Meet and Confer

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Arizona Senate cuts $200 million dollars MORE from K-12 Education…Ask Governor to Support Strong Schools for a Strong Economy

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Dear Members and Concerned Citizens of Arizona,

As we all know, K-12 public education in Arizona is still reeling from hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts suffered over the past few fiscal years. The governor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 includes cuts to K-12 education totaling approximately $125 million. Yesterday, March 16th, 2011, the Senate worked late into the night to pass a budget that includes devastating cuts to K-12 education. This is no surprise considering the extreme make-up of the Senate. The Senate budget cuts over $260 million from K-12 funding.

I am asking for your help with this statewide issue. No single issue carries more impact than Arizona’s budget for fiscal year 2012. Accordingly, contact from our members, leaders, parents, and concerned citizens to the governor and their legislators is key and will be critical over the next week. This is what we can do and we must do to stop these terrible cuts from being put into place. Your stories are key to painting an accurate and critically needed story of the impact on programs, personnel, and students of continued cuts to public education. You can and should contact members of the House of Representatives that represent your area as well as respond to this posting. We know the cuts in the Creighton School District this year have not been nice and with loosing positions which have impact on students and services, it will make running our schools very different. Even if you’re position has not yet been eliminated, you still can tell your story of how we have been frozen on salary advancement for the past three years, this year we have an increase in retirement contributions, we’re also paying a portion of our medical insurance cost, and for many who are on the career ladder program, we’re facing a loss in salary there as well. You can share how the limited resources we have in our district have impacted us doing even more than what we are now doing. We’ll see the number of our colleagues in our buildings decrease because of loss of enrollment in our schools done by natural staffing. I don’t mean to paint a gloom picture, however, it is very dark out there right now and will be even darker if these cuts make their way into implementation.

One last request: Our messaging to policy makers will be impassioned and powerful, but it must in all cases be professional. No matter what the temptation and outrage you may feel, I urge you to create impact through facts, examples, and stories – rather than through the rhetoric of anger and accusation. We want our messages read thoroughly if they are to have any effect on policy makers’ decisions. We face an immediate opportunity to minimize the damage done to our schools through the remainder of the legislative session, particularly as the state budget is forwarded to the House and then to the governor. Over the next few weeks there will be other specific actions where you may be asked to organize local response. Thank you for your leadership and cooperation.

Copy the link below to send a message to your elected officials about the budget cuts and tell your personal story about the impact these cuts will have. Our messages to policy makers should be impassioned and powerful, but must also be professional. No matter what the temptation and outrage you may feel, we urge you to create impact through facts, examples, and stories – rather than through the rhetoric of anger and accusation. We want our messages read thoroughly if they are to have any effect on policy makers’ decisions.

http://capwiz.com/nea/az/utr/1/ANAZPEOXJW/HXSDPEPAVW/6625511481

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,
Jason Schnee

President

Creighton Education Association

Posted in Budget, Creighton Teachers, Governor, Legislative Session, Meet and Confer, Money, Pay, President's Remarks, State Budget, Taxes | Comments Off

IBN/Meet and Confer Comments to the CSD Board on April 8th, 2008

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

On April 8th, 2008 the CSD Governing Board held their study session to discuss the economic outlook and to examine the financial situation of the district and of the Meet and Confer/IBN Package we were presenting. Members of the IBN team were present and testified in front of the board. We worked very hard to help the board understand where we were coming from and what we had to always keep in mind when we made decisions. A board member called Jason Schnee, our President up to ask questions from our perspective (the teachers and ESPs) on how the package would help or hinder us knowing the outlook for the future. He made sure to tell the board, this is a step in the right direction to continue to retain our quality and effective staff. He also described the process by which we brought the Pay for Performance monies to the staff and how true it isn’t all about money when deciding to stay or leave. Often times it is about working conditions and the value one feels. For many in the district they feel valued and the working conditions we have continued to bargain for are getting better.

The governing board then moved into the regular board meeting and again before the agenda item came up I had a chance to speak and help influence the decision which I hoped would be positive towards getting our package approved. In the end it was approved and thank you to those who made the effort to come and support us. We worked long and hard to put together this package which is fair and equitable. Please visit the blog (http://creightonea.blogspot.com) to see comments which were shared by a member who was present at the meeting and her feelings.

