STA Executive Board Meeting May 1, 2012
Members Attending: Mary Beth Flatley, President; Alisha Couse, 1st Vice President; Chris Bailey, 2nd Vice President; Carol Carelli, Secretary; Pete Rings, Treasurer; Bob Anderson, Kathy Cathell, Adam Dolan,, Amy Glick, Sue Hennessy, Kim Knapik, Mike Libertucci, Laurie Macken, Sarah Mattice, Kevin Meachem, Karen Passino. Members Absent: Mike Foley.
The meeting was called to order at 3:31 P.M.
Motion to accept minutes of April 3, 2012 meeting made by. Kathy Cathell. Seconded by Sue Hennessy. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report – Peter Rings Distributed budget as of April, 2012.
Secretary’s Report – Carol Carelli Cards sent to Michele Adalian, Trish Dehn, and Barbara Tasick.
Vice Presidents’ Reports – Chris Bailey Health insurance meetings went well. Chris attended all the meetings and felt there was a lot of information available for members. He suggested that we schedule an annual meeting each year to update member of their benefits. May 23 – meeting with retirees to discuss the CDPHP Advantage Program, BS 813 Medicare program and MVP Gold Plans Open enrollment letter from District Office should be sent shortly. Chris reminded Karen Lancto that members have 30 days from the date the letter is sent to choose a plan. Retiree meeting to set up 403(b) account for unused sick days will be set up for those considering retiring this year. Members who want the 5% health insurance must indicate their intentions to the district office by June 1. If you do not want to inform the district immediately, you can contact Chris confidentially to set up your account for unused sick time.
Vice Presidents’ Report – Alisha Couse The APPR process was approved. The only change is that the pre-conference form will now be submitted before the conference. Can be as brief or as long as you want. Unannounced observation –will only be connected to Domain 2 for now. Reviewed TEACHSCAPE software – interactive - this is where you will upload your evidence. Training will be held as soon as the RIC is available. It is not difficult and will probably be held on the first day of school in the fall. May 29, 2012 – will now be a Professional Development Day to showcase the APPR process. Encouraged all teachers to attend. SLO – Student Learning Objectives – will be discussed. The process should be in place by August 1, 2012. The Staff Development Day will also include discussion of the Dignity for All Act. Administrators will attend training for evaluating teachers. If they do not pass the test, they cannot evaluate their staff.
President’s Report – Mary Beth Flatley NYSUT Journalism Contest- The STATIC and our STA website won numerous awards at the journalism contest this year. We will receive our awards at the annual Journalism Conference on June 9, 2012. Congratulated Sarah Mattice, STATIC editor and Carol Carelli, webmaster, and thanked those members who wrote winning articles for their efforts. The appointment packet will be sent out to members shortly. The IDEA Grant Chairperson position will not be filled this year. Members who are interested in applying for these positions should get the applications to Mary Beth by the deadline which will be on the flier. Interest letters for 2012-13. The district has not solicited interest letters yet. Remember, these are non-grieveable. Teachers are only indicating their interest in their positions. Placement will be 2 weeks after the budget vote. The new contract is still being reviewed before printing. As soon as it is available, members will receive a copy. The target date for distribution is before the end of June. STA Elections – There will only be building rep elections this year as officer positions are a two-year term. Motion made to appoint Stacy Barron – Jefferson Election Chair made by Amy Glick. (Tabled from April meeting). Seconded by Kim Knapik. Motion carried. RA Convention held last weekend in Buffalo – Mike Libertucci (RA alternate) attended. Encouraged members to visit the NYSUT website to view the speeches. Seniority issue – There is an issue involving two members regarding dates of seniority. STA’s role is to make sure the law and contract language is followed. NYSUT LRS (Labor Relation’s Specialist) will be taking the lead in the process. Mary Beth will make sure due process is followed. Attendance at School Board Meetings – Discussion regarding the role of building reps and attendance at BOE meetings. All members are all encouraged to attend any BOE meeting, especially at budget times. May need to look at how this can be organized. Mary Beth will create a special committee of interested members to address the issue.
2012-13 Budget Mary Beth explained changes in the budget for next year. Will be allocating $5000 toward training for APPR as district money funding may be limited, based on need. This money can also be used for other purposes. Any unused money will be put back into the savings account. Reminded members that we only vote on the local dues. We have no control over the State/Federal dues. There was a concern regarding the amount that TAs pay since they only receive a percentage of the teaching staff salary, yet pay the same dues as a teacher. Will discuss possibility of investigating other options for local portion of dues next year. Motion to approve 2012-13 budget made by Mike Libertucci. Seconded by Karen Passino. Motion carried.
Political Action – Mike Libertucci Attended the RA conference in Buffalo –The speeches are posted on the NYSUT website. – Very informative and invigorating. VOTE-COPE contributions vs. PAC contributions were compared. It is extremely important that we continue to fund our political action committees as this is a way for our voices to be heard, locally and in Washington, D.C. They also had a Q & A session with the Commissioner. VOTE – COPE – Carol Carelli o Over the last two years, we have increased our contributions by 26%. This year STA received a $2400 rebate from VOTE-COPE and we are also eligible for another $2400. This helps us offset other costs, especially during negotiations. o STA was presented with the Albert Shanker award for members contributing an average of $50+ for VOTE-COPE. We have over 100% participation, due to our retiree contributions. o Mary Beth thanked Carol for her work to increase contributions from members.
Meet the Candidates Night Mary Beth attended the “Meet the Candidates” Night. STA is supporting Gregory Campoli and Bert Falcone for BOE position.
Other – None
Motion to adjourn meeting made by Laurie Macken. Seconded by Karen Passino. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by, Carol Carelli