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November 14, 2017

Unit A October 2017 Minutes

Agawam Education Association

 Executive Board Meeting

October 17, 2017

  1. Tom Denton called the meeting to order @ 4:03PM.
  1. Teacher speak time– Teacher speak time was made available however no teachers were present to speak.
  2. Acceptance of Secretary’s Report– A motion was made to accept the June and September 2017 minutes and passed unanimously.
  3. Acceptance of Treasurer’s Report– A motion was made to accept the September 2017 financials and passed unanimously.

 

  1. President’s/Executive Director’s Report
  • Meet and Greet Agawam Mayoral Candidates: Jimmy Cichetti and William Sapelli
  • See attachment for Q&A session
  • It was established and voted upon that the E-board would not endorse a candidate due to the proximity of the upcoming election. The vote to not endorse a candidate passed unanimously.
  1. VP Reports-
  • High School: no news

 

  • Intermediate:
    • Situation at Doering about analyzing data; given late afternoon on a Tuesday; was due by the following Tuesday. Teachers were required to cross reference lesson plans with both district and state MCAS scores. In areas where they did not fall within 10%, they had to realign their lesson plan. A building rep asked for an extension from the math coach and the principal or to be able to do this during a PLCs, or established data or department meetings. The building rep received an email from the coach stating, “we are trying to help the teachers, why would they bock at this?” In attempts for resolution the principal suggested using their duty periods to do so. The question arose, “can teachers be required to analyze data?” The E-board confirmed from a previous grievance that teachers cannot do any data collection or clerical work as a duty. A duty is simply supervisory. In conclusion, the building rep plans to contact the principal again to discuss this further.

 

  • Elementary:
    • Ongoing discussions regarding ECC staff attending PLCs at other schools.

 

  1. Tech Communications Coordinator Report-
  • An question was brought up regarding posting the seniority list. It was decided by the E-board that the lists would be housed within each of the schools. The new website will remain public, as will any and all info posted there.

 

  1. Rep Rap- no news.

 

  1. Membership Coordinator
  • MTA rosters are due in November by Thanksgiving break
  • Dues info
Teachers Teachers Paras Paras
Full time Part time Full time Part time
MTA $494.00 $247.00 $149.00 $74.50
NEA $189.00 $106.00 $115.50 $69.50
LOCAL $71.00 $35.50 $18.00 $9.00
School year total $754.00 $388.50 $282.50 $153.00
Payroll deduction 10/5/17– 5/31/18 $41.89 $21.59 $15.69 $8.50
  • Dues info is also posted online under Membership Coordinator

 

  1. Unit B Coordinator-
  • Unit B Coordinator met with Lemanski in regards to M.O.A. for longevity pay for retired para. Conversations are still ongoing.
  • Unit B minutes will also be posted on the website upon submission.

 

  1. Old Business– no news

 

  1. New Business
  • Professional development committee—is it possible for paras to sit in on committee? It was established that due to the Unit A contract language it doesn’t allow for that. They are to see the committee members to provide input.
  • Anita Quinn and Deborah Donaldson attended the MTA membership training in Greenfield. They brought up that of the Supreme Court decision passes, agency fees and union dues can’t be deducted from paychecks and would have to be a separate payment.
  • Granger teachers concerned about working together. Alleged bullying incident amongst staff members. Allegedly, it was brought to the principal last year and it has continued. The building rep and elementary VP will meet with the principal and teachers involved to address this issue immediately. They will report back to the E-board.
  • Issue again of Paras start time for Professional Development on October 26th leaves them without a lunchtime.
  • Doering Principal moves around prep and requires teachers to sub without pay. It was decided that this will be discussed at the Superintendent’s monthly meeting to review sub coverage policy in our contract.
  • Para’s asked about Professional Development and what they are supposed to attend? And how they were notified. This will be discussed at Superintendent’s monthly meeting and will be reported at next E-board meeting.

 

  1. Committee reports:

 

  • Evaluation– no news

 

  • Grievance
    • The right to bargain ( i.e. ALICE Training) is on hold per Jason Mathis
    • ALICE training drills—it was agreed not to shoot staff members with airsoft guns. Instead to simulate gunshots they will incorporate loud noises

 

  • Political Education– no news

 

  • Social
    • Still selling tee-shirts and collecting ballot initiatives. She will bring to Jason. Bus trip Friday raised $220.
    • Mentioned possibly attending the Vendor Night at JHS to promote teachers

 

  • Salary
  • Unit A- no news.

 

  • Unit B- no news.

 

  • Election
    • Election needed at Doering for building rep as there was a retiree. Nominations received by
      Vincent Senatore and Kathleen Goyette-Jediny
    • Election will be held on November 8th before and after school. Current building reps will organize election.

 

  • Scholarshipno news

 

  • Constitution-
    • 2017-2018 Bylaws on AEA webpage

 

  • Insurance
    • The survey will be resent
    • Only 100 staff members participated
    • 30% was needed

 

Meeting adjourned @ 6:00 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Harris, Tech Communications

Lisa Bruno, Executive Director

 

Next meeting is scheduled for November 14th

October 2017 MINUTES

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