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Boston Teachers Union

Boston Teachers Union
e-Bulletin

#14
(2009-10), 11/23/09

Greetings and have a nice Thanksgiving. It has been another busy week...

The Mass Senate voted 28-11 Tuesday night in favor of its version of an Ed Reform Bill. The bill takes away many important collective bargaining protections from our members.

According to the AFT-MA, preliminarily, the bill allows:

A doubling of charter schools in Boston, draining another $49.5 million from our school budget. This will bring to a total of $99.0 million the amount lost each year to charter schools. The funds lost are funds that would have gone to our schools.
A takeover of so-called underperforming schools, with school superintendents having the power to dismiss for good cause any employee who is unsuccessful in applying to remain in the school. The superintendent would also have the right to reopen the contract in each of these take-over schools and to eliminate all but minimal protections for employees
An unlimited expansion of in-district Horace Mann charter schools, which do NOT have a right to bargain collectively. Horace Mann charters under this legislation would behave like current state-sanctioned charter schools, but without the ability to collectively bargain. Ouch!

We are still awaiting more detailed information from the AFT-MA, and we will produce that information as soon as we obtain it.

The AFT-MA also informs us that all five Republicans in the state senate voted against this plan for a variety of their own reasons, as did five Democrats--Senators Morrissey, McGee, Montigny, Pacheco and Timilty--who voted 'no' in support of maintaining our collective bargaining rights. There was one abstention. We thank these five senators who stood tall in the face of strong opposition and in support of our collective-bargaining rights.

Here's what will happen next, according to a letter sent by House Speaker Robert DeLeo to members of the House of Representatives:

"... the House will continue to work on this legislation through the remaining days of the year. Please make sure that during this time you express your concerns and ideas concerning the bill so they can be properly considered. Please also anticipate debate on this matter upon our return to formal sessions in January. As the date for filing of applications for the Race to the Top Grant is January 19, 2009, it would be my intention to debate our own bill, conference with the Senate, and send a final bill to the Governor's desk in time to have our efforts reflected in the Commonwealth's application..." (See the entire letter .)

We ask that BTU members do a few things to help maintain collective bargaining rights in the final version of the bill.

First, send the following email to your state representative. The process is very easy, and will take you no more than one minute. Type in your name and address and an email goes out automatically to your state rep and to the Speaker of the House.
We would appreciate it further if you had the time to call your rep. as well. Here's your state rep's phone number If you want to find out whom to call, see here.

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The superintendent released her list of so-called underperforming schools last Wednesday. All of the background information is available here , and we have sent out to all BTU reps in the affected schools copies of the available information. We have also scheduled visits to many of the affected schools, and we are working to schedule the rest. Much of what the superintendent has proposed is contingent on the what comes out of the new State Ed Reform Law. Regardless of which schools are targeted, we are all affected. We urge everyone to make the phone calls and the emails. To those in the affected schools: Please call the office to schedule a visit, even though the state plan is not yet finalized.

We thought the superintendent--as well intentioned as she may be-- slipped into a blame-the-teacher mode in her public remarks Wednesday evening at the school committee meeting. While the superintendent did not come right out and say so, the implication was pretty clear to the many, many teachers in the audience: 'underperforming' teachers are the primary cause of
underperforming schools. This is nonsense . Consider the following.

Is it underperforming teachers who are responsible for the system's inability to reform the ELL Department, which has been dysfunctional since Unz? Or the similarly situated SPED Department?
Was it the teachers who rattled the cage creating turmoil in our schools last spring by threatening to lay off 1100 staff? (By the way, there is exactly one permanent teacher laid off as of today. And not a single paraprofessional.)
And is it the teachers who keep incompetent administrators in place year-after-year while a school deteriorates? And is it the teachers who move these same administrators from school to school?

We're not responsible for any of the above. So let's stop blaming the teachers for the system's failures. Then maybe we can make some real progress and fix what's wrong.

