel about the revised paycheck schedule. Our NEA-SF team has been working hard meeting with district officials. You filled out the survey. Now is the time for action!

PAY GAP? ARE YOU ANGRY ENOUGH TO...?

by Laura Hlinak

When the Santa Fe School Board adopted the 2006-07 calendar in January, they directed the business office to work with NEA-SF to find a way to minimize the financial impact to employees.

NEA-Santa Fe conducted a survey to find out what solutions might work for employees who would be financially affected by the 06-07 school calendar. Over 200 employees from 21 sites responded, with the most popular response being to receive paychecks twice each month instead of every two weeks. NEA-SF met with business office representatives, including John Wolfe, last week.

The business office nixed that option. Technically, that change would be very difficult for them to implement and given our experience with the AS400, that isn’t hard to believe. We asked if the summer paychecks could be paid sooner. Even that option was frowned upon, but they said they would consider that, but made no promises.

Now we have to wonder how much of the business office’s reluctance is due to their own disinterest in finding a solution instead of lack of technical capability. John Wolfe’s remarks to Capital High School staff on Thursday to take your complaints to NEA is completely inappropriate. We already took a reasonable -–and popular–- solution to them and were turned down.

The Business Office had no solution except to withhold the third March paycheck until August, which creates a four week pay gap in March instead of August. The mandate from the school board to find a solution went to the business office staff, and when faced with a complaint about their “can’t do solution,” their response was to shift the responsibility to NEA, which has no authority to implement any solution.

NEA-SF recommends that you attend the school board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 21, to let the board members know that you expect more effort from the Business Office to find real, working solutions for us. The Board Meeting starts at 430 p.m. at Kaune Elementary School. You can show your support during the NEA report during the first part of the meeting, and also address the board at the public forum later in the meeting.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, write a call or email your school board members.
Martin Lujan, President District 3 - Alvord, Carlos Gilbert, Gonzales, Tesuque, BECC *Oath Taken: 3/1/05. Term Expires: 2009 mglujan1@yahoo.com

Carmichael Dominguez,Vice President District 4 - Agua Fria, Cesar Chavez,Sweeney, Ramirez Thomas, Ortiz, Capital High *Oath Taken: 03/04/03. Term Expires: 2007. pepito2k@msn.com

Mary Ellen Gonzales, Secretary District 1 - Chaparral, EJ Martinez, Kaune, Pinon, Capshaw, Santa Fe High *Oath Taken: 03/04/03. Term Expires: 2007. maryelle.gonzales@comcast.net

Marcy Litzenberg, Member District 2 - Acequia Madre, Atalaya, El Dorado, Wood Gormley *Oath Taken: 03/04/03. Term Expires: 2007 MLitzenberg@aol.com

Frank Montano, Member District 5 - Larragoite, Kearny, Nava, Turquoise Trail, DeVargas, Salazar, SER/SFPS Career Academy *Oath Taken: 03/01/05. Term Expires: 2009 frankmontano2@netzero.com

COMPROMISE BUDGET HAS 5% SALARIES RESTORED

As this legislative session winds down on February 16th, a compromise version of the General Appropriations Act has passed both the House and Senate and is on its way to the governor. The plan increases school funding overall by some $5.4 million and the school equalization guarantee by $5.2 million.

The compromise raises school employee salaries to an average 5%, including the advancement of level three teachers to next years $45,000 minimum, which increases the average for teachers to about 5.5%.

The language also includes an average 9.5% increase for educational assistants. The language requiring an average, rather than across the board increases, is important to make sure that career employees who may not have received significant increases as three-tiered licensure was implemented can be treated fairly. This language makes collective bargaining even more important as a process to insure that school employees can be a part of the decision-making on salary schedules.

Visit the NEA-NM web site for more details: www.nea-nm.org

NOW WE'RE TALKING...

It's great to have some topics on the table, such as Melody's comments about the CBA posted under yesterday's commentary. Melody has a great head on her shoulders and tells it to us straight. Check out her posting below.

We had a great meeting at the Hilton yesterday evening. Over 35 people. Thanks for coming! We spoke not only about the upcoming membership campaign in March, but also about the issues on the table for our upcoming collective bargaining, what's working and what isn't.

This blog is a place to air issues. It isn't just putting concerns out to air and then they dissipate with the dawn. Spelling things out makes an issue specific. It invites comments, and the topic sticks around for others to review when they visit the web site. This is our medium. Let's use it!

Take advantage of our Actionline blog during the March membership campaign so you are brought up-to-date on building visits, who and what to expect. There is new information posted every week. Don't miss out on what's happening!