We are not the only district who is facing trouble with having their package approved. The Deer Valley School District was picketing on Tuesday night at their board meeting and had to have several police officers present to help with traffic and the numerous amounts of people. Their board room, which is probably four to five times our board room was completely packed, not even standing room. Their board was not allowing their negotiations team to negotiate for salary increases and they did not value the process. We have seen this in the past where boards across the state have decided they know what is best and do not have all the necessary information. We as a union and a professional organization continue to fight for what is just and worthwhile for our members while keeping the students we serve and report to every day at the forefront. We work together as a team with our administration to come to the best possible solutions.

CEA Meet and Confer/IBN Team

Posted in Governing Board, IBN, Meet and Confer | Comments Off

Creighton Governing Board Tables Meet and Confer Package at 3-2

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

On Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 the Creighton School District Governing Board went into Executive session to review the work of the Meet and Confer/IBN Team and the recommendations we put forth. If you remember our recommendations from the ratification document you will know we were suggesting an approximate increase of 3.8% across the board on all salary schedules. During the governing board meeting when it came time for the package to get voted on and approved, the governing board thanked the team for their hard work and then tabled the motion to approve the package. The board had questions about the sustainability of the increase in salaries in light of the current state of the economy in Arizona and the United States. They were also concerned and had questions regarding the restructuring and the cuts, which were being proposed and held this against the economy as a standard to see if it was the best for us right now. This week Loop-outs were scheduled to occur this week to present the information and contracts were to go out next week. Until we know more information, contracts will be held until the board has approved the package, which could be at the April 8th Governing Board meeting. Both sides of the IBN Team will be meeting again on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 to come back together to strategize how we present the package to the board and the information they are requesting. If anything has to change, it will be our job to inform you, the members of CEA who have ratified our package. Please keep up to date with what is happening by visiting our blog.

Posted in Meet and Confer | Comments Off

CEA and CSD Admin come to agreement

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

On Thursday, February 28th, 2008 the Creighton Education Association (CEA) and the Creighton School District (CSD) Admin came to a negotiated agreement after three days of Bargaining on issues ranging from salary, benefits, working conditions, professionalism, restructuring, and balancing the budget. Please watch for your copy of the ratified agreement between the two parties to come soon and then for the ratification vote to take place before Friday, March 7th, 2008.

Loop-outs to all sites will begin after this goes to the CSD governing board on March 25th at which time your president will address the board in regards to the agreement and the process.

Your CEA Interest Based Negotiations Team

Posted in IBN, Meet and Confer | 2 Responses »

Meet and Confer/IBN

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

We are a week away from the beginning of the Meet and Confer/Interest Based Negotiations Process with the Creighton School District Administrative team. You will see this week budget loop-outs which are being presented at all of your sites. Please attend these loop-outs and feel free to ask questions to the presenters on the state of the district. At the end of each loop-out you will find a link to a survey which will ask you to give input. Please make sure to take this survey and to share the information requested. If you would like to visit the survey before the loop out happens at your site, feel free to visit the CEA blog. Your CEA meet and Confer team met over this past weekend to work out our interests and to work on the final stages of our plan to help our members get the best they can from this year’s process. Click here to take the survey and share your information. The CEA team has one more meeting before we begin negotiations next week, this would help us this week for you to take the Survey.

Posted in IBN, Meet and Confer, Survey | Comments Off

M&C Team Meets

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

We had a Meet and Greet on Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 where some members came and shared their thoughts with us. Please understand you are the members of the Creighton Education Association and the meet and confer process is your way to make your voice and concerns heard. We work with the Creighton School District Administration Team on a Interest Based Negotiations Model where we come together for three days discuss our issues, interests and options and work out the details. This year what it is looking like we are discussing is HealthCare, Salary, Pay For Performance, Professional Growth, Policy Review (Leave Policy is one item from this committee), and more to come.

Your CEA Meet and Confer team has already begun meeting to prepare for working with our district’s administration team. On Sunday, January 21st, 2007 your team spent a full day working on taking what you the members have been telling us and organizing our thoughts into what our interests are. We spent the day working hard on this and you will soon see a survey coming to you asking for your input.

Please keep in contact with one of your Meet and Confer Team members listed below and watch for more events to meet with us and tell us your thoughts. The members of the 2006-07 CEA Meet and Confer Team are as follows:

Jason Schnee–Teacher Excelencia School
Linda Barnett– 1st Grade Teacher Machan School
Jamie Entner–4th Grade Teacher Gateway School
Cyndi Black–6th Grade Teacher Loma Linda School
Alys Casperson–Food Service Manager Gateway School
Sarah Markey–AEA Organizational Consultant