SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, INFORMATION, IDEAS, TWO CENTS AND MORE....

You might notice that all three of your Governance District 4 board members have been appointed by President Smith to serve on a subcommittee to create a plan to help small locals build/rebuild, along with engaging members of higher ed, students, and eMerge members.  This will be no small task but I am incredibly excited to work on this special project.  I've witnessed small/rural locals surrounding my own fade as the years pass.  It started with inactivity followed by membership loss--one or two members at a time until there is only a handful left.  The future of this association rests in the hands of our young educators.  How do we get them involved?  How do we make our association relevant to them?  How do we make activity and engagement in our association desirable to our young educators?

PLEASE, please share with me your thoughts, any information, any ideas, or anything else you feel might give us some insight, direction, data, anything related to our task.  You can email me at holly.bennett@mnea.org or call me at 816.720.4076 if you prefer to talk in person.

SEPTEMBER BOARD NOTES

September 26, 2015  Board Notes

Visitors: George Sheridan - NEA Executive Committee

 Cassandra Baker and Kristen Burkemper - Future Leaders’ Academy Participants

NEA Directors:  NEA Directors will be going to Washington DC next week.  They will be talking with legislators about ESEA reauthorization, Higher Ed, Budget and Child Nutrition.

NEA Director Phil Murray also reported on a subcommittee of the MNEA Board that will meet to try to come up with ways to help small locals gain and/or regain membership. Holly Bennett will chair the committee and Phil Murray will co-chair.  Other committee members include: Rebeka McIntosh, Cheryl Riley, Heike Janis and Carmen Hill.  The charges of the sub-committee are to find answers to the following questions:

1.     What will we, the Board, do this year to get more students to the Fall and Spring RA?

2.     What will we, the Board, do this year to get more students to the Student Conference?

3.     What will we, the Board, do to get more Higher Education members to the Fall and Spring RA?

4.     What will we, the Board, do this year to get more Emerge members, young people under 35, to as many MNEA events as possible and to get them involved in the Association?

5.     What will be the Board’s 12 month plan for organizing?

6.     What will we do this year to increase the attendance in the “Educator Rising” conference?

7.     What will we do to increase our FEA/ER (new name for FEA - Educators Rising) chapters?

The subcommittee will report back to the Board at the November 7, 2015 meeting.

Interim Executive Director’s Report:  Peggy Cochran gave a membership update. Local rosters are due by October 1.  A staffing update was also given.  We are down 2.5 positions. Job roles have been reassigned so that all areas are being covered.

The Fall RA will be held at the Sheraton Westport Chalet in St. Louis on November 7, 2015. Hotel reservations are due by October 12 and lunch reservations are due by October 30.  If Board members want to room with another Board member, please check with that Board member first, and then email Karen Sholes and she can make your room reservations for you. The HCR committee will be collecting socks at the Fall RA for this year’s Rock the Socks campaign. Please bring socks to donate.

PR Campaign:  DeeAnn shared information about the PR campaign “Teacher Words Matter.”

We would like to see more entries. Please share the information with your members and encourage more participation. Handouts were shared at the meeting and the forms can be found online at mnea.org.

NEA Summit:  The NEA Summit will be February 26-28 in Dallas TX.  

MNEA ESP conference: The MNEA ESP conference will be held at the STL Renaissance Hotel at the Airport on April 23, 2015.

  

The Cat Tour will take place from February 29 - March 4, 2016.  Applications can be found on the website and are due by January 4.

Fall Pre-RA dates:

KC Regional Office - October 19; 6:00 pm.  Please encourage RA delegates to attend.

Petitions have been returned to have MNEA member Jason Steliga elected to the PSRS Board to fill the seat left by Susan McClintic when she retired.  Jason is unopposed, and it appears we have enough signatures to put him on the PSRS Board.

WEST CENTRAL MEETING DATES FOR 2015-2016

Per our West Central Guidelines, each local is allowed to send four voting representatives.  Be sure to have your representation at these meetings.  My local has "elected" a West Central representative who has agreed to attend all of the meetings.  Our meetings are held at 4224 South Hocker Drive, Suite 200, Independence, MO  64055. 