Herald Column on Merit Pay Explains BTU Point of View

Many of you are aware of the AP Merit Pay Issue. It has been amply mentioned in previous issues. Simply, Exxon-Mobil is funding an AP program, 95% of which is good. But Exxon-Mobil is insisting as a pre-condition of acceptance of the 95% that the BTU accept the remaining 5%, which grants a few teachers individual merit pay depending on their students' individual success on the exam. After

writing as front page story chastising the BTU on this topic last Tuesday, the Boston Herald printed a column on Thursday that detailed our objections to the Exxon-Mobil grant.

Please Submit Collective Bargaining Items and Ideas for the Upcoming Bargain

As we have mentioned before, the BTU will be gathering collective bargaining items over the next few weeks. The items, once gathered, will be vetted by the Collective Bargaining Committee (see below) and put together in a packet for approval by the BTU membership. To submit an item, please do the following:

    * be as specific as possible
    * send it in electronically here by November 22
    * type 'Collective Bargaining Item' in the subject line
    * identify yourself by name, school, and job function
    * All items are subject to approval and modification

Groups (e.g., the Special Ed Faculty Senate, Art teachers) are asked to submit no more than three items in priority order. Thank you.

Dates--School Site Council Training, Deferred Comp., Next Stop High School, Middle School

SSC Budget Basics--12/3, 12/8
Deferred Comp--12/16, 4:30 to 6:30
Next Stop HS, Next Stop MS--12/1

Elevator Question for the Superintendent

If you had

60 seconds to speak with Superintendent Carol Johnson about turning around schools most in need of improvement, what 3 constructive ideas would you suggest?

Please send replies to Ed Chambers or Kathy Aldred please write 'elevator question' in the subject line.

Early Termination Incentive Announced

The Boston Public Schools is offering a one-time incentive of $1,500 for early notification of termination to members of the BTU Teachers' Unit. See here and scroll down to HRS-PP08.

An individual must have a minimum of ten (10) years of continuous service in the Boston Public Schools.
An individual must meet the minimum age requirement of fifty-five (55) years.
Eligible employees (meeting #1 and #2 above) presently on paid or unpaid leave of absence can apply.
The application, once accepted by the Office of Human Resources by execution of the Separation Agreement, is binding on both parties and irrevocable.
Applicants understand that the termination must be effective between June 30, 2010, and August 31, 2010.
Applicants further understand that they will not be eligible for unemployment compensation and acceptance of this incentive shall not affect any rights of a member under the Teacher Retirement Law.
Application deadline: Application form must be filed with the Office of Human Resources by the close of business on Friday, December 18, 2009.
Payment: If accepted, a one time payment of $1,500. will be made by January 22, 2010.
Individuals planning to retire must also file an "Intent to Retire" form with the City of Boston Retirement Board. The incentive application does not replace this process.

Building Reps--We need Your Home Email Addresses

In this season of increasing activity we are looking to contact all of our BTU Building Reps. using home email addresses. A letter has gone out to all building reps whose home email addresses we do not have. We would appreciate it if you could send here your home email address. Thank you.

Looking for Home Email Addresses...

Attn. BTU Members: We have gathered over 8200 email addresses from you for our e-Bulletin list serve, which is used for the delivery of this bulletin. Most of our email addresses are non-BPS ones and we are trying to gradually decrease those so that we rely almost exclusively on home email addresses. If we do not use your home email address for this bulletin, please add it above right, where it says JOIN OUR MAILING LIST . You can also delete your school address if you'd like by going to SafeUnsubscribe below. Thank you.

AFT-MA Scholarships Announced

The AFT-MA announces a scholarship for dependents. See here and scroll down to the scholarship announcement. Any questions, please call the AFT-MA at 617-423-3342.

