Narciccism Update...

Many of you might remember a "Link" newsletter article I wrote about "Why I want to lose 100 lbs." In March I weighed 344 lbs and I had lap band surgery. I am currently 264 (80 lbs lost) and feeling great. My blood pressure has dropped from 156/86 to an average of 120/70. I am sure my cholesterol is down also...I will check that in a couple of months. I have more energy and yes, I can walk all four sets of stairs of Ogden High without a respirator. Well, enough about me, hope your summer is winding down and you are getting in those last vacations before school starts up. August is almost here...I think I can hear the kids buying their school clothes...

Rick

Jordan Education Association at Impasse

Jordan Education Association also started their mediation process with the district this week. The Jordan District is not offering steps again this year. JEA declared impasse and they met with the Federal mediator, LaVonne Ritter Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Rick

OEA Negotiations Update

Our last communication from Brenda Ruffier (spokesperson for district negotiations team) said that we would plan to meet again after the August 5 school board meeting. The board will meet in executive session to discuss negotiations. Our OEA negotiations team (Doug Stephens, Lisa Vipperman, Sherrie Dame, Whit Freund and Rick Palmer) is hoping to meet soon after the board meets on August 5th. Our last proposal was to restore the payment of increment steps.

Rick

WEA Negotiations Mediation Update

Our WEA Negotiations Team met with Lynn Trenbeath yesterday and discussed our interests and gave her some background on where we were in negotiations. We set up our next meeting (with the District team also) for August 11. That was the soonest we could get everyone back in town.

Rick

WEA Mediation Starts This Morning

The WEA Negotiations team (Marlene Irons, Terie Maxfield, Kirk Ottley, Lee Claycomb, Shari Combe and Rick Palmer) begins meeting with Lynn Trenbeath (mediator) this morning to start the mediation process. Lynn has already met with the district team. Non-payment of contractual step increments for over 60 percent of our teachers is the main objective.

Rick

USA Today: Free Speech for students

Tuesday, July 20th edition of USA Today has an interesting editorial (Ken Paulson) on free speech in public schools. I suggest you go to www.usatoday.com and read the entire article in the "Forum" section. He argues that students have some rights to criticize public administrators and teachers on social networks.

Have a nice Pioneer holiday.

Rick

OEA Negotiations Update

We are waiting on the district to respond to our last meeting (three weeks ago) and the latest news is that the district team has met with the board leadership and Supt. Zabriskie and does not have anything for us at this time. Our next meeting has not been scheduled, but it is looking like August before we can meet.

Rick

Districts Give Steps in Negotiations

Out of the 21 districts that have settled or are close to settling negotiations, 20 have received their contractual increment steps. Only Provo District did not receive steps and took a one time bonus. Some districts like Davis and Canyons are taking furlough days (days without pay) to pay for steps.

In Weber District, over 60 percent of our teachers are eligible for a step increment. They range from a low of $408 to a high of $1871. These increments are important to long term earnings and must be preserved to keep the integrity of the salary schedule. The three days of Quality Teaching pay is also a large salary issue. Three days of salary range from a low of $555 on Lane One, Step One to a high of $1002 at the top of the salary schedule.

As we start mediation next Monday, July 26, our goal is to work to preserve the step increments.

Rick

Education Spending in Utah

The Census Bureau reported that Utah ranked dead last in spending per student. Utah spends $5,765 per student while Idaho, second to last, spends $6,931 per student. Nationally, schools spent, on average, $10,259 per student. That is almost twice what Utah spends.

Sen. Curtis Bramble (no friend to public education) chose to highlight the fact that the Census Bureau also reported that Utah is 10th in the nation in the percent of how much state and local governments spend on education. (33.6%). He stated (with a straight face I am sure) that "It demonstrates that Utah has a high level of commitment to education." He also smirked (I wasn't there, but he smirks a lot) "All in all, I know that my colleagues in the state Legislature place a very high priority on educating our children." I guess he meant, educating them in charter, home schools and private schools. He failed to add that.

I apologize for my scepticism, but please...The legislature continues to pat themselves on their collective backs about "holding public education harmless"... a lie...last year, while our two districts are refusing to pay contractual step increments to their employees because the cuts in the legislative funding...huh???

See my problem?

Rick

Project Launch-Weber State University-Future Educators

For five days incoming WSU students, interested in teaching, will attend Project Launch on campus at Weber State University. Stephanie Heath, College of Ed recruiter and Future Education Association-WSU advisor, has organized activities, trainings and opportunities for several new WSU students to learn more about the career of teaching. Students who have participated in the Teachers for Tomorrow program in Davis, Weber and Ogden school districts will staying on campus and rubbing shoulders with professors and other college personnel. Many of these students received scholarships to attend WSU after attending concurrent enrollment ED 1010 classes last year.

Our association has contributed greatly to the activities of the local FEA chapters. Our advisors, Suzy Davis (OHS), Tammy Brown-Johansen and Mindy Knowles (BLHS) and Joan Iverson (Bonneville High) do a great job with our students.

Rick

WEA negotiations team to meet with mediator

The WEA Negotiations team is scheduled to meet with the mediator, Lynn Trenbeath, July 26th to start the mediation process. Lynn has already met with the district team. We will come together again in August.

