SPECIAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, MARCH 19th, 2003

President D. Pendino called the meeting to order at 7: 30 P.M.

Motion to approve the October 16 General Membership Meeting minutes by P. Peterson, second by V. Fedeli. Motion passed.

Officer’s Reports:

President’s Report: D. Pendino reported the LMEA, in partnership with the Mid-East Region, TOPS, and CAPS, will
sponsor a presentation by renowned speaker Alfie Kohn at LMHS later on Tuesday May 27 at 7:30pm.

VP Professional: R. Carson reported that District was coming up with ESEA outlines for Instructional Assistants.
Even though our IAs are not hired by Title 1 money, they are encouraged to still keep track of in-service credits, etc. in which they put on mylearningplan.com. Make hard copies.

VP Support: NR

1st Vice President: NR

Secretary Support: NR

Secretary Professional: NR

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

D. Pendino added that next year’s budget will be presented at next month’s Executive Council meeting.

Committee Reports:
Constitution: P. Dawson presented the proposed change to Article VIII Section 3 Section B of the LMEA By-Laws. Executive Council had previously approved the language change. The rationale for the proposed language was to group the Support "sub-groups" with similar contractual/negotiation issues in common and make them roughly similar in size. P. Dawson made a motion that the bylaws be amended to read as follows:

Article VIII Sec. 3B - The Combined Negotiation Committee members shall be elected by the Active Members for three year term on a rotating basis; three by and from the High Schools, two by and from the Middle Schools, three by and from the Elementary Schools and one by and from each of the following eight support sub-groups: Building and Grounds, Custodians, Transportation (drivers only), Clerical, Secretarial, Technicians, Campus/Bus Assistants and Food Service (including campus assistants, parking, and bus assistants, cafeteria and recess assistants and food service employees) and Assistants (including instructional assistants, audio-visual assistants and nurse’s associates).

R. Carson noted that "aides" should be changed to "assistants" and "nurses aides" should read "nurse’s associates". (The Article above is correct.) Motion passed.

Elections: E. Brophy distributed and read through the current ballot for the May LMEA elections to see if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none. Vacancies still exist in several positions – contact E. Brophy at Merion if you wish to be placed on the May ballot. The position for the 1 yr Professional Finance Committee is the only position with 2 candidates and is therefore closed to further nominations. Nominations for the NEA-RA were then solicited from the floor. C. Muhammad, C. Rowland, and S. McCarter, were accepted as nominations from the floor. Candidates were permitted to briefly speak. S. McCarter announced he was already going to the RA as a representative at the State level. Ballots were distributed. The results were announced at the end of the meeting and they are:

Professional Delegates to the RA – A. Pass, D. Pendino, A. Flicker, P. Peterson. 1st Alternate – S. McCarter. Support Delegates to the RA – C. Whitting, C. Rowland, R. Carson, C. Muhammad. 1st Alternate – J. Newson. 2nd Alternate L. Morelli. May election candidates were invited to speak. V. Fedeli read a statement which is as follows:

"For those who don’t know me, my name is Victor Fedeli and I am running for the position of Vice President Support. I became a building representative at Lower Merion High School 10 years ago in 1993. In 1994, I was appointed to the CNC Committee and have been involved in the negotiations of our last 3 contracts. In 1995 I was appointed to the position that I currently hold as Co-Chair of the PR&R Committee. Along the way, I have had the pleasure to work with 4 different presidents. All of them brought different leadership styles to the LMEA. But my most constant tutor has been Ro Carson. She has taken me under her wing and has guided me along all these years. Through Ro, I have made contacts and in roads at the Region, State, and National Levels. The LMEA has invested time and money on me to go to conferences and workshops to provide the proper training to become a future leader of this association. Well folks, the future is now and I feel I am the most qualified person to take on this role. I hope you agree and vote for me on May 20th. It would be an honor and a privilege to serve as your Support Vice President. Thank You."

IPD: NR

CNC: B. Young reported that they are reviewing each article. Members are encouraged to state their concerns at their unit meetings.

FAC: D. Pendino reported on buying a new office – we need parking but with a small enough size to be manageable. We are still looking. But our status at BHES is stable for now. There was concern raised about our presence on District property at the time of the next negotiations – issue will be investigated. Also, our interest income is very low and we are seeking low risk methods of improving our earnings on our contingency funds.

Health & Safety: A. Flicker reported briefly on current issues: Air quality in the LMHS Gym and no heat in the LMHS weight room are being investigated. There are ongoing roach problems in the LMHS Nurse’s Office.

Legislative: NR

PACE: NR but S. McCarter reported that there will be no race at the RA this year for PAC funds. It was cancelled due to issues regarding turnaround time with contributions.

PR&R: P. Dawson reminded that unsatisfactory or provisional evaluations should be brought to their attention. Contact P. Dawson or V. Fedeli at LMHS. V. Fedeli reported that support evaluations should have been done by March 1st. Evaluations should be based on this school year. Support personnel who have not been evaluated by now should receive a "satisfactory" evaluation. R. Carson reported on the subcontracting going on with the IAs in the district. She requested that members be observant to non-LMSD employees. D. Pendino praised the good work this committee does on an ongoing basis.

Public Relations: NR

Social: D. Mandarino requested to hear of/from anyone retiring this year so they may be acknowledged at the banquet.

Special Services: A. Flicker reported on the BJs applications – send them to A. Flicker at Cynwyd.

Sunshine: D. Williams reported to let her know of anyone ill for an extended time so we may send a gift.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Minority Affairs: C. Rowland reported on the recent informative meeting in Harrisburg

Blue Ribbon: NR

Job Descriptions: Waiting for Supervisors to send their reports to administration. D. Pendino added that the purpose of this committee is to clarify job responsibilities.

Career Paths: NR

Standardized Test: NR

New business – 1. S. McCarter reported on the upcoming spring election within PSEA and gave his strong support for candidate Jim Sando and urged delegates to the May House of Delegates to support and vote for Jim Sando for PSEA Treasurer.

2. S. Watson expressed concern with bidding for routes – some late runs being given to newer drivers. D. Pendino stated that this issue is a CNC issue and we will try to resolve this through that committee.

3. E. Brophy reported the results of the election for NEA-RA.

V. Fedeli made motion to adjourn, second by J. Mudd. The meeting was adjourned at 8:33P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Stettner, Secretary