Wear Black For Education Friday the 17th

RCEA Position Statement Regarding the 2012-2013 Budget

Tim Summers, aka The Bard

At the Thursday February 9 regular meeting of the Roanoke County School Board, RCEA Vice President, Tim Summers, spoke on behalf of our membership regarding issues directly related to us. Summers thanked the school board for the difficult work they’ve done over the past few years and then spoke to several important issues.

· We need a 4% salary increase.

“We desperately need an actual raise that will carry from one year to the next and that will contribute to our VRS and our lifetime earnings for retirement… We see in the news that the economy is beginning to recover. We know that private industry is hiring new employees and is also giving raises. It is time for us to get some financial relief.”

Summers went on to say,

“We have done more and more with less and less. Virginia ranks fourth in the nation for our quality public schools. Roanoke County remains a lighthouse, award winning school division. Your employees take great pride in those accomplishments and deserve credit for them as well. We are getting the job done.

We maintain that a 4% raise can be given to employees without the school division laying off employees or closing schools. Although we understand that schools have to be renovated and maintained, it is time to put employees before buildings. All research indicates that the most important factor for students at school is the quality of the teacher in the classroom, not the repair of the building itself. Now is not the time to spend money air conditioning gymnasiums and building field houses. Those things are icing on the cake. Money must be allocated to people. We have been following the budget development of the Board of Supervisors and will support you in acquiring appropriate funding from them.”

· Health insurance benefits for all employees should be maintained at no additional cost to employees.

· Maintain staffing levels, programs, and activities that relate directly to the delivery of instruction.

“This includes keeping class sizes and teacher/student ratios as low as possible. Schools should experience no reduction in staffing, and there should be no layoffs.”

· A measured approach to teacher evaluation

“We know the school division is working through the new state guidelines for teacher evaluation. Currently these are only guidelines. The best approach to this is to implement only what is actually required by the state. It is required that a significant portion of a teacher’s evaluation be tied to student growth. However significant does not have to equal 40%. We ask for consideration of a lower percentage. “

· VRS and Continuing Contract must be preserved.

Efforts are underway in Richmond to dismantle VRS as a defined benefit pension program. Likewise, legislators in Richmond are attempting to strip continuing contract rights. VEA is fighting hard to defeat these attempts.

“The RCEA joins the Virginia Education Association (VEA) in its efforts to preserve the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) as a defined benefit and to maintain the current arrangement under which the 5% employee contribution continues to be paid by the employer for all employees hired before July 1, 2010. We are also opposed to any change in continuing contract for teachers.”

Make no mistake about it, attaining these goals will be difficult. Some well-meaning, good people may assert that we should just meekly acquiesce and quietly go about, but that approach fails to alert decision-makers of real needs. Real needs go unaddressed if they are never shared. Thus, we presented our requests not in confrontation, but rather, in the earnest hope of joint resolution.

Budget Workshop 2/8/2012

Budget Workshop 2/8/12

Superintendent’s Comments

· Difficult decisions. Employees haven’t had a raise for four years. We won’t balance budget or make decisions tonight.

· Keep integrity of classroom and try not to lay off employees

Revenues: (Penny Hodge)

· Sitting in a $4.7 million hole for VRS.

· Sales tax reimbursement are low. These numbers are based on 2010 Census. Weldon/Cooper interprets the numbers for the state to determine our payment. Jerry Canada expressed frustration at the appeal process.

· 3% salary increase would cost $2.679 million.

· Schools had preliminary budget deficit of $9.8 million

· County then suggested they would withdraw $2.6 million from the transfer, further indebting us.

· Penny discussed the 54 items “on the table” for cuts. No discussion.

SOQ: (Carol Whitaker) No hand-outs for us…

· Despite our cuts, we still meet the SOQ requirements.

· Carol was directed to give the school board a more detailed list of positions.

Technology Plan (Cecil Snead) These are simply discussions…not policy meetings (Thom)

· Cecil said that we need $731,100 to stay in business. Servers, wireless, email,5^th year warranty,etc.

· We can save $500,000 by pulling back on the laptop program and maintaining it at a basic level.

· Such austerity will do nothing for replacing teacher laptops.

· Discussion centered on teacher’s use of technology. Jerry Canada states that teachers have moved to laptops and integrating technology into classroom instruction. He didn’t want to steer us away from that investment. Not sure that there is any consensus view emerging.

· Forward thinking from Cecil: Looking at other technologies in the future. Like “Bring your own technology”…Kindle, Droid, etc…Our system isn’t there yet. But it’s worth exploring and visiting. What’s stopping us from tablets is that they are unforgiving when destruction occurs. We are not close to having tablets replace laptops. We would need tablets to replace textbooks, but they aren’t yet available to VA texts.

· Jerry Canada wants to survey students to find out how many today don’t have internet access at home. He thinks that carting laptops might allow us to save money while more affordable technology develops.

· David Wymer suggested that we can shift our paradigm a bit so that we have a cluster of laptops to share with those that don’t.

· Fuzzy Minnix stated that technology has taken us to where we are today, but we need to look at this item to consider cuts.

Classified Pool Discussion (Carol Whitaker)

· Carol is amazed by the amount of work these individuals do after looking at their job requirements.

· She presented a detailed list to the board (we were not afforded a copy).

