YOUR CHANCE TO SPEAK OUT ON PROPOSED CALENDAR

NEA-Santa Fe SEEKS INPUT TO RESOLVE PAY GAP
ISSUES WITH THE 2006-2007 CALENDAR

The School Board adopted a 2006-07 school calendar that will start August 21, 2006, about a week later than previous years. This calendar was recommended by a committee with a significant teacher membership. As a result, there will be a four week “gap” between the final paycheck of the 2005-06 school year on August 4, and the first paycheck of the 06-07 school year on September 1. (note—this applies ONLY to employees who do not work year-round who receive 26 paychecks per school year.)

The School Board did direct the Business Services Office to work with NEA-SF to find alternatives for returning employees to minimize the impact this will have on their budgets. NEA-SF is seeking your feedback so that we can make the best recommendations. While the new calendar offers many benefits, it may also severely affect many of our employees’ ability to cover their expenses in August. We believe the District should minimize the financial impact of this change on our employees, but officers of NEA-SF need to know more about what you think will work best for your situation. The information you provide on this survey will also be used in collective bargaining negotiations to be sure calendar changes do not adversely affect our cash flow in future years.

We are presenting four possible options here. Please rank your first and second choices by writing a 1 or 2 on the line. If you have an additional recommendation, please describe it in detail and indicate your rank for it.

SURVEYS MUST BE RECEIVED BY LAURA HLINAK AT CAPITAL HS
(USE DISTRICT MAIL) BY FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3. This survey was put into circulation during the past week. Please act now!

A DECISION MUST BE MADE SOON SO THAT THERE IS TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
YOU MAY ALSO CALL LAURA HLINAK, NEA-SF PRESIDENT, AT 474-8679. Or send you response by e-mail to Laura at: nordfang@aol.com

Your work site:___________________________________NEA Member? _____yes ______no

______Option 1: Change the remaining pay periods from every 2 weeks to twice per month. You would receive the same number of paychecks for the same amount, with very little difference in their frequency. You would not receive 3 paychecks in March. You would receive 2 paychecks in August instead of 1. The schedule could look something like this:
Current pay dates: Feb 3, 17; March 3, 17, 31; April 14, 28; May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 7, 21; Aug 4
Option 1 pay dates: Feb 3, 15; March 1, 15; April 1, 15; May 1, 15; June 1, 15; July 1, 15; Aug 1, 15.

______Option 2: Reduce the amount of each remaining paycheck for the current school year so that an additional paycheck could be paid in mid-August with the withheld pay. This would be similar to an enforced savings program, or a “Christmas Club” at a bank. To receive an extra paycheck, depending on when this plan would be implemented, the withheld amount could be 1/15 or higher of your current paycheck. If you currently have a paycheck for $500, you could receive a paycheck of $467 on the current pay cycle, with an additional paycheck in mid-August for $467, the total of the amount withheld through August 4. Again, the amounts withheld could be higher depending on when this option could be started.

______Option 3: Receive an advance of 50% of your September 1 paycheck (the first payday of next year’s pay cycle) on August 25, with the remaining 50% paid on September 1. The remaining paychecks for the year would be paid for the full amount on the regular schedule.

______Option 4: Make no changes in the payment amount or frequency, because 4 weeks between paydays in August will not present a problem for you or you do not want the District’s assistance.

______Your personal recommendation not described above:

ESP CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY 3,4,5, 2006

More information about the NEA-NM conference for ESPs is available on the web site. Go to: www.nea-nm.org

FUND OUR SCHOOLS-- TAKE ACTION!

Put New Mexico Teachers and Other School Employees Back on Top!
The major part of the state public school appropriation goes to local school districts as school equalization guarantee monies. That appropriation, contained in the General Appropriations Act (know as House Bill 2), funds the basic operations of school districts. The various proposals currently under consideration are summarized below:

The New Mexico Education Partners and NEA-New Mexico recommendation: The recommended dollar increase over last year is $256,000,000, a 13.0% percent increase. The Partners' Salary increase recommendation is an 8% average for all school employee categories.

The Legislative Education Study Committee School Funding Recommendation:
The recommended dollar increase over last year is $219,849,200, a percentage increase of 11.2%. The recommended Salary Increase is a 6% average for all school employees

Governor’s Recommendation: The recommended dollar increase over last year is,$166,283,500, a percentage increase of 8.5%. The recommended salary Increase is a 6% average for teachers, educational assistants, and other licensed professionals and a 4% average for all other school employees.

Legislative Finance Committee Recommendation: The recommended dollar increase over last year is$165,837,600, a percentage of 7.9%. The salary increase recommendation is a 4.5% average for all school employees, except 9.5% for educational assistants

This funding begins its journey though the legislature as House Bill 3, the Education Appropriations Act. Ask HEC and HAFC members, as well as your own representative, to fund the New Mexico Education Partners recommendations, including the average 8% salary increases!