All of our meetings begin at 5:30, with a light supper beginning at 5:00 except for the Pre-RA meetings which start at 6:00, preceded with a light supper at 5:30.  PLEASE don't hesitate to bring your children if that makes it possible for you to attend!  We are family. 

Along with taking care of the business at hand, our president Rebeka McIntosh, has lined up great presentations for us throughout the year.  We sincerely hope to see you there!

West Central meeting dates:

September 21

October 19 PreRA

December 7

January 25

February 22

March 21 PreRA

Apr meeting @ RA

KC Legislative Brunch  1-23

Capitol Action Day 3-23

IT'S ALMOST TIME

My birthday, August 3, has had new meaning for the past eleven years.  It isn't because of my age that my birthday has changed meanings.  Like the sound of the cicadas, my birthday is a reminder that school will be starting very soon.  That reality comes with a whirlwind of emotions.  My first reaction is a little dread.  I love my students but I also love the dedicated time over the summer I get to spend with my sons.  (At 14 and 16 I know that time is limited.)  After the dread comes the seriousness of "what do I need to do to get ready for a new year?"  That list leaves me feeling overwhelmed.  Using my list, I go shopping.  Suddenly, I'm excited to be working on my classroom and classes.  The chaos of working on that plus spending time with my boys ushers in my final emotion.  I get excited for the structured days of school.  It's funny, I've noticed my sons going through the exact same whirlwind as the first day of school draws near.

As you prepare for a new school year, keep these things in mind:

• Your local treasurer needs to follow the Financial Handbook.  These can be found in the back of the Timeline for Action.  These procedures are essential for good practice and keeping your members dues money safe.  If you need a handbook, contact the Karen Struemp at karen.struemp@mnea.org.  She would be happy to mail one to you.
• MNEA headquarters or regional office may contact you for help with any membership issues.
• Membership issues can best be avoided by verifying your roster information.  I know some of you have large locals but enlist the help of your officers and building reps to make certain that the information we have for each member is accurate using the 5 X 7 cards or roster.  Ask to make certain their home emails, addresses, and phones are current.  If they pay using EFT, remind them to contact MNEA if they change checking accounts. Changes can also be made through our online program found on the MNEA homepage.
• BE CERTAIN TO FILL OUT YOUR DELETION FORM!  This goes hand in hand with verifying your roster information.  In order to avoid having to pay for memberships of members who have left your local, you MUST complete the deletion form.  It is really easy to fill out once you know who has retired, moved to another district, passed away, or been non-renewed. Remember, there is no way for HQ to know your membership has changed without this information.
• PR grants for $300 must be received at HQ no later than September 18! 
• California Casualty's classroom grant for $500 must be received at HQ no later than September 18!
• You can contact me at holly.bennett@mnea.org or our new board member, Rebeka McIntosh at rebeka.mcintosh@mnea.org.  We are proud to represent you at the state level.  Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

MAY BOARD MEETING NOTES

Welcome new Board members Mary Brownell(Hazelwood), Francine Hill (Francis Howell) and Frank Rogan (MNEA Retired)

Vistitors :Charline Shepard MPSO

Discussion Items:

Gov. District meeting feedback: 

Matt Agee stated that at the Gov. District 11 meeting there was discussion about the placement of the elections from the floor and not being done in the Governance meeting.  President Smith explained that Board policy states that all Board nominations, Heritage House nominations, Review Board nominations and Budget Committee nominations must be taken from the floor.  Therefore, President Smith had no choice but to follow the policy at the Spring RA.  The Board can change the policy, and we will be discussing the issue further at our Board Retreat in August.

There was another question from Gov. District 11 regarding sending more than 3 new people to Summer Academy.  It was explained that all locals can send up to 3 people.  After May 20th if there are still openings districts may then sign up to send more than attendees.

Governance District 5 had a question about how many members they needed to add a second Board seat.  President Smith had already answered the question but a Gov. district needs to have 2251 members to have 2 Board members.