· A discussion erupted that wasn’t directly related to classified employees…as continued in the remarks below.

· David Wymer asked for the study. He wants to maximize their utilization. Jerry Canada affirmed that view. This study will aid in protecting jobs.

· Jerry Canada stated that he doesn’t want to entertain salary raises if people are being laid-off. Dr. Lange retorted that she doesn’t want to lay these people off (classified)

· Drew Barrineau commended Dr. Lange for protecting jobs. He said that an employee who is offered cross-training opportunities only builds their credentials.

· Jerry Canada asked for two or three running budgets…one that incorporates everything we want, one that has no raises, and highlights no technology increases. Drew also asked for another look that includes a bonus option instead of a salary increase option.

· Fuzzy Minnix talked about reaching a point where we will be down 10% in personnel. He said that we are reaching a point when our educational program in negatively impacted.

· Jerry Canada mentioned that revenue will be dried up for four of five years according to Sen. Warner. How do we budget for a flat revenue growth over the next five years. We need to look ahead.

· Fuzzy Minnix longs for the day when education is as important as a road in Northern Virginia.

· Mike Stovall stated that a secretary in Washington said that less than 1% of Federal budget goes to K-12 education. “We just can’t cut our way out of this situation.” Fuzzy, Jerry, David all agreed.

Revision to Early Retirement Plan

· Drew Barrineau suggested this study. He wants to continue the program, but he thinks it may need to change so that we can assure that it can be afforded. He may want to cap it. It will be decided tomorrow night in an action item.

Probationary Teacher Status

· Best guess…Carol Whitaker doesn’t have a realistic idea of needs based on enrollment. She can do that in March. She has to get through staffing. Jerry mentioned that there’s a difference between lay-offs and non-renewal’s due to lack of need. Carol says she will know about elementary school staffing next week.

· General discussion

Closing Comments

· Adjourned

Testing...One...Two...Three...Testing...Testing...

Is anybody out there?

"Virginia youngsters encounter SOL exams for the first time in third grade, and it's a pile-on. No other elementary grade undergoes four exams, and no other students are tested on cumulative knowledge as third-graders are. They must recall history and science facts gathered from kindergarten on. Every other grade is tested solely on the knowledge gained that particular year."

Roanoke Times 2/5/12

Testing third graders like we do goes against EVERYTHING in which I professionally believe and understand. If test proponents could see what a third grade class looks like on the first day of school, maybe they'd begin to understand my fury. These are worldly innocent children; ego-centric and self-absorbed; yet delightful, creative and unique. That's the way it is with children this age, as it has always been. For some reason, we, as a society, have deemed third grade as THE YEAR OF RECKONING in life. We demand that these innocent souls shed their innocence and dress-up in adult clothing. We are demanding more, pound-for-pound, of our eight and nine year-olds than we are of grown adults in high-pressured work environments. It makes me furious and makes me more determined to be a buffer, one who interprets this alien world to and creates a safety zone for these wonderful people.


But even that's getting harder and harder to do.


Make no mistake about it. Third grade teachers are feeling piled-onto as well. Then again, all teachers are under assault from all sides right now. These attacks (teacher contracts, accountability, evaluations, test scores, salary, pensions, pointless mandates, etc) are brain-numbing, maddening, and just plain sad.


We teach for the children. We choose to care.


Many times, I think the rest of the world operates under a different broad understanding, "We CHOSE to care."

Thom Ryder

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/304352

Gloom and Doom

Make no mistake about it. Many in the General Assembly want to reshape public school education in Virginia.

Rob Bell’s HB 947, the bill forbidding local school boards from joining the Virginia High School League if the VHSL refuses sports access to home schooled children thus allowing home schooled students to participate in public school sports, was reported from the House Education Committee today.

Thursday, HB576, the Governor's vindictive bill that will eliminate continuing contract status for teachers in favor of annual contracts whereby teacher can be non-renewed without any right to appeal, will be debated in the Teachers and Administration Education subcommittee. If it passes there, it goes on to the full committee for a hearing -more of a hearing than any teacher has a right to if the bill is eventually passed. Why is this bill such a bad idea? First off, teachers don't have a "job for life." Our continuing contract status simply ensures us due process if we are in danger of termination. Any teacher can be fired or dismissed at any time regardless of contract status. Those with continuing contract status simply have the right to face the charges against them. It should be noted that teachers in our state were awarded due process rights back in the early 1900's after waves of teachers were dismissed for prejudicial or political reasons. Cronyism and nepotism were huge problems, and many lost jobs only to see their job given to someone else that the personnel director's favored. This bill makes no sense. It doesn't improve education; it only serves a destructive purpose.

...And in related news, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors held a joint work session with the Roanoke County School Board Wednesday night. Lots of gloom and doom was discussed. Both the county side and school sides are deeply in the hole over the new budget. The schools are staring at an effective $12 million shortfall. As in the past, everything's on the table for cuts, including elementary school closings. Two supervisors and all board members made statements regarding the darkness descending upon us. Most want to work out a significant raise for employees, but the path toward that goal is illusive. Several board members stated that they would not support raises if it means that teachers would be laid-off.

The body also heard a presentation on a new "choice" health insurance plan. It was decided that such a choice plan will NOT be implemented for the coming fiscal year. More study and education is needed.

The school board will meet next Wednesday evening to begin its official budget debate. Things could get very hot.