The LEA Insider - May 2010 Printable Version
LEA Member Rights…
Providing a vital service to members
Providing a vital service to members
| Contact Dan Studer LEA UniServ Director dan.studer@nsea.org (402) 489-7500 |
LEA Insider
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IMPORTANT END OF YEAR INFORMATION. PLEASE READ!!!!
JUNE 4TH: LAST TEACHER CONTRACT WORK DAY
OTHER IMPORTANT DATES:
SUMMER INSERVICE INCLUDING PINNACLE TRAINING IN AUGUST
From April 1, to April 30, 2010, the LEA Member Rights UniServ Director provided the following
services to members (in no priority order):
JUNE 4TH: LAST TEACHER CONTRACT WORK DAY
- NO required meetings are to be held this day at the building or district level. Members have the
entire day to work “at their discretion” (5-4 of the Professional Agreement, “Certificated Staff
Duty Days”). - This is the deadline for certificated employees to make purchases with their $225 enhancement
funds for the school year. [The deadline to turn in those receipts is June 15.] - Secondary grades are due in