Summer Academy Board Responsibilities:

Due to the change in Summer Academy it is optional for Board members to attend.  Each Governance District needs to send a basket for the PAC auction.  If possible please bring them to the Pre RA on June 6.  Summer Academy will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Columbia, MO on July 13-15. 

SALT Trainings are scheduled for June 3 in St. Charles, June 19-20 in Springfield and July 9 in Kansas City.

NEA RA Details:

Be sure to read Karen Sholes' blog.  www.nearainfo.blogspot.com

The pre RA will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Columbia MO on June 6.

NEA Fund:

RA delegates need to bring contributions to the Pre-RA meeting on June 6.  More information will be coming about GO Pages.

Back to School Events:

As locals begin to plan back to school events, please let President Smith know of the dates so that they can be put into a master calendar.  Any locals wanting Member Benefits to attend can contact Jacquie Shipma.

Information Items:

Membership Reports:  We have 392 new members on early enrollment as of May 13.  We also have 43 members who are rejoining which brings our total up to 435 new members.  There will be losses though as districts make deletions at the end of the year.

Board Roster:

Board members please check the Board Roster that is in the Board packet.  Any corrections need to be sent to Brent Fullington.

2015-16 Board Orientation and Retreat:

The Board Retreat will be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the Drury Inn and Suites in Kansas City MO. New Board members need to be in Kansas City by noon on July 31.  The retreat should end around noon on Sunday Aug. 2.

Resolutions and ByLaws:

The updated 2015 Resolutions will be uploaded to the Members Only section of the website. The Bylaws will be in the Timeline for Action.  A question was asked if the ByLaws could also be added to the Members Only section.  President Smith will try to make that happen.

Board Terms:

Board Terms begin on Aug. 1.

State Board Report:

We are continuing to monitor what is happening in the Normandy Collaborative School District. President Smith wrote an OpEd piece about the situation in Normandy.

Reports:

Legislative: Otto thanked his team for all their hard work during this legislative session.

Legislation that passed:

Budget

Transfer Bill: This bill allows for the expansion of Charter Schools. We will be urging the Governor to veto this bill.

Right To Work

There was a bill with language about Community College Boards that passed.

There was a bill with some changes to the MOST Savings program that passed.

Presidents:

Besides what is in the Board Packet President Smith attended the St. Joseph NEA year end celebration.  He was also asked by NEA to attend a symposium celebrating male teachers of color.

NEA Directors:

ESEA reauthorization will be active again in June.  Be watching for calls to action.

Executive Director:

MNEA will be making the switch to Microsoft 365, getting new bandwidth in all of the regional offices and moving to Centurylink telephones.  NEA 360 will be moving to new platforms for membership and all sorts of other things.  This switch will take place by May 2016.  Karen Struemph and Karen Sholes will be heading a committee of about 10 people to get ready for this change.  

Collective Bargaining Update:

Hazelwood picketed and packed a school board meeting with members.  They were able to get a step on the salary schedule and are still working through details.  Their members showed what working together can achieve.

Ritenour teachers rejected the first salary proposal brought to them.  They went back to the bargaining table and were able to get more money in the proposal.  They will be voting again next week.

Joplin NEA won exclusive bargaining representation.

Columbia teachers have continued to show up at school board meetings and are gaining respect from the community even after the districts lawyer said he would not negotiate anymore this year.

Managers:

Steve McLuckie asked locals to sponsor student members.  More information will be sent out about this on the list serv.

All reports can be found in the Board packet.

Consent Agenda:

The consent agenda was approved

Business Items:

Committee Chairs and Liaisons for 2015-16: approved

2015-16 MNEA Committee Charges: approved

2014-15 MNEA Committee Reports: approved

Budget Committee Election:

Matt Agee and Cheryl Riley were elected by acclamation to the 2015-16 Budget Committee.

