Board of Education Budget discussions

Please check out link to see the timeline of important budget discussions that will take place at the scheduled Board of Education meetings.

http://www.eagleschools.net/index.aspx?page=1155

Great turnout

Last night we had a great turn out at the ECEA meeting. Thank you to everyone who attended. To those of you who shared thoughts and insights, they were greatly appreciated. Some important take aways from the meeting are:
Teachers feel the district needs to listen to the public's response to the Mill Levy question. If the district can understand why it failed to gain enough public support to pass, then those issues can be addressed, and hopefully it won't fail next time. Apparently, business as usual is not acceptable at this time. Can we all talk to parents or community members and urge them to speak at an upcoming Board Meeting to share what they value and what they don't, and maybe why they think the Mill Levy did not pass?
Members were urged to attend the Board Meeting to at least hear what is being discussed so we can unify our values. Action item, see below.
Concern was expressed about the high amount of stress the teachers are feeling due to the new curriculum and the incredible amount of testing/grading that is involved right now. Action item, see below.
The RIF policy changes were discussed. New laws to take into effect in February, 2012, allow for seniority to be a part of deciding who might lose their job if a program cut were made, but only after the effectiveness of that teacher and the needs of the students are taken into consideration. This contrasts drastically to the current RIF policy which is strictly based on seniority. The negotiations committee is working (not finished) on the language that might be included so the policy would follow the law.
Action to be taken:
A survey will be sent out to gauge a sense of common values for the upcoming budget challenges. A budget for different programs will accompany the survey so people can use it to guide their choices (if so desired).
A survey will be created to gauge how the new curriculum is creating challenges for teachers.
Another meeting will be held in December. Date/time/location TBD shortly.

No votes mean kids lose

Unfortunately, Eagle County and Colorado voters do not feel that public education is important enough to support. I am in shock. I can't believe it.

CEA Education Conversations - Tanya Caruso.wmv

Ballots have been mailed

If you've moved recently and changed mailing addresses, the post office cannot forward ballots, so you may not have gotten one. If you haven't gotten a ballot in the mail by now, and you were expecting one, you need to call the Clerk and Recorders office to get a new ballot. 970-328-8710

Ballots are due back no later than 7 p.m. Nov. 1.
• People can either mail back ballots or hand-deliver them to Eagle County Clerk and Recorder's offices in Eagle, Avon and El Jebel.
• People can cast votes in person at any clerk's office.
• The town of Vail is holding a separate municipal election Nov. 8.

Vail Valley Voices: Schools spend funds well | VailDaily.com

Vail Valley Voices: Schools spend funds well | VailDaily.com

Vail Daily letter: Already cut millions; vote for 3B | VailDaily.com

Vail Daily letter: Already cut millions; vote for 3B | VailDaily.com

Support Education, Vote YES!

You will see two initiatives on your mail-in ballot this week that relate to education. I urge you to vote YES and make sure others vote YES too. We are suffering from a lack of revenue in our state in general which has led to severely underfunding our schools. Strong communities do not exist without excellent schools. Schools cannot be excellent if they are not supported by their community. Therefore, it is imperative that we, the voters, pass these ballot issues so the schools in our community and state can remain strong. Please take time to look at both of these links for more information on both ballot issues so you can help convince your family and friends to vote yes on both of them.

http://www.yeson3b.com/
http://voteyeson103.com/

Mill Levy Override

There are three easy steps to ensure a quality education for Eagle County Students.
1.Go to govotecolorado.com and make sure your voter registration is up to date so you can get a mail in ballot.
2. Vote YES on 3B
3. Mail in your ballot by the end of October.

Please go to this website for more about the Mill Levy Override.
http://www.yeson3b.com/

Welcome Back!

