IMPORTANT DATES

Spring Pre RA date for Kansas City     

  March 21at the West Central office

Meeting begins 6:00 p.m. preceeded with a light supper.

     or

     Lodge of Four Seasons – April 8

NEA  Black Caucus Annual Black Issues Conference

April 15-17 in Kansas City, MO

Summer Association Leadership Training

Kansas City - June 10

Summer Academy for First Timers

July 20-22 at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center, Columbia, MO

WE'VE BEEN BUSY

BOARD NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 19-20

On Friday evening and Saturday morning MNEA board members and staff participated in leadership training led by NEA Executive Committee member Dr. Kevin Gilbert.

President Smith recognized the following:

Cheryl Riley thanked Matt Matheney for the excellent Student Leaders Academy this year. 

Congratulations to St. Joseph NEA for 222 new member growth.

Congratulations to Carmen Hill for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

Congratulations to DeeAnn Aull and staff for a successful P.R. campaign: Teacher Words Matter and Read to Achieve.

Governance District 4 Board members congratulate Kevin Drinkard, Independence NEA; who one $1,000 in the Read to Achieve contest!

Reports given were:

President’s Report - Charles Smith

Vice President’s Report - Brent Fullington

NEA Director’s Report - Phil Murray and Lisa Kickbusch

Interim Executive Director’s Report - Peggy Cochran

Legal Update - Peggy Cochran

Financial Report - Karen Struemph

CB Update - Peggy Cochran - most locals are just beginning the bargaining process.

Committee Reports were read and discussed

Resolutions: 

Co-chair Melissa Albright attended the Board meeting to present the proposed changes to the 2016 MNEA Resolutions.  Changes were looked at and discussed.  The document was approved as amended by the board.

Legislative Update: 

Otto Fajen updated the board on legislative issues. 

Most importantly was the “Paycheck Deception” HCS/HB1891, which requires annual written authorization for dues and annual electronic authorization for PAC, excluding first responders. The House passed the bill 110-47 on February 18.  We need to watch this issue closely as it goes to the Senate. 

Other issues we are watching include school formula bills, the budget, retirement and charter schools.  Everyone should be signed up to receive daily legislative updates via email.  If you are not, you can go to mnea.org to sign up.

Campaign for Secretary Clinton: DeeAnn Aull

The Missouri Presidential primary will be held on March 15.  Campaign offices opened in St. Louis and Kansas City this past week.  MNEA will be trying to get members to volunteer in both offices.  If members volunteer, they can let DeeAnn Aull or Mark Jones know and they will send them a NEA t-shirt that they can wear when they are volunteering and we want them to sign in at the offices as an MNEA member. 

MNEA members will be receiving a 1 minute survey via email to help us sort our membership into 3 groups.  The three groups are: people who have already committed to Secretary Clinton, people who are still undecided but could be swayed, and people who are already decided against Secretary Clinton.   Forthcoming activities include: phone banking, robo calls, information in Something Better and In the Loop, a social media campaign, e-blast, and getting people to go to Strong Public Schools .org.  If you have any ideas about ways to help the campaign, you can email DeeAnn Aull or Mark Jones.

Educators for Social Justice:

This event will be taking place on February 27, 2016.  MNEA Retired paid for 20 members to attend.  Currently we have 19 members registered to attend.  MNEA will have an informational table at the event and Matt Agee will be there to represent us and answer questions at the table.

Audit Presentation: 

Vice-President Brent Fullington and Dale Siebeneck from Evers and Company presented the audit report. 

2016-2017 RA Budget Recommendation to the RA:

Vice-President Brent Fullington presented the 2016-2017 MNEA Budget.   The Board approved recommendation of the 2016-2017 MNEA Budget to the RA.

Business Items:

The Board approved:

• the audit report
• the usage of the Evers and Company as our auditing firm for the next year
• the 990 form
• affiliation of Warrenton Maintenance and Custodian NEA
• affiliation of Rockwood Association of Social Workers
• the National Education Employee Assistance Fund renewal

Information Items:

Check mnea.org for the Cat Tour Schedule.

2016-17 Committee Volunteer forms are available.

2016-17 Future Leader’s Academy applications are available.

Summer Academy for First Timers - July 20-22 at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center, Columbia, MO.

Summer Association Leadership Trainings:

     St. Charles - June 6

     St. Louis - June 7

     Kansas City - June 10

     Springfield - June 18

NEA Black Caucus Annual Black Issues Conference - April 15-17 in Kansas City, MO.

MNEA ESP Conference: Renaissance Hotel - St. Louis MO – April 23

Pre RA dates:

     Jefferson County – March 9

     St. Charles – March 10

     Kansas City – March 21

     St. Louis – March 31

     Lodge of Four Seasons – April 8

Board Responsibilities for Spring RA (Everyone is welcome to donate to any or all of the following):

·       Bring socks for Rock the Socks.

·       Bring gift cards or scratcher tickets for HOPE Fund.

·       Bring silent auction items for PAC.

·       Bring cash for HOPE fund, PAC silent auction and Care to Learn.

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