Budget Hearings

The Superintendent's Budget was presented to the School Board and public last night. Hearings will continue on Thursday, February 26, Monday, March 2, and Tuesday, March 3 at 7 PM in the Memorial Library.

The first round of cuts (certain) include one HS social studies teacher, one maintenance position, and eight coaching positions. The second round is a much longer list, but only probable instead of certain. I have been offered a look at the third round of cuts, but I'd like to avoid looking at it. It's akin to a visit to the hospice before your diagnosis is certain.

Contact me if you'd like a look at the second round.

Forecaster article

The southern edition of The Forecaster recently published a story about the budget talks between the SPTA and the SPSD. I was disappointed that Mr. Billings, who (unlike me) has an S at the end of his surname, did not include a distinction that I was eager to make. While the salary freeze was obviously unpopular with many, many members, the SPTA is committed to sincere participation in talks about budget problems and solutions.

Also, Mr. Billings probably didn't have the space to clarify that a retirement payment is based on the average of the three best years teaching so a reduction this year would hit not only folks retiring this year, but also retirees over the next two year. The distinction may not be important for the general readership, but it is very important to our members, and therefore must be considered as we talk about solutions.

You can read the article at "Stimulus May Avert Showdown."

Elections

Building reps will be getting fistfuls of ballots this week to distribute to members. One ballot is the NEA-RA ballot. It comes with its own candidate statement and envelope for remittance. It must be returned to MEA by March 11 at 4:30 PM.

The other ballot is the MEA-RA ballot. As you can see, two names are listed: my own and Jennifer Major. Two spaces are available for write-ins. Please feel free -- I attend because I feel the district needs representation, but I would gladly offer my seat to anyone who would like to attend. The RA will be held in Portland this year.

Negotiations Team & Supt in the Same Room...

... at the same time!!!

Following authorization from the SPTA-RA, members of the Negotiation Team met with members of the South Portland School Department administration on Thursday, February 19, 2009 to discuss the current SPSD budget. Representing the SPTA were President Tom Major, Chief Negotiator Jessica Kaplan, and Team Members Sandy Barry and Doug Caldwell. Representing SPSD were Superintendent Suzanne Godin, Deputy Supt Steve Bailey, and Business Manager Polly Ward. No decisions were reached, but I (for one) have a clearer picture of the status and likely evolution of the budget.

The schedule for the school department's budget workshops is below. All meetings are at 7:00 PM at Memorial.

Centennial Post

Now if I only had a hundred readers to match my hundred posts. Perhaps it has something to do with my content... My writing? It can't be that clever, memorable title...

But I guess I'll use the hundredth post to celebrate the willingness of Sandy Barry and Janet Kandoian to join Doug Caldwell and Jamie Watson on the negotiating team this year. As everyone is aware, this is the third year of a three-year contract, so the team that negotiated it is still in place. The word on the wire is that Mama Odom out with a new baby, but Chief Negotiator Kaplan wanted to ensure middle and elementary representation, so those two folks kindly agreed to give up some time.

PLEASE REMEMBER: THE MUSTERING OF THE NEGOTIATING TEAM DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE SOLD DOWN THE RIVER.

I know that folks are anxious about the potential for layoffs, rising costs (e.g. health coverage), the best three years for retirement, and the 3.5% increase in the contract. The team will be talking to the admin about the budget -- dialogue is a good way to get more info and fashion creative, productive solutions.

SPTA RA 2/11/09

On January 30, 2009, Superintendent Godin asked the presidents of the four bargaining units (service employees, ESP, teachers, and principals) to explore with their membership the possibility of a salary freeze to help close the projected $1.6 million shortfall. The SPTA Representative Assembly met on February 11, 2009 to consider this request. The meeting was attended by several members who are not building reps, and the RA voted to hear from them as well as RA members. Eventually the RA authorized "the SPTA Negotiating Team to meet with District Administration to discuss the current budget situation, subject to the understanding that, absent ratification by the membership of any changes to the contract, the current contract will remain in effect."

