Cross School Seminars

Folks at the high school can celebrate that the administration has determined that participation in the cross school seminars are not a mandatory condition of employment. This decision allows the folks who participate in the seminars to get CEUs for recertification.

I am grateful for the work of Jeanne Crocker, Laurie Wood, and Suzanne Godin for this agreement. Extra helpings of gratitude are due to Gail Ryder who crafted the solution to this thorny problem. I am also grateful to Sue Franck for having called my attention to this issue so that I could talk to Jeanne and Laurie about it.

I hope that folks who have not yet participated in a cross-school seminar will do so this year. The school made a commitment that all faculty would participate within three years. I strongly support honoring that commitment now that the CEUs are available. I've also been told that many of the programs are very good.

Legislative Endorsements

Okay, so these don't bring out the best in Association unity. For my own part, I don't like to think of them as the union telling me for whom I should vote. I prefer to think that the union is saying this or that candidate is stronger on the issues that matter most to the Association. From there, I can decide the relative merits of one set of issues (education & labor) and other issues (say, gun rights). But that's me.

Anyway, you can look at the questions on which the endorsements were based at http://www.maine.nea.org/dir3/Endorsements08.pdf You will also find the list of endorsed candidates there.

For those of you who are concerned that the MEA is just an arm of the Maine Democratic Party, please be aware that five of the 35 Senate races have MEA-endorsed Republican candidates, including Falmouth's favorite bulldog, Jerry Davis. Of the 151 House races, 106 have endorsed candidates. Of those 106, five also went to Republicans. Three more went non-Democrats (one Green and two independents).

If you remain concerned, be advised of the following. 1) Many candidates did not send replies when questionnaires were sent out. Questionnaires were sent by certified mail to verify that candidates received them.

2) Many incumbents earned early (and automatic) endorsements by voting with MEA at least 80% of the time. Of those, most were Democrats. There's not much an organization can or should do for our antagonists, except to remind them that we'll work with them if they mend their wicked ways.

3) Some Republicans (and some Democrats) who returned questionnaires were just not supportive enough to warrant an endorsement this time. If they win, their support in the legislature will earn them early endorsements in the future.

If you are still not satisfied, talk to your favorite Republican legislative candidates about how they can signal stronger support for the MEA's issues. Come to Augusta with me in January or February to lobby for our bills. Join me in the screening and endorsement process in 2010.

Retirement Workshop

Want to know if you can swing it this year? Want to start planning when you can swing it? MEA wants to advise you. Here's the skinny:

To register for one of the pre-retirement days e-mail Peg Belanger at pbelanger@nea.org or call her at (888) 942-2907 ext 2301. Registrations will be taken on a first-call basis and will cease 10 days prior to each seminar.

MUST PRE-REGISTER IN ORDER TO ATTEND

Enrollment is limited to 75 at each session so be sure to register early. (NOTE: must be an MEA member to attend.)

Saturday, September 13, 2008, 9-12 – Caribou
Wednesday September 24, 2008, 4-7 pm Ellsworth
Saturday, October 18, 2008, 9 am - 12 pm Kennebunk
Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4-7 pm Lewiston
Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 4-7 pm – Brunswick
Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 4-7 pm – Belfast
Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 4-7 pm – Waterville
Saturday, March 14, 2009, 9 am -12 pm – Farmington
Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 4-7 pm – So Portland
Saturday, March 28, 2009, 9 am – 12 pm – Bangor

MEA Grant$ Available to Teachers

The Members Are Leaders grant is open once again. Last year, an SPTA member was among the recipients, but that certainly doesn't preclude members from receiving a grant this year. Please look over the information on the website posted below and contact Tom Major at majorto@spsd.org for information, support, and a signature.

http://www.maine.nea.org/dir4/Welcome4.htm

Presidential Race Part II

This just in from MEA's Director of Government Relations:

The regional field offices for Senator Barack Obama's Campaign are in place for phone-banking from now until the election on November 4th. The campaign is looking for volunteers to assist them in reaching as many voters as possible in the next 8 weeks. The phone-banking hours are from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm every night. If you click on the link that follows, you will see the 13 field offices from Fort Kent to York with phone numbers and office locations.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/meoffices
Please contact the nearest office to volunteer some of your time for the Obama Presidential Campaign. Thank you in advance for your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Steve Crouse, DirectorGovernment Relations & Political Action

HELP!!!!!

Gail Ryder reports that membership is running about 66%, an all-time low for peacetime membership.

Several buildings (you know who you are) have not yet named building reps yet. Several more (like SPHS) have open seats. Please please please take up a little of the burden. Maybe folks could agree to share it so that someone from the building is at each meeting, even if it's not always the same person. That is, as Prof. Clary taught me to say, suboptimal, but it would be a damnsight better than no represenation at all.

Please congratulate...

Julie (Barry) Pitt -- the new SPTA representative to the policy committee.

Sally Beatty -- the grievance rep for the elementary schools.

On behalf of all members, I want to thank these folks for their willingness to pitch in for the Association (again). They are both stalwarts from way back.

Presidential Race Part I

NEA's response to Gov. Palin's pick as VP nominee was surprisingly favorable given all the beef between NEA and Sen. McCain. I've pasted it below, but I want to note that NEA is unequivocal in its support for Sen.Obama in this presidential election. He did get booed at the NEA RA when he discussed his support for performance pay, but even favoring that, he is still much preferred by the Association. Check out the latest issue of NEA Today to know why, or go to http://www.nea.org/ for deeper, more policy-driven reasons.

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug 29, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Reg Weaver, who is attending the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.:"The 3.2 million members of the National Education Association are pleasantly surprised by Senator John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to join his ticket as the Republican nominee for vice president."While she is only in her second year as Alaska's Governor, she has thus far shown herself to be a supporter of children and public education. She comes from a family of educators. Her father was a teacher, her brother is a teacher, and her mother was an education support professional."In her less than two years as the state's chief executive officer, she was able to increase per-pupil education spending, and she is opposed to sending public money to support private schools through political schemes like vouchers."Her selection, however, has certainly taken the issue of experience off the table for political debate."Governor Palin participated in NEA Alaska's candidate recommendation process when she ran for the post. You can view her candidate interview with NEA-Alaska and her formal candidate questionnaire on NEA Alaska's website. Interview with NEA-Alaskahttp://www.neaalaska.org/acaf/gub%20palin%20interview%20responses090906.htm Response to NEA-Alaska questionnairehttp://www.neaalaska.org/election06/gov_palin.htm

Error in Sick Leave Calculation

I want to thank Donna Clark of the Waldo T. Skillin School for calling attention to the error in making sick bank deductions from teachers who had accumulated 220 days. As noted in an earlier post, the sick bank fell well below its minimum level last year so each teacher was docked one day to replenish it.

Teachers who were already at 220 days saw 219 on their totals at the beginning of the year, even though they had fifteen new days that were just washing over the dam. Donna correctly questioned why the sick leave contribution didn't come out of those fifteen. Polly Ward agreed that it had been an error and Lori Michaud will now recheck the total to restore that 220th day to those folks.

I am grateful to all of them for catching the error that I simply accepted as the modus operandi.

First RA meeting of the year

The first SPTA RA will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 in room 127 of the high school. All SPTA members are welcome, but having at least one member from each building is especially important.

Among the most important agenda items will be an appointment to the grievance rep spot and to the policy committee.