LAST WEEK!! Flexible Spending Plan Open Enrollment Ends 11/30

The Flexible Spending Account and the Pre-Tax Transportation plan are tremendous opportunities for you to enhance your benefits package. Most employees pay for expenses such as dependent care expenses, out-of-pocket medical/dental expenses, parking fees, and mass transit expenses on an after tax-basis. These programs allow you to set aside a portion of your paycheck tax-free to pay for those expenses. The result is a reduction in Federal, State and Social Security taxes, which will give you an increase in your take home pay. Don't miss out on this opportunity to save between 28-34% in taxes. Over 600 of our employees use this program to their advantage, with more joining each year. If you would like to hear more about this benefit today please call Cafeteria Plan Advisors, Inc. at 1-800-544-2340 or visit their website.

You can call CPA, Inc. @ 1-800-544-2340
Download a form ; print form dedicated to the City of Boston. Mail the form back to CPA, Inc. by 11/30.

Teacher to Run Marathon for the Boston Debate League

After thirty-nine years as a Boston school teacher Mary Ciampa of East Boston High School is retiring next June. In April she is running the Boston Marathon as a member of Team Debate, fundraising $3250 for the Boston Debate League. President Obama acknowledged the positive impact that debate leagues can have on the lives of high school students in his back to school address this September. He told

America's youth, "Every single one of you has something to offer. ... Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team." Every single teacher in Boston Public Schools has the opportunity to improve the future of our students with one simple act. You can donate to the Boston Debate League through Mrs. Ciampa's website . Donations are tax deductible and 100% goes to the Boston Debate League. Thank you, in advance, for your generous support! All our students will benefit greatly! Good luck, Mary!

Retirement Party

WInship School, Lucy Stone, Baldwin School Announcement

Deborah Greene, Kenneth Greenwood, Frances Garland, Ginette Gallant, Maureen Leydon (formerly of the Lucy Stone School) and Anne Kelleher (formerly of the Baldwin School).
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 6pm
DoubleTree Guest Suites in Boston (400 Soldiers Field Rd.)
The cost is $65.00; RSVP by December 3rd
Check payable to Winship Sunshine Fund: 54 Dighton St. Brighton 02135 in care of Rita Sparrow.
Questions: Please contact Rita Sparrow @ 617.635.8399 or Maxina Rosa @617.594.7364

Condon School Announcement

Elaine Christo, David Freeman, Barbara Hart, John Koutrobis, Nancy Maguire
12/9/2009 from 6 - 10 PM
The Common Market, 97 Willard St., Quincy, Ma.
Cost $40
Please send checks made out to The Condon School by Nov. 30th.
JF Condon School (attn. Ann McLaughlin), 200 D St., So. Boston, Ma. 02127

Obituary

The Boston Teachers Union regrets to announce the death of Jean M. Rooney. She was a dedicated teacher in the Boston Public Schools for 28 years and leaves many loving family members, friends, and former colleagues. Jean was a dedicated Reading Specialist and taught in the Boston Public Schools for 28 years. She was a proud graduate of Girls Latin School, earned her Bachelor's Degree from Boston State College, and her Master's Degree from Bridgewater State College. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jean's memory may be made to the Jimmy Fund c/o Dana Farber, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th flr., Brookline, MA 02445-7226 or to Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Church Street Station, PO Box 780, NY, NY 1008-0780. For directions & information, www.dolanfuneral.com. The BTU sends its most sincere condolences. See here for a complete announcement.

Sincerely,

Richard Stutman
BTU President

richardstutman@comcast.net (home)
rstutman@btu.org (work)
617-288-2000

TOP

In This Issue

Herald Column on Merit Pay Explains BTU Point of View..

Collective Bargaining Items

Dates

Elevator Question for the Superintendent.

Early Termination Incentive Announced

Building Reps--We need Your Home Email Addresses

Looking for Home Email Addresses

AFT-Mass Scholarships

Flexible Spending Plan Open Enrollment Ends 11/30

Teacher to Run Marathon for the Boston Debate League

Retirement Party

Obituary

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2009 -10 School Year
#01	08/31/09
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#04	09/21/09
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