Go to the NEA-NM web site and sign up for daily legislative action alerts:www.nea-nm.org

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SKILLS

NEA's next classroom management workshop is set for Saturday, February 25, 2006, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at NEA-NM headquarters, 2007 Botulph in Santa Fe. Learn techniques, approaches and tools for successful classroom management. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 15th. To register, call Edie Brycelea at 982-1916 or send an e-mail to Edie

CARPENTER IS NEW SUP

Even if you don't subscribe to the SF New Mexican, you can log onto the news of Santa Fe Public Schools as it is released. The article about Dr. Leslie Carpenter is one such example. Go to the free online edition of the New Mexican and register. Access the Carpenter story by clicking here

WHO SAYS YOU ARE POWERLESS?

If you are thinking you are powerless, you have your head in the sand. Every day the Santa Fe New Mexican prints letters to the editor. Submissions are limited to once a month, 150 words. This means you can air issues that have come to your attention. If you aren't comfortable doing this, others are willing to step up to the plate. And this is a benefit for everyone. If things are going well, say it. If they are not, suggest the district look into an issue, a problem, a trend. Ask questions. Use your experience if it's relevant.

Send your statement to: Letters to the Editor, The New Mexican, 202 E. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Remember that you have a voice; so does your partner, people you know, the parents of students and other interested people. Send e-mail to the letters editor


John Sena is an education reporter for the New Mexican. He listens when people suggest story ideas. Contact him at 995-3812 or write an e-mail to John John Sena's reporting covers a wide range of topics about the school district. A recent article on January 13th featured a meeting of the task force studying the district's bilingual offerings.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SANTA FE TEACHERS

February 28, 2006 is the deadline for the Teacher Opportunity Grants program of Partners in Education. The grants range from $200 to $500 and cover the cost of course work taken in the 2005-2006 school year. Call Stella Gonzales at 467-2028 for application guidelines. Applications are being solicited for Teachers Who Inspire Awards. The deadline is March 31. Call 474-0240 for more information. Both awards are sponsored by Partners in Education.

FIRST CONFERENCE CALL TRAINING

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first NEA-Santa Fe employee rights conference call that was held today, January 22, 2006. The conference call is a way to get more people involved and make the information available to the Association Reps and building contacts. We discussed the changes in the collective bargaining agreement (see the material in bold type in the agreements now available in your schools). Also, there was an opportunity for questions and answers.

REPORT FROM LAURA HLINAK

IMPORTANT CHANGES IN CALENDAR PROPOSED
After months of work, the District’s calendar committee has sent a recommendation to the school board. On the positive side, it compresses professional development days at the start of the school year instead of randomly by school preference throughout the year. It also recommends starting the year one week later. Unfortunately, this proposal means that most returning staff will not get a paycheck for about a month (from early August until September) because of this delay. NEA-SF brought several possible solutions to the table, including unemployment benefits, but SFPS did not find a remedy to this salary delay. We remain open to renegotiating the 26-period pay cycle to help stretch income, but the District has not responded to the offer at this time. If this is a concern to you, please tell the School Board on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at public forum at Sweeney Elementary. The school board is expected to adopt a calendar that night, and they haven’t heard from too many of their constituents this year. Be heard!

DON'T MISS OUT ON A CHANCE TO INFLUENCE THE LEGISLATURE
The New Mexico Legislature returns to Santa Fe to deal with budget priorities. What does that mean to you? There are several salary proposals being discussed that will affect us, and many other education related matters. Check out all of the NEA priorities at www.nea-nm.org. Get involved. Call NEA-NM to register for legislative training on January 18, to learn about these issues and how to become an effect advocate for them. Also, plan to attend NEA-NM’s Legislative Reception at the NEA building from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, Jan 18. Not only will many legislators attend, SFPS school board members may be in attendance as well. Traditionally the SFPS superintendent and school board members attend.

Visit the NEA-NM web site for detailed information to strengthen your contact with legislators. Click here. Then download the kit for presenting our school funding message.

BE PART OF DECISION-MAKING FOR NEA-SF
Each year NEA-SF holds elections in March for our Board of Directors. The positions open this year include president, executive vice president, corresponding secretary, treasurer, instructional and professional development chair, and legislative and political action committee chair. We are also seeking candidates to complete the term of vice-president for licensed professionals. Candidates for four representatives to the national NEA Representative Assembly this summer also will be elected. Only members in good standing are eligible to run or nominate individuals. Our nominating committee (contact Koo Im Tong) will be identifying candidates in the next six weeks. Only members in good standing may nominate a candidate, run for office, and vote. Get involved in NEA-Santa Fe. Training will be provided for our new executive team. Call Laura Hlinak 474-8679 if you’d like more information on any of the board positions.

GRIEVANCE FORMS AND AGREEMENT ONLINE

ARs and Building Contacts: Go to our employee rights blog, by clicking here

Make sure you have a copy of the collective bargaining agreement. It outlines your rights. For the online agreement between NEA-SF and SFPS, click here

We now have the grievance forms available online. For the grievance forms, click here

Thursday, January 12, 2006 is the next scheduled AR meeting at NEA-NM headquarters. And don't forget the January 22, 2006 employee rights training conference call for ARs and building contacts. The blog page fills up quickly. So take a look in our archives for valuable opportunities and information.