Action on proposed amendments to the NEA Standing Rules, Constitution and ByLaws for the 2015 Representative Assembly

Constitutional Amendments (2/3 Vote)

1.     Delegate allocation for merged states NEA Board: oppose MNEA Board: oppose

2.     Frequency of RA                                      NEA Board: oppose    MNEA Board: oppose

3.     Classroom teacher and ESP on committees  NEA Board: support   MNEA Board: support

Bylaw Amendments (Majority Vote)

A.   Safe harbor for EC members NEA Board: support       MNEA Board: support

B.   Ballot Measure/Leg. Crisis Fund              NEA Board: support       MNEA Board: support

1.      Great Public Schools Fund                     NEA Board:  oppose       MNEA Board: oppose

2.     Delegate allocation for merged states     NEA Board: oppose        MNEA Board: oppose

3.     Grouping of NBI’s                                    NEA Board: oppose        MNEA Board: oppose

Standing Rule Amendments (Majority Vote)

1.     Requests for information in speaking order         NEA Board:oppose     MNEA Board: oppose

2.     Suspend the rules for referral of multiple items   NEA Board: oppose    MNEA Board:oppose

3.     Motion to suspend the rules                                 NEA Board: support   MNEA Board: support

4.     Grouping of NBI’s                                                NEA Board: oppose    MNEA Board: oppose

5.     Contact information for NBI makers                     NEA Board: oppose    MNEA Board:oppose

6.     Limiting NBI’s to 100 words                                 NEA Board: oppose     MNEA Board:oppose

7.     Printing of NBI cost breakdowns                         NEA Board: oppose     MNEA Board:oppose

MARCH 27 BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOTES

Congratulations to:

·      The MNEA legal team for victories in the Shank and Elsesser cases.

·      Joplin NEA on their HH policy victory.

·      The Metro Community College on their Exclusive Rep election victory.

·      The St Joseph NEA on returning the food service employees to the district.

·      Francis Howell Secretaries and Nurses on their Exclusive Rep elections.

·      Columbia Parent-Educators on their Exclusive Rep election.

·      Warrenton Custodians and Maintenance on their Exclusive Rep election.

·       Rishanda Richardson for compiling the Salary Benchmarks and Rankings booklet.

Executive Director’s Report:

·      Presented the collective bargaining update (see handout).

·      Discussed implications to hiring newly retired teachers as substitutes and the potential impact on insurance for the districts (Affordable Care Act). 

·      Informed the Board on the role of BAFC Consulting in several St Louis area school districts.

Financial Report: Overall expenditures and revenue are either on or near budgeted levels.

Kansas City building update-Melon and Associates signed a 3-year lease starting May 1. This brings a total of 3 tenants in the downstairs area.

St Louis office is looking to repair the parking lot.

New railing was added to the Headquarters office.

Discussion Items

·      Locals must have 50% of dues paid by March 31 to be seated at the RA

·      NEA RA will be in Orlando July1 through July 7. Delegates are asked to raise a minimum of $360 for PAC. Details for delegates will be available on the MNEA RA blog.

·      Spring RA: check dates for the Pre RA in your local area.

·      The Springfield Pre- RA has been cancelled.

·      The Spring RA is at the Lodge of the Four Seasons, NOT Tan- Tar- A.

·      The HOPE Fund will have shirts to sell.

·      MNEA Retired will have a reception on Friday night of the Spring RA, all are welcome.

·      President Smith will also have a reception on Friday night (after MNEA-R’s reception and Pre-RA) and a dance Saturday night.

·      Early enrollment programs are starting. Our goal is to enroll 400 new members.

·      Remember, early enrollees cannot be elected to the Spring RA as delegates, serve as voting members on your boards or building rep councils until after they have full governance rights (September 1).

  

Information items

·      Membership numbers have stabilized.

·      SALT dates are on the Web- site. The first training will be April 11 in St Louis

·      Summer Leadership is planned for July.  Each local is invited to send 3 members  up to 100 participants. Information is available and enrollment is now open on- line.

·      MNEA Committee volunteer forms are due on May 15.

·      Future Leaders’ Academy applications are due April 1.

Business Items The MNEA Board:

·      Elected Lauren Schumacher and Caryn Deckard to the UniServ Grant Approval Committee.

·      Took a unanimous position of opposition to the proposed NEA Constitutional Amendment 1.

