LMEA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

April 17, 2006

NOTE: These minutes are also available online at www.lmeaonline.org.

President D. Pendino called the meeting to order at 4:07 PM.

Motion made to approve the March Executive Council minutes – Second by G. Rosazza - Approved.

Officer’s Reports:

President’s Report: D. Pendino gave the following report:

• Proposed 2006-7 budget was reviewed – Executive Council can only recommend approval to the membership. Approval is voted upon at the May General Membership meeting. Concern about dues paid by support and professional staff – issue has been brought up in the past – services provided are the same for professional and support staff. If this issue is to be formally addressed it should be done next year when the budget is being planned. Motion made to recommend the proposed budget – second by P. Dawson. Budget will go to the membership for approval at the General Meeting in May.
• Election procedures were reviewed. LMEA elections will be held on Tuesday May 16 th. This election will be to choose officers, CNC reps, and PR&R reps. Current nominees should be posted in buildings. Questions exist about vacancies and positions up for election. Not all positions in the LMEA are up for election every year. Individual building rep elections are done separately and they should be conducted before the next Executive Council meeting. Building reps are elected for 2-year terms. The number of reps for each building is based on the number of members in each building.
• Gettysburg Leadership Conference will be held July 23-28 at Gettysburg College. If you’re interested in attending please let Dom know and submit the enrollment form to the LMEA office. Support members now are able to take the courses for credit.
• Air conditioning feasibility study – some schools would be far more costly to air condition than others – no decision has been made yet on how to proceed with these findings.
• The Mideastern Region of PSEA provides a monthly Will/Estate planning evening at the Region office in Montgomeryville on the first Tuesday of each month. To take advantage of this service please contact Meg Shragher at 1-800-431-6650 for an appointment.
• Applecore items were discussed – Very important – Open enrollment will be from May 8 to June 2 if you want to change your health plans, disability insurance, life insurance benefit, or Flex Plan contribution. Contact Human Resources if you wish to make changes.

VP Support: V. Fedeli gave the following report:

• Member Doug Jones, Custodian at Welsh Valley was presented a Liberty Bell Award by Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson for helping the Philadelphia Police Department with a rescue on the Delaware River. Mr. Jones was featured in the April 2006 Dispatch, an ESP quarterly publication, for his efforts. Congratulations to Doug!
• The ESP House of Delegates will be held in Harrisburg on April 28-29. We have 5 delegates attending this House.
• Job Descriptions – The District is in the process of completing the first draft of the various job descriptions. As the drafts are completed they will be forwarded to the LMEA for review. There is a possibility that all job descriptions will be in place by the end of this school year. Obviously that will be determined by the amount of changes, if any, for each description.

1 st Vice President: C. SantaMaria reported on the recent news story that Florida will begin linking teacher pay to students’ test scores. C. SantaMaria made a motion that “The LMEA delegation to the NEA-RA introduce a new business item which directs the NEA to consider state mandated salary and evaluation plans when selecting cities to host future RAs.” - Second by P. Dawson. – Motion passed.

VP Professional: NR

Secretary Support: NR

Secretary Professional: NR

Treasurer: D. Mandarino made motion to approve the March treasurer’s report – Approved.

Committee Reports:

Constitution: NR

Elections: Report given in President’s report.

IPD: NR

CNC: C. SantaMaria reported that 8 districts in the Mideastern Region will be entering bargaining.

FAC: NR

Health & Safety: A. Flicker reported they will be meeting Thursday.

Legislation: G. Rosazza reported the Mideastern Region PACE interviews are ongoing – some preliminary recommendations are emerging.

Minority Affairs: T. Tyler reported on the recent Minority conference in Harrisburg. The sessions were informative and worthwhile.

PACE: C. SantaMaria reported this school year’s contributions are winding down – full report at a later date.

PR&R: P. Dawson briefly reported on current grievances. Let P. Dawson or V. Fedeli know of any unsatisfactory evaluations.

Public Relations: NR

Social: A. Flicker reported on the upcoming LMEA banquet. The banquet will be held Wednesday May 31 st at Clothier Hall. Please let A. Flicker or L. McDevitt know of any retirees.

Special Services: NR

Sunshine: NR

Membership: D. Grumbine reminded reps to check membership lists for accuracy.

CARE: M. Rios reported specific goals and outcomes were discussed and written by the Academic Roadmap and Preschool Education subcommittees. The magazine, Tools for Teaching Tolerance was recommended for teachers to get ideas for teaching tolerance.

Flex Card: C. SantaMaria reported the committee met with Independence Blue Cross (IBX) and Human Resources on March 14. IBX was very apologetic - IBX will be scheduling individual building meetings in the next few weeks. Mailers went out to individuals to school mailboxes recently. Dates for building meetings will be available very soon. Again, the flex plan is a tax benefit. The debit card is not the benefit.

Building Reports:

Belmont Hills: NR

Cynwyd: Concern about the timing of the AETNA and IBX meetings in each building – will be investigated.

Gladwyne: NR

Merion: Question about Board reports for elementary teachers – they are mandatory.

Penn Valley : NR

Penn Wynne: NR

Bala Cynwyd: NR

Welsh Valley : Numerous concerns about upcoming parent portal in Powergrade – will be investigated. More building climate issues as the weather gets warmer. Tuition reimbursement – some concerns about limiting to only 2 courses per year – this applies only to reimbursement.

Lower Merion : Question regarding policy of Sunshine committee in the event of a student death – will be investigated. Also question regarding the last day for support staff as a result of the snow days this year.

Harriton: NR

Building and Grounds: NR

Transportation LM: NR

R. Spiegel made motion to adjourn. Second by P. Dawson - the meeting was adjourned at 5:27 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Stettner, Secretary