It is really exciting to be back in the schools, seeing the students with eager to learn faces! This is why we do this, right? I know this year will be challenging with the new curriculum and CFA is already a dirty word, but we can get through it and make it work. Now we have a baseline to work with, and it can only get better. The thought process of implementing all at once (at least at the elementary level)is beyond me, but we'll do our best.
We had a successful new teacher lunch at the old District Office on Wednesday, August 17th. Thank you, Todd Huck (BCMS), Christina Martinez (GES), Dianne Coombs (EES), Deb Jordan (GCMS), and Johnna Williams (JCES). It was great to get these members from different sights. They came out and spoke with the new teachers and helped sign up 12 people. Members, please remember to speak to new teachers or people who are not yet members to ask them to join. Share your reason for being a member. Let your building rep know if they are interested and we can get them a membership form! If you don't have a rep, let me know.
A big issue that will be facing us this fall is the mill levy ballot question. It has to pass! Students will be the ones who suffer most from the next round of cuts. As a parent of students in our elementary schools, this scares me. Knowing it will come in the form of increased class sizes due to dramatic staff cuts scares me as a teacher and as an employee. We are not familiar here with the acronym RIF (Reduction in Force). That means about the same as RIP and it can be presented to anyone no matter if you are non-probationary. If a program is cut, you lose your job. Period. (Unless you are highly qualified for another position and that position is available.)
The School Board approved the language for the ballot and now it is up to the voters. In order for it to pass, people need to vote. In order to vote, they must be registered here. This is our FIRST priority. Getting people to register. The focus will be this for September.
Again, welcome back to school and thank you for being members of Eagle County Education Association.

Sad news

Unfortunately, I have some very sad news to share. Ruth Moroney passed away on Saturday, May 7th, after a courageous five-year battle with cancer. She was such a live wire and was so passionate about public schools. She was such an advocate for the teachers and students who worked within them. Her goals were to create a work environment where all teachers were recognized, valued and treated as professionals, so students could learn in a positive and healthy learning environment. She never backed down from her beliefs.
Ruth was very active with the Eagle County Education Association. She held the office of Vice-President (representing the West End schools) and throughout her illness continued to be as involved as possible. One summer she attended an Association President training at Copper Mountain and we shared a room. She did not even flinch when I buzzed the room at midnight because I forgot my key. She had gone to bed a little earlier because the wine went to her head!
I was also able to go to Denver with her for Delegate Assembly. Besides being a wonderful representative for teachers, she was really fun. We got down on the dance floor. We both watched in surprise and laughter when a fellow delegate started dancing with the pole!
Ruth really wanted ECEA to pursue a master agreement with the school district, and in her memory we will continue growing our membership so it may be possible to do so.
Ruth Moroney will be greatly missed. We love you, Ruth!!

Less time for Teacher Licensing is signed to law

It’s Official! HB 1201 is Law
Still waiting for your teaching licensed to be renewed? It’ll soon take much less time. Yesterday, Governor Hickenlooper signed HB 1201 by Rep. Millie Hamner (D-Summit) and Sens. Jeanne Nicholson (D-Black Hawk) and Jean White (R-Hayden), which seeks to shorten the time period for renewal and get rid of some of the red tape that makes the process so burdensome and time consuming. CEA lobbyists worked very hard to help craft and pass this bill.

This bill was priority #1 for Rep. Hamner, a former superintendent from Summit County and association leader during her days as a teacher. She was appointed by vacancy committee when former Rep. Christine Scanlan left her seat to work for Governor Hickenlooper. A member of the House Education Committee, she has used her experience as an educator to advocate for good bills (like HB 1201) and fight against bills that would negatively affect teachers, educational support professionals and schools. She has been a great addition to the House!

Please thank her and Senators Nicholson and White for their work on HB 1201!
Rep. Millie Hamner: millie.hamner.house@state.co.us
Sen. Jeanne Nicholson: jeanne.nicholson.senate@state.co.us
Sen. Jean White: jean.white.senate@state.co.us

Frustrated Colo. senators may introduce their own budget bill - The Denver Post

Frustrated Colo. senators may introduce their own budget bill - The Denver Post

McNutty...hoping to Wisconsinize Colorado. This stubborn behavior is NOT to try to help the budget, it is to attack unions and teachers. See paragraph 12-14. This really makes me MAD!!