I'd like to stress the following "understandings" that I've taken away from the meeting. If folks would like to post more points they feel strongly about in the comments, I'd be pleased.

• A salary freeze is a non-starter. The preponderance of members are adamantly opposed.
  
• Any conversations between the Negotiating Team and the Administration that might take place do not in any way abrogate the terms of the contract. The contract remains whole and in force until the membership and the school board have ratified any changes.
  
• Many members feel that negotiations at this time are premature -- many questions about the federal, state, and local budgets need to be answered.
  
• The folks who have expressed concerns about the possibility of negotiations at this time are not intending any disrespect for Jessica Kaplan and the Negotiating Team -- confidence in them was reiterated several times during the RA meeting.
  
• This is the third year of a three-year contract negotiated in good faith by the Board. Lower increases were accepted in part because this year was the payoff.
  
• Consideration must be given to members planning to retire within the next three years whose retirement pay would be reduced by a reduction in next year's salary.
  

Bellying Up to the Trough

Paul Krugman wrote an article entitled "Fifty Herbert Hoovers" where he contended that state budget cuts, though required by constitutional demands for balanced budgets, were precisely the wrong measure for these times. Basically, defunding programs will result in decreased demand, fueling the recessionary spiral. Mr. Krugman lined up against federalism, noting that federal control of these issues would provide the proper economic tools to weather bad times. He argued for a heavy dose of fiscal medicine.

He's not entirely wrong (and since he has a Nobel Prize in economics, I'm sure he'd be glad to hear me say so). Yet the problem with Washington funding schools is that it cuts, spends, and regulates with too broad a brush. For example, the stimulus package that passed the House allocates $88.6 million to Milwaukee for school construction over the next two years. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee School District has declining student enrollments and 15 empty school buildings.

"The amounts for MPS are particularly eye-catching, and not only because they are the largest in the state. Enrollment is declining every year, and the last major wave of construction in MPS - the $102 million Neighborhood School Initiative launched in 2000 - resulted in projects that are underused, have not met enrollment projections or have closed. A series in the Journal Sentinel in August detailed how tens of millions of dollars in construction spending did not produce the expected results, and the project as a whole has not led to a higher percentage of students attending neighborhood schools."

Districts in Maine are hurting and need a lot of help. The stimulus package would provide a lot of help. I urged Sens. Collins and Snowe to support it, and I hope you did too. You could call Sen. Collins' DC office at (202) 224-2523 and Senator Snowe's office at 1-800-432-1599 if you did not want to use the cyberlobby link in the previous post. But we should all recognize that reasonable people can disagree about this bill. Folks who oppose it are not necessarily being mean, petty, or vindictive -- they may well just be concerned that we can't afford to drop an extra $100 billion or so on projects that aren't necessary or productive.

Stimulate My School, Damnit!

You may have received an email from MEA asking you to email Senators Collins and Snowe, urging them to support the stimulus package. If not, allow me to explain the request.

The President has proposed a stimulus package, including significant money for education. The stabilization portion would inject $120 million into Maine's K-12 budget and $38 million into higher ed. There would also be money for IDEA, Title I, modernization, and construction.

The bill passed the House but faces opposition in the Senate. Senators Snowe and Collins have been friends to education (Snowe has twice been endorsed by MEA-NEA; Collins has earned an A rating from NEA) and would be likely supporters, but they will face strong pressure from Republican leaders to hold the line.

As you may know, the Governor proposed cutting the state's funding to education mid-year. If the Legislature accepts the proposal to close the state's deficit, South Portland will lose around $475,000 from this year's budget. Next year's district deficit looks like it will be around $1.6 million.

If you agree that the stimulus package ought to be passed, please use the link below to contact Senators Snowe and Collins. If you disagree, find your own damn link.

http://capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=12542176&type=CO

The message that I sent to the Senators is posted in the comments. Please feel free to post your own messages there. It would be interesting to see what folks sent (even if they opposed the stimulus package).