Rick

Weber Negotiations Update-July 13

The WEA Negotiations team will be meeting with the mediator, Lynn Trenbreath, next week to start the mediation process. Lynn met with the Weber School District Team yesterday and we will schedule a time to meet with her next week. WEA declared impasse in negotiations and according to the state law we must go to mediation. We will keep you updated as we get more information.

Rick

Jordan Layoffs a done deal

You can read Rosemary Winters's article in today's Trib at www.sltrib.com.

Jordan District has completed layoofs of 190 general education employeees and an additional 97 special education workers. This is to pay for a $29 million shortfall the legislature left them with.

Rick

WEA Negotiations Update

WEA and Weber School District have reached impasse in negotiations over the district's refusal to pay step increments for those eligible teachers on the salary schedule. The legislature did not fully fund education and the district is having to go to the taxpayers for a tax increase and look for cuts in other places. WEA feels that the contract steps should be paid and that the district has an obligation to their employees to honor the contract. This represents about 60% of our teachers and we feel it is is worth the time to go to mediation over this issue. WEA also has worked with the insurance committee to look at recommendations that would keep insurance costs down, but is dismayed that the district is not willing to share in those increases. The loss of three more quality teaching days (the legislature hasn't funded those for two years) is also a hit for teachers only. We feel that the cuts should be more equitable and we should look at other options. Hopefully as we enter mediation we can achieve a more acceptable agreement.



Rick

UEA Children At Risk Foundation Grant for FEA

Our three Future Education Chapters (Ben Lomond, Ogden and Bonneville) received a shot in the arm for funding with the approval of a $5,000 Children at Risk Foundation grant for this fall. This will help us fund the activities of these future teachers in Ogden and Weber District. Our advisors, Suzy Davis (OHS), Tamara Brown-Johansen and Mindy Knowles (BLHS) and Joan Iverson (BHS) have organized some great activities to start the year. Weber State will be hosting a week-long experience for incoming freshman that will include FEA sponsored activities. This year a group will also be organized at Mt. Ogden Jr. High.

We look forward to growing the program with the help of Stephanie Heath at WSU College of Education. She sponsors a college chapter of the FEA and there are also several chapters in Davis District.

Rick

NEA RA Delegates Return Home

After being inspired by speeches from President Dennis Van Roekel, our 2010 teacher of the year, Maryland's governor and others our delegates are returning home this morning.

WEA's President, Marlene Irons, will return home to organize the negotiations team to start mediation with Lynn Trenbeth as mediator. Both teams will sit down with Lynn and list their interests in negotiations. Lynn will look to see where our interests coincide and find an area of cooperation and agreement. The sessions will be starting soon and we hope for a positive result.

OEA's President, Doug Stephens, will be setting up our next negotiations meetings as we return to town.

It is a heat wave here in Northern Washington, 85 degrees, and we are enjoying the time off. We will be back to work Monday.

Rick

NEA Representative Assembly Business Continues

The five WEA delegates and one OEA delegate to the NEA RA in New Orleans continue their work with debating over 99 New Business Items today and tomorrow. Go to www.nea.org and click on the NEA RA Today to see a list of the many "interesting" items. It is democracy at work and your leaders will discuss each item in an early morning Utah Caucus meeting before joining the 9,000 NEA delegates from around the country in the lively debate.

The sun is finally out in Northern Washington and the temperature is getting back to normal for summer. They are already complaining about the heat wave (80 degrees) that is coming this week.

Rick

Happy 4th of July

Spent the 4th in Birch Bay, Washington. More fireworks than I have ever seen or heard. Felt like we were in a firefight with mortar shells exploding around us. The NEA RA finishes up tomorrow (July 6) and our leaders will be back to work. We will be starting mediation in Weber when we return and OEA negotiations will get back to work. Go to www.nea.org to see what is happening at the Representative Assembly.

Rick

NEA Representative Assembly in New Orleans

Leaving Vancouver this morning and taking the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Many of our leaders are in New Orleans attending the NEA RA this week. You can follow the business at www.nea.org They will be doing the business of the NEA and setting the agenda for this next year. It is the largest democratic assembly anywhere with over 8,000 delegates using parliamentary procedure and voting on new business items, changes to the bylaws and procedural tasks. The meetings start at 7am each morning with the each state delegation meeting to discuss the new business. The debate is vigorous and the information valuable. The RA session then begins later in the morning and finishes up later in the afternoon. The days are long, but there usually is some time for some nice New Orleans cuisine at night.

WEA negotiations are at impasse and we should start mediation in the next couple of weeks. We will be discussing compensation questions.

OEA negotiations will resume in the next couple of weeks as our leaders return.

Rick

Canada Day in Vancouver, BC

Celebrating the 143rd birthday of Canada with a few hundred thousand Vancouverians today. Lots of celebrations, food and music. Julie walked my tush off today and we saw a lot of the city. We took the ferry over to Granville Island and sat next to a Teachers' Union staffer. She said they have the same problems we have in Utah...budget cuts and high class sizes. The big difference is that all teachers must join the union and they pay a percentage of their salary in membership dues. It was a nice, overcast, drizzly day with a temperature of 62 degrees.

Weber Education Association and the Weber District have agreed to use Lynn Trenbeth (retired from Davis County) for our mediator for negotiations. We used Lynn 6 years ago and she will be fair and helpful.

OEA will be looking to resume negotiations when we all get back in town in a week or so.

Rick