I.Call to order: First Phil Kerzner, Second Amanda Signorello.
II.Approval of last meeting’s minutes: First Joanne Peters, Second Lori Soskil.
III.President’s Report:
a.End of the year in-services: As of today, Friday’s in-service will be all day at the South High School. There will be a three hour Act 126 child abuse training that must be completed every five years. Monday will be a mental health and wellness program for high school staff. The Association is working in conjunction with Central Administration on having the IU staff available on both Friday and Monday to provide staff with the necessary criminal clearances and finger printing services. The logistics are still being worked out.
b.SLO’s: An MOU has been signed by the district for classroom teachers who have less than 12 students and for instructional coaches and other specialists.
c.Flexible instruction time: the district is no longer interested in this option at this time.
d.Ressica’s grievance: this has been settled in favor of taking sick time not personal time when the building was closed. The Association in conjunction with Central Administration is now working on a plan for the future.
e.Contracted service for staff mental health is coming next year as part of the District’s Health and Wellness initiatives.
f.Collaborative Coaching: teachers do earn 20 hours towards Act 48. The teacher must keep copies of all documentation and forms submitted. Do not rely on the CPE Tracker. Check the State website for an update on your hours.
g.School Board Elections: there are six positions available, but only five candidates. Therefore, one candidate can be a write-in candidate. Bob Gress, Bob Cooke, and Gary Somers are the only returning members. Ron Bradley is the only current member who is on the primary slate.
h.In honor of Mike Luna: Ann Catrillo made the executive decision to make the same monetary donation to Mike Luna’s memorial as in past practice.
i.Emails, Website, Letter Writing: please pay attention to all of these forms of communication and be active. Thank you for your help with writing letters – it really does make a difference.
j.Substitute Shortage: our district will not pay substitutes healthcare. The district takes the most conservative approach to the law and will only work substitutes the exact amount of time allowed by law without having to provide health care benefits. Please remember it is not the teacher’s responsibility to find class coverage. A teacher does not have to cover a class during his/her lunch and can refuse to cover on prep time. However, if a teacher chooses to cover s/he should put in for monetary compensation. If this is refused, please contact an officer immediately.
IV.Reports
a.Pace and Council V: Jen Agolino is on sabbatical. Ann spoke on Council V explaining the current status of Health Care in the other districts and announced that Delaware Valley will be joining Council V this coming school year.
b.Membership: Scott Hanasko – 619 current members, May 7, 2015 last dues payment, May 21, 2015 the NEA and PACE contributions will be deducted from our paychecks.
c.Treasurer: Wayne Carson – See Treasurer’s report – current balance is $133,061.53.
d.Communications: Dan Phillips – no report. However, Dan would still like photos and stories for the website. Please email him information and photographs to highlight the great events taking place in your classrooms this year. Ann also commented that this site should be used as a place to garner current information on pressing issues as it is updated as Ann receives information / alerts from PSEA.
e.Negotiations: Joseph Formica, ESEA Chief Negotiator, provided a summary of the 2 health care options that the District recently presented to our Association in collective bargaining talks. Any bargaining session would pertain to a contract starting with the 2016-17 school year and beyond. We are currently under contract throughout the 2015-2016 school year. The District approached the Association to begin bargaining talks even though formal sessions would not be mandatory by state law until January 2016. The Association agreed to come to the table since it would be to our benefit to be informed as early as possible as to what the District’s proposal would contain.
f. Joe then outlined the District’s Option F and Option G as it pertains to health care. The main points of Option F are the following: 1) An out of pocket deductible would be added; 2) the premium share of $50 per pay would be changed to a percentage of 8 to eventually 10 percent of the paid premium. This would increase the current $50 per pay premium share. An exact figure of how much extra members would pay per check could not be given since the percentage of premium would be recalculated on an annual basis; 3) By the 2nd yr. of the contract, a member would pay $150 extra per month for their spouse to remain on their health care plan and by year 3, a member’s spouse would not be eligible for the District’s insurance if the spouse’s employer offered them health care. In other words, the member’s spouse would need to take the health care afforded them by their employer. This item is called Spousal Exclusion. Option F would cost members considerably more out of pocket for their health insurance. Additionally, with spousal exclusion, a member’s spouse could end up with lesser quality health care coverage and both the member and their spouse would be contributing toward different healthcare plans with their respective employers. The Association has decided not to further entertain Option F due to the additional out of pocket costs and the spousal exclusion.
Option G also included: 1) an out of pocket deductible; 2) an 8 to 10 percent premium share instead of a flat dollar rate per pay; 3) increasing co pays for specialists, urgent care, & ER visits; 4) an increase in minimums for prescriptions; 5) a co-insurance of 10% on health care expenses after the out of pocket deductible has been satisfied (max. co-insurance of $1,000 per individual & $3,000 per family). While Option G did not include Spousal Exclusion, the additional out of pocket expense for members would be even more than Option F for those who are users of their health care coverage.
At this time, the Association’s negotiation’s team is NOT considering either Option F or Option G as possibilities. The Association asked the District to provide them with a full contract proposal which included salary, schedule B, etc… Thus, further bargaining talks with the District are on-hold until the District is ready to provide the Association with a more complete proposal. Without knowing all of the financial details of the District’s proposal, the Association is unable to provide any counter proposal. In the meantime, the Association is working with PSEA on researching healthcare possibilities and other financial information so it will be prepared when bargaining starts in earnest.
V.Old Business: none
VI.New Business: none
VII.Adjournment: First Dan Phillips, Second Sally Jones.