·      Horace Mann Award Winners are:

Journalism-Print: Jessica Bock and Elissa Croach, from the St Louis Post Dispatch

Journalism-Radio: KWMU Public Radio, Time Eby and Susan Hager

Journalism-Television: Jack Galmiche, Nine Network of Public Media

Legislation: Genise Monitcello House District 92

Organizational Achievement-Civic: United Steel Workers Union #169, Ste. Genevieve, MO

Individual Contribution to Education: Doug Pitt, Springfield, MO

Education Support Professional: Sonja Marie Burks, SEEA

Teacher: Chris Holmes, Hazelwood NEA

FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING INFORMATION

Legal: Jacquie Shipma (handout on the CSD Insurance Trust given at meeting)

A judge has ruled that the Normandy School district is still unaccredited. 

Due to a court ruling in October 2014 the CSD (Cooperating School Districts) Insurance Trust amended their plan so that same-sex spouses could be added to insurance plans.  Questions were raised in the Ritenour School District when a retiree tried to add a same-sex spouse.  It was determined that they could and notification was sent out to Ritenour retirees. 

Jacquie needs to know information from other districts in the CSD Insurance Trust. Please gather the following information and send to Jacquie Shipma.

1.    If the district is one covered by the CSD Insurance Trust, did active employees get notification of the same sex spouse coverage?

2.    If the district is one covered by the CSD Insurance Trust, did retirees get notification of the same sex spouse coverage?

3.    If the district is one covered by the CSD Insurance Trust, and notification was received, did anyone try to enroll a same sex spouse but had that coverage denied based on the date the marriage took place?

4.    If the district is not one covered by the CSD Insurance Trust, has the district notified employees, both active and retired, of the ability to cover same sex spouses under the district’s insurance?   

Certification of Average Instructor’s Salary:  Motion was made and passed to certify the average instructor’s salary for 2015-16 year at $48,908.  This is a reduction from the previous year and will have budget implications for us as we move forward.

Dues for Students and Retired:  Motion was made and passed to set Student MNEA dues at $2.00; MNEA-R annual at $40.00; MNEA-R Life and Pre-Retired at $200.00.  These dues are not changed from last year.

Horace Mann Teacher of the Year: A vote was taken by the Board and Chris Holmes from Hazelwood was selected as the 2015 Horace Mann Teacher of the Year.  He is also the Missouri State Teacher of the Year.

East Central College Affiliation:  Motion made and passed to affiliate East Central College.

2015 Audit:  Brent Fullington and Dale Siebeneck presented the 2015 Audit Report.

Motion made by Brent Fullington on behalf of the Budget Committee to accept the 990 Report.  Motion passed.

2015-2016 Budget: Brent Fullington presented the proposed 2015-2016 RA Budget to forward to the RA. 

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

School Finance Meeting, March 30, 2015 from 5:00 - 7:00.  Join Kurt Swanson to better understand school finance and salary schedules.

Capital Action Day:  April 1, 2015  Each Capitol Action Day will start with a briefing at 10:00 a.m. in House Hearing Room 4 (unless otherwise noted) to provide you with the most up-to-date information.

Pre-RA Date April 7, 2015  A light supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. followed by the meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Summer Academy for “First Timers” will be July 13-15 2015 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Columbia, MO.  If you are planning to attend Summer Academy as a Board member, please let Karen Sholes know as soon as possible.

SALT Trainings: SALT trainings will be one day trainings held at Regional Offices.  Board members need to attend the SALT Trainings for their area.

April 11, 2015 (Saturday) St. Louis;

June 3, 2015 (Wednesday) St. Charles;

June 20, 2015 (Saturday) Springfield;

July 9, 2015 (Thursday) Kansas City

MEETING DATES

West Central will meet on the following dates:  February 9, March 30, and April 7 for Pre-RA.  The February 9 and March 30 meetings will begin at 5:15 p.m. with a light supper beginning at 4:45 p.m. On April 7, the Pre-RA meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a light supper beginning at 5:30.

Don't forget that GD  4 will head to Jefferson City for Capital Action Day on April 1.