Are YOUR interests being represented at the bargaining table?
It’s mid-February, nearly halfway through the second semester. Do you know where your new contract is?
Contract talks have once again broken down this year, as the School Board last week declared impasse for 2016-17 after eight bargaining sessions. “It’s hard to believe we are at impasse again for a second year,” remarked Holley-Navarre Intermediate teacher Carol Poterek. “My colleagues and I are beyond frustrated to continue seeing these same results from the same leaders.” Poterek’s frustration is shared by a growing number of employees across the county. With Santa Rosa being the only panhandle district at impasse this year, one has to wonder if SRPE truly represents the needs and desires of all employees…
Q: Is the current association at the table able to get bargaining done?
A: It doesn’t appear so. Escambia, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Washington, Jackson, Gulf, Gadsden, Liberty, Wakulla, and Leon completed bargaining months ago with none declaring impasse. Why can’t Santa Rosa get it done?
Q: Does the current employee bargaining team represent the membership?
A: Among the current team members, two are retirees who don’t work in the district anymore – one of whom hasn’t worked in a classroom for over 10 years and has had no individual experience working under the current teacher evaluation system. Also, there are no Annual Contract teachers (although approximately 50% of Santa Rosa teachers are on annual contracts), no middle school employees, and no specialty school employees on the team.
Q: Does the current association have the support of the employees it represents at the table?
A: In terms of dues-paying members who directly support the current bargaining agent, a recent public records request indicates that only 29% have dues deducted for SRPE. This is a decrease from the 60% membership high water mark reached in 2008. Even more telling is the current membership percentage at each bargaining team member’s worksite:
Pace HS: 18%
Gulf Breeze ES: 40%
Oriole Beach ES: 27%
Central School: 46%
Bennett Russell ES: 24%
So, nearly every district from Pensacola to Tallahassee has settled, the current association team does not represent an adequate cross section of the employees, and the membership percentage supporting SRPE isn’t even half of what is was nine years ago. Is it time for change, or more of the same?
If you want to see a change, then it starts with you. There is hope. Santa Rosa EA is comprised of members who are dedicated to being a different kind of association – one which values member input, communicates with all, and advocates for all. Currently, we are collecting Showing of Interest cards to petition the state for a bargaining unit election. Please complete the card (please fill out the correct form – the top is for teachers and the bottom for Education Support Professionals), and send it one of two ways:
1. Mail to Santa Rosa EA, P.O. Box 723, Milton, FL 32570
2. Email us at [email protected] to arrange for your card to be picked up at your worksite
Come, join the change. NOW is the time!
Degrees not Debt Workshop comes to Santa Rosa!
Do you have federal student debt and are unsure of whether or not you qualify for federal loan forgiveness programs such as Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF), Teacher Loan Cancellation (TLC), and/or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Are you interested in lowering your monthly payments? You do NOT need to work at a Title I or Low-Income school to qualify. Join us Wednesday, March 1st from 4-5:30 pm at Avalon Middle School, Room 402. Please RSVP by sending an email to [email protected] by Monday, February 27th.
State News
Key lawmakers unveil testing legislation
State Senate President Pro Tem Anitere Flores, Florida House PreK-12 Appropriations subcommittee chairman Rep. Manny Diaz, and House Judiciary committee chairman Rep. Chris Sprowls have announced plans to introduce a bill aimed at scaling back state-mandated student testing today. The three are calling the bill the “Fewer, Better Tests” act, a nod to the direction of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education has taken since Florida’s parents have started fighting back against the state’s high-stakes testing model that Bush promoted while governor. Both bills have been advertised to:
• Improve and enhance state tests.
• Move the exams to later in the year (a goal superintendents established weeks ago)
• Provide better student score reports (something the Department of Education said it did a year ago).
• Ensure teachers get results from local assessments early enough to inform their instruction (note it’s local, not state, results).
The move comes at a time when the Senate PreK-12 Appropriations subcommittee and its members have been vocal about seeking to cut back the state’s testing system. Several have argued that the model has become too costly — Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, recently noted at a committee meeting that the Legislature could save money on testing by reducing the number of tests given — and that it also has taken away too much teaching and learning time. Indications have been that House and Senate officials might prefer to have a single testing bill to debate in both chambers, and with the sway of the sponsors, the “Fewer, Better Tests” act could become that vehicle. The lawmakers’ identical bills would study whether the SAT/ACT tests align with state math and language arts standards to possibly replace some Florida Standards Assessments. It also would mandate that most state testing take place “no earlier than the last three weeks of the school year.” Read the bill language.
National News
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