President's Column

Dear colleagues,

With the contract ratified and the school board election behind us, we need to focus on what I consider some important issues in the upcoming months. They are equally important to the district and employees.

The legislative session is scheduled to commence in February. This is a short session and an important one for a variety of reasons. The most pressing being the legislative need to authorize payment this year of the funds the Governor unalloted, if that fails to happen every school district’s funding crisis will be dramatically worsened. When the Governor used unallotment in June, the payments were shifted to the next year but need legislative approval to actually be paid to schools. We also do not need the legislature making mid-biennium cuts—that happened in the early 1980’s created another crisis for school districts because they had to initiate unplanned cuts and adjustments. For many of our colleagues that started their careers on or after July 1, 1989, we need the Rule of 90 or an equivalent law passed this session.

We need to work with district and building administrators to address the workload issues that are at levels and disciplines of the district. More than any other year, I have heard the concerns voiced by members earlier in the year and with more passion than ever before. The new contract contains a Letter of Understanding that will bring all parties together to address this. We have already had meetings with the Superintendent and other district administrators on workload issues and I firmly believe there are solutions for a majority of them.

Staffing will for the 2009-2010 school year will also be something we will be working with the district on beginning shortly after the new year begins. With the district budget issues, there is not any guarantee that staffing ratios will not be considered as one of the solutions to the problem. We will be working closely with the district in an attempt to make sure that all decisions regarding the budget are considered and those that have least impact on the classroom become priority.

Again, I want to thank you all for the support you have given me.

Collegially,