EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING, March 8, 2004
President D.
Pendino called the meeting to order at 4:04 pm.
D. Pendino made a motion to accept the February minutes. M. Stettner made
motion to change to the February minutes in V. Fedeli’s report to
read “If you and the principal or supervisor have agreed that the
overtime you intend to work is to be given as time in lieu of money, then
you should be granted 1.5 times the amount of time as payment. For example,
1 hour of overtime worked equals 1.5 hours of compensatory time.”
– Motion to change minutes passed. Motion to accept February minutes
passed.
Officer’s Reports:
President’s Report: D. Pendino gave the following
report:
1. Friend of Education Award – Jim Alvord was recommended to Executive
Council to receive this award.
Congratulations to Jim for earning this award!
2. The MER is looking for nominations for the Mideastern Region Service
Award – see building reps for forms.
3. Email – The District has placed staff email addresses on the District
website. Communication with parents has been addressed in the contract.
Staff should respond in a timely manner. Email is another mode of communication
like mail, phone, etc– parents should not expect email to be an instantaneous
method of communication. However, it is important to respond to parent inquiries.
To ignore or take an inordinate amount of time to respond is negligent.
Privacy issues should also be respected when communicating with parents.
4. Internal audit completed/conducted by B. Young – financial records
are in order and up to date.
5. Upcoming General Membership Meeting will be Wednesday March 17th 4 PM
at LMHS.
6. T. Marrone has resigned as LMEA Webmaster and we thanked him for his
service. D. Pendino made motion to appoint James Roletter as the new Webmaster
and Public Relations Chair. Motion passed.
7. AppleCore items were discussed.
VP Support: V. Fedeli gave the following report:
1. Mideast ESP: D. Mandarino and V. Fedeli attended a Division meeting on
February 10th at the Montgomeryville Field Office. At the meeting we were
told of a possible NEA 2004-05 dues increase of $10. The purpose for the
increase would be to support ballot initiatives/legislation and media assistance.
Presently we are paying $5 towards this fund as an assessment. The fund
has been successful in achieving its intended purpose of financing national
and state media campaigns. Last year Pennsylvania was one of 44 state affiliates
that have received a total of $3.5 million in media assistance from the
fund. The final language for this increase will be presented at the 2004
RA in Washington for a vote.
2. ESP/ESEA Workshop: The Division is planning to hold future meetings and
workshops at the field office in
an effort to provide training for para/instructional assistants who will
need to be ESEA qualified. At this time
the LMSD position is that our employees do not come under the ESEA qualification.
The answers from PSEA
are conflicting. V. Fedeli advises that employees record any learning experience
on mylearningplan.com.
The first workshop may be April 24th – V. Fedeli will forward any
information that becomes available.
VP Professional: NR
1st Vice President: NR
Secretary Support: NR
Secretary Professional: NR
Treasurer: Motion to approve Treasurer’s report for
February. Question regarding the purpose and budget for “Legal Expenses”.
This is for professional arbitrations – no money was budgeted for
that in the past – the overrun will be taken from an account with
surplus. Approved.
Committee Reports:
Constitution: P. Dawson stated that the change to the LMEA
bylaws will be voted on at the March General Membership Meeting.
Elections: E. Brophy distributed ballot information for
the LMEA Elections, which will be held in May. Anyone
interested in becoming a candidate please notify her in writing at Merion
ES. Potential candidates should realize that while individual committee
positions are up for election, most committees have members who are not
up for election.
IPD: NR
CNC: NP – Chairs were at CAPS meeting. D. Pendino
stated we are continuing to prepare for negotiations.
FAC: NR
Health & Safety: A. Flicker reported their next meeting
has been rescheduled for March 30th. Issues at WVMS
continue and are being addressed.
Legislation: G. Rosazza discussed current legislative issues
appearing online as well as the school budget referendum bill. All are encouraged
to contact their legislators and voice objection to this bill.
PACE: C. SantaMaria reported on current contributions,
which are now in excess of $10,000. The building with
the highest percentage will earn the right to claim the “Winner’s
Cup” which will be presented at the June
banquet. The PACE funds go toward state and federal committees who seek
out candidates who support public
education.
PR&R: P. Dawson briefly summarized the written report
on current grievances. Please alert P. Dawson/V. Fedeli about any unsatisfactory
evaluations.
Public Relations: NP
Social: L. McDevitt announced the Spring Banquet will be
held June 2 at Drexelbrook. Lists of retirees will be sent to buildings
later.
Special Services: NP
Sunshine: NR
Membership: D. Grumbine reminded for reps to check membership
lists.
Care Committee: M. Rios gave a report stating that the
LMSD has contracted an outside agency to provide support to African-American
students in our district who are considered at risk of academic failure.
They lead a program called Future Leaders of the World in Penn Valley ES
and all four secondary schools. The Care Committee is now working on various
methods which advance the awareness of minority contributions. Contact M.
Rios for more information.
Minority Affairs: D. Williams reported that the state conference
will be held in Pittsburgh March 19-21.
Blue Ribbon: NR – but D. Pendino added that Dr. Savidoff
is working on meeting with local legislative leaders
to oppose the school budget referendum bill.
Job Descriptions: NR
Career Paths: NR
Special Ed Task Force: NR – but D. Pendino reported
they will meet on March 23rd at the LMEA office. At a later date Liz Stanley
Swope is willing to come to talk to special education teachers here in the
District.
Labor Management: C. SantaMaria reported their next meeting
will be April 20th. District healthcare cost data has been requested from
the Administration. The agenda for the April 20th meeting is being discussed.
Also he reminded that beginning in July the new prescription rates ($10
generic/$20 brand-formulary/$35 non-formulary) will go in effect.
Community Advisory: C. SantaMaria reported they will meet
many times before the end of the school year. Visitations of local new school
buildings are scheduled to take place in the near future. A public information
meeting is scheduled for Monday April 12. The plan will be presented at
a meeting on May 24th 7-9 PM. Bus location and parking are some of the main
community issues.
Building Reports:
Belmont Hills: NR
Cynwyd: NR
Gladwyne: NR
Merion: Staff member Ruth Thornton would like the LMEA
to know she is willing to offer her expertise and knowledge on autism and
autistic children.
Penn Valley: NR
Penn Wynne: NR
Bala Cynwyd: NP
Welsh Valley: NR
HH: NR
LM: NR
B&G: NR
Transportation LM: Concern about elections – Aides
need better communication for discussing issues. For example, transportation
aids don’t know the issues of other aides. – Issue will be addressed
– however contractually the needs of aides are very similar. Also,
concern about many members not getting 1250 hours with district to qualify
FMLA – Issue will be investigated.
Transportation Harriton: NR
Administration: NR
New Business: Question about the sub-committee on tuition
reimbursement – contact B. Young for more info.
E. Brophy made a motion to adjourn – seconded by V. Fedeli. The meeting
was adjourned at
5:27 PM.
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