DON'T WAIVE YOUR RIGHTS! and other issues

It's a sad state of affairs when the fear level is such that people make comments on the blog without stating their name (see the comment on the posting below). It is understandable, however, when it is a substitute teacher and subs have limited rights because they are not in our bargaining unit. This is a situation we are in the process of correcting.

Just last week, the same issue of fear popped up in two separate situations. In one school, a support employee has been voluntarily working overtime to past 5 p.m., without compensation. Now she wants to work her regular work day and is afraid to cut back. The NEA rep in her school pointed out to her that working overtime until it has become an obligation, not a gift, is an example of how she has waived her rights.

The employee in question isn't an NEA member, yet she expects NEA to fix the problem caused by the waiving of her rights; we don't recommend that you waive your rights. Everyone goes beyond the call of duty, to be sure. But we have a collective bargaining agreement with the district for a reason. Upholding the agreement is everyone's duty. Waiving your rights will only come back to haunt you.

A teacher in another school called me to say that she and her colleagues are afraid to go to school board meetings and ask questions because the principal of her school will hold it against them. Those of us involved in the work of upholding the collective bargaining agreement have dealt with the fear, personally, in one way or another. But we are protected against retaliation when we carry out our NEA work. This protection is in our collective bargaining agreement, as well as state law.

Our advice? Let's put the topic of fear on the table for everyone to see. Let's talk about it openly! Overcoming fear is the first step to actualizing our power of standing together.

DON'T FORGET NEA-SF SPECIAL DINNER!

We will be meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the Hilton, downtown (free parking) for a special dinner this evening. The agenda? To talk about a membership blitz in March where we all will be working together. For a last-minute RSVP, call Brooke at 982-1916.

SUB ISSUE WON'T GO AWAY

The issues affecting substitute teachers (no increase in pay, etc.) affect us all. Stay on top of how subs are organizing to get their issues out in public. To find out more, click here.

EDUCATION CUTS DON'T HEAL

Visit the NEA-NM web site and let your voice be heard about the budget cuts under consideration. The situation changes daily. Make sure you check our web site:
www.nea-nm.org

THE HILTON IS THE DINNER LOCATION

Note the change of location: The dinner for Monday, February 13, 2006 for everyone interested in working on the membership blitz for NEA-Santa Fe has been changed to the downtown Hilton. The event starts at 4:30 p.m. Come prepared to eat and listen!

TEACHERS PRAISED DURING BUSH VISIT TO NEW MEXICO

Why did the Bush visit to New Mexico last week involve praise for teachers? To find out. click here.

If you're reading this web blog, it means you are alert, interested and aware of the fact that our collective voice makes a difference. Join now. If not now? When? Click on the NEA web site to start the process.

SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM LAURA HLINAK

Hi everyone,

NEA-Santa Fe has been selected to participate in a national NEA program to develop membership and activism...Many resources will be coming our way in the next two months, but we must be active now to benefit.

There will be an informational meeting about the program and what we need to do to take advantage of it. So please attend the meeting Monday, February 13 at the Hilton, downtown (parking available) instead of the regularly-scheduled meeting on Feb. 16. (Monday only, no meeting thursday) We expect to have some national NEA folks here to describe the program.

The meeting will start at 4:30 P.M. and last TWO hours. We would like you to bring the employee list from your site (all employees, please, not just teachers). We will USE this information to design site visits with experts from the state and national organizations to meet the needs at your site. Yes, teams will be visiting every site in Santa Fe in March at least twice. It would also be helpful if you can provide the March testing schedule for your building.

Let's develop a real sense of involvement. With collective bargaining coming up, and many other issues that are site-specific, this gives us a tremendous opportunity to develop a local organization to serve our members. Please RSVP to me that you will attend. Also, if you have another member (or several) at your site who might be interested, please let them know and RSVP too.

Thanks for your time, and please reply to this message with your ability to attend next Monday.

Laura Hlinak, 474-8679

Send an e-mail to Laura by clicking here

SURVEYS ARE POURING IN

NEA-Santa Fe's survey on the district's proposed calendar changes are being returned to president Laura Hlinak at a fast clip. If you haven't returned your feedback, do so ASAP.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/38946.html

HELP IS ON THE WAY

On Monday, February 13, 2006 we will be holding a special catered dinner in Santa Fe for ARs and building contacts at the downtown Hilton from 4:30 p.m. on (parking is available). NEA national will be here in March with a blitz membership team that will visit you, your school, and help us with the work of enrolling new members! This special dinner means meeting your colleagues from around the district and preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime. You have been asking for help from NEA national for a long time. Our chance is now!

Think of our union growing! Think of how good it will feel! Imagine what it will be like to sit next to your fellow NEA colleagues and break bread (there will be more than bread!) More details will follow. This is so you can save the date.