No Joking – Budget Talks Breakdown over SB 76

THIS IS AWFUL!!

One of our Association’s goals this session is reducing the second major budget hit on K-12 education, proposed by Gov. Hickenlooper at $500 per student ($332M). For a time this week, it appeared that this massive school funding cut would be reduced somewhat by the state’s discovery of an extra $75M in revenue.

A reduction in the cut is a positive step, showing that lawmakers understand how devastating a $500 per student loss would be in our classrooms and in the programs that make a real difference in children’s education.

However, House Republicans threaten to destroy budget cut compromises that Sen. Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) has been working on – because they insist on gouging public employees by further amending SB 76, the PERA cost-shift bill.

Rep. Frank McNulty (R-Highlands Ranch), Speaker of the House, refuses to back budget cut reductions that will help our students unless SB 76 is amended to give school boards the ability to shift 4.5% of their PERA employer contributions onto employees’ backs.

We oppose SB 76 and are fighting all attempts to force employees to reduce their take-home pay by paying more into PERA. The Legislature did the right thing in passing Senate Bill 1 last year, the comprehensive PERA reform package – hard choices and shared sacrifice that now have PERA on track to eliminate its unfunded liability and avoid the dire scenarios happening in other states.

SB 76, which the PERA Board opposes, harms the retirement plan’s actuarial funding because some employees leave school employment and withdraw their contributions along with a 50% match, while employer contributions remain in the trust fund where they are more valuable for funding PERA than employee contributions. SB 76 is estimated to be an actuarial loss to PERA of millions of dollars in just one year.

SB 76 is currently a 2.5% cut in take-home pay that harms employees and undercuts PERA’s fiscal future. We oppose the bill as amended. AND WE WILL OPPOSE IT when the House State Affairs Committee amends it April 7 to make the take-home pay cut even bigger at 4.5%.

Email the House State Affairs Committee, using this link: http://capitolcontact.com/layout3.php?url=419-Tv8JlrNDbwVxHcWs. Your message will automatically be sent to all members of the Committee. You may add your State Representative, if you wish.


REMINDER: RALLY WITH YOUR FRIENDS – Monday, April 4

Stand up for Public Employees! Monday, April 4, City Park, Denver, We Are One.

PLUS: CEA T-shirts will be at the park for our members. Stop by the Martin Luther King statue and pick up a nice blue t-shirt for free. Linda Barker will get your name and local association and give you a T-shirt.

PARKING: Come in a car pool. Park at East High School, just South of City Park. Marshalls will help guide you to the location.

PERA under attack

ALL THINGS PERA

SB 76: Your pay and retirement pensions are under direct attack!!!

Last Friday, the House Appropriations Committee re-referred Senate Bill 76 to the House State, Veteran, and Military Affairs Committee rather than to the floor. We’ve (CEA Government Relations Team) learned today, that House State, Veteran, and Military Affairs Committee will consider the measure on Thursday, April 7 upon adjournment of the morning House Floor Session (usually around 10:30 a.m.). At that time, we expect an additional amendment to be offered that would increase the shift from 2.5% to 4.0% percent.

The measure was originally intended as a budget-balancing measure to continue this year’s policy of reducing state workers PERA contributions by 2.5 percent and increasing worker payroll deductions by the same amount. Last week the House Finance Committee amended the measure to allow school districts and local governments to do the same thing if they choose. This means that school districts would be able shift up to 2.5% of the employer contribution to PERA onto employees.

The amendment will have a dramatic impact on PERA’s long term solvency and will undermine last year’s efforts to stabilize PERA under SB 1. Essentially, the amendment eliminates the employer’s portion of the shared sacrifice from SB 1 and places the entire burden for maintaining PERA solvency on employees and retirees. Further, the amendment cuts employees’ voices from the process and allows the school board to decide whether to implement the change.

If you haven’t yet contacted the members of the House State, Veteran, and Military Affairs Committee, then ACT NOW! It’s easy—use this link to email all members of the Committee: http://capitolcontact.com/layout3.php?url=419-Tv8JlrNDbwVxHcWs. You may add your representative to the list if you wish.

