OEA and WEA Executive Board Meet

Most members of the WEA and OEA Executive Boards took time out of their weekend schedules to meet Friday and Saturday for their annual training and planning meetings. We were lucky to hear from Lynette Grow, veteran UEA/NEA/WEA leader who spoke to the group about "Connecting the Dots" of the different organizations we represent. Saturday, Marlene Irons, led us through a training on personality and leadership profiles. We learned a lot about our own styles and how we can work better as a team to accomplish the association's goals. The locals then split up into planning groups to look at planning for our new membership year.

Rick

Davis School Districts discusses possible cuts...

Davis School District has a $31 Million deficit to fill this year. They will nonrenew many of their newly hired teachers, reassign reading coaches, cut administrative interns, and raise class sizes. Ogden and Weber have both stated that class sizes won't grow this year. If we raise class sizes then we must lose personnel. In Weber, many teachers will be displaced with our student losses to the new Montessori Charter school in North Ogden and the new charter school going into the old Christian Heritage school in Riverdale. We could lose as many as 400 or 500 students. The biggest problem is that we won't know for sure until that first week of school, because parents register their kids in our school and put their names on the charter school lists also. We will have several displaced teachers (all will have jobs) and there will be some that might have to move that first week. That is the worst of all situations.

In Ogden, we have had several involuntary tranfers and we are able to go in with those teachers and make sure the process is correct. If you have questions on any type of transfers, please call.

Rick Palmer 801-390-6365

OEA and WEA Negotiations Continue...

Both WEA and OEA negotiations teams have met with their district counterparts and discussed contract language and financial issues. OEA is scheduled to meet again May 4th and WEA met today and will meet again May 19th.

Rick

Things are bad all over...New Jersey

Thursday, April 22 NY Times reported that New Jersey schools plan heavy cuts after 58% of their school districts rejected their schools' spending plans. "School officials across New Jersey said on Wednesday that they would most likely have to lay off hundreds of teachers, increase class sizes, eliminate sports teams and Advanced Placement classes, cut kindergarten hours and take other radical steps to reduce spending after 58% of districts' budgets were rejected by voters on Tuesday, the most in at least 35 years."

Rick

Gov. Herbert's Education Commission Lacks Diversity

Amy Stewart (Deseret News) wrote a lengthy article last week about the lack of diversity in Gov. Herbert's Ed Commission. The editorial board also spoke out, "it was troubling to learn there is no minority representation on Gov. Gary Herbert's new Education Excellence Commission." The commission is made up of leaders of different constituency groups (Kim Campbell represents UEA). "Considering the changing face of Utah's educational system, addressing these issues--with the contributions of minority members on the commission--seems a natural direction for this panel".

Rick

OEA and WEA Delegates Meet Saturday at Copper Hills

The UEA House of Delegates met from 9am to 3pm Saturday at Copper Hills High. Delegates from OEA and WEA listened to reports from leadership including Kim Campbell, outgoing president, and Mark Mickelesen, Executive Director. Candidates for UEA President and VP also spoke to the house. Bills were passed that would allow the UEA dues to decrease for the first time in many years. The dues are based on an average of teacher salaries. Resolutions, statements of belief, were also debated and voted on and the budget was approved.
Thanks go to all who gave up a beautiful spring day to do the association's business.

Rick

NY Times Friday, April 16 Article on Teachers' Union

Mayor Bloomberg and NY City's teachers' union (United Teachers-AFT) have agreed to do away with "rubber rooms" full of teachers accused of wrongdoing or incompetence and speed up hearings for them, reforming a disciplinary system that has made City Hall and the teachers' union subjects of ridicule.

If you haven't read about these "rubber rooms", google NY teacher rubber rooms and see what comes up.

Each one of these terminations have to be assigned an arbitrator and the hearings go on forever.

Steven Brill also wrote an article about "rubber rooms" in the New Yorker Magazine last summer.

Rick