So far, fewer than 100 messages have been sent to members of the House State Affairs Committee. Speak out! Let those committee members hear you! The CEA Government Relations Team challenges you and your colleagues to send 5 times that many. We’ll bring you updates between now and the committee hearing.


House Bill 11-1248

House Bill 11-1248, the proposal to change the composition of the PERA Board, was scheduled for to be heard in the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee tomorrow. That hearing has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 13 at 1:30 p.m. Jim Kerr, the sponsor of the bill, chairs this committee.



To Contact a Member of the Government Relations Team (please note new email addresses!):

Lynne Mason at lmason@coloradoea.org
Karen Wick at kwick@coloradoea.org
Julie Whitacre at jwhitacre@coloradoea.org
Penny Noscroy at pnoscroy@coloradoea.org

Let your voice be heard Saturday, March 19th

Ahead of the upcoming budget debate in the General Assembly, Colorado’s House and Senate Democrats are teaming up on Saturday, March 19 to host a “Budget Listening Tour” in 12 different communities across the state. The "Budget Listening Tour" is an opportunity for Coloradans to provide feedback and share their ideas, concerns, and suggestions about the state’s challenging budget situation.



Eagle County
Who: Reps. Millie Hamner and Roger Wilson
When: 10-11:30am
Where: Eagle County Room, 590 Broadway, Eagle, CO 80631

It's Nasty Out There

I guess Hickenlooper really meant it when I asked him in October how we will handle the budget issues for education. He said, "We'll have to figure out how to do more with less." I am shocked at how deep his cuts to education were in the proposed budget. Unfortunately, many of us are at the point where, as teachers, we (who are in front of children most of the day) are doing as much as we can physically take on. Doing more? How could we do more? When? I think it is more logical to think it will be more like we will have to"do less" for our kids when the classroom teachers are maxed out.

Education not feeling the love from our state this Valentine's Day

Check out Capitol Connection for updates on bills. You can sign up for email updates on your private email account.
http://ceacapconn.wordpress.com/

The Colorado State Budget for 2011- 12,
Be Ready:
As you have heard Gov Hickenlopper will roll out his proposed 2011 – 12 budget tomorrow, Tuesday, February 15. We know the CO State budget is $1B short. Yes, that is One Billion! This year the K – 12 cut could be $300 - $400 million. Last year was terrible. This year is worse.

Why?
-We are a part of the worst recession in 60 years.
-The state of CO is still losing tax revenue.
-Income taxes, sales taxes and property taxes are all down.
-Tax collections lag a year behind.
-The state does not have enough money to fund current programs.
-A state wide tax increase to raise state revenue must be approved by a state wide vote of the people.
-There are no Federal Stimulus dollars coming to CO from Washington, DC.

As the Legislature moves into discussions on the 2011- 12 budget and the $1B shortfall, lawmakers will be discussing cuts to K -12, higher education, and other state funded programs. The state budget could reflect a cut in K – 12 state spending of 10 -14%.

How do we get out of this state financial problem?
We can wait until the economy improves, which may be a very long term solution. We can push to raise local revenue by conducting local mill elections. This requires the voters in your district to approve a mill that raises local property taxes. We can work to develop a wide coalition and put a tax increase on the CO ballot state wide. This would be Referendum C style coalition.

Polling shows us that voters are just now beginning to understand the state of CO cannot simply cut their way out of this economic crisis. Voters in recent polls have asked for a balanced approach—cut state and local programs and figure out a way to raise revenue.

Stay tuned. Help us teach voters how drastically cutting K – 12 funding is not the best solution for Colorado.

Your help will be needed to bring this funding dilemma to your community.

Awesome member!

See how one of ECEA members and his wife make an exceptional difference in the lives of children.

Avon Elementary teachers give back | VailDaily.com

When will they learn?

ECS learned a few years ago that this does not make sense and we changed they way we formulate our bonuses. I like the last part of the article that explains a bit more about why that information is unreliable.

New York Judge Says “Value-Added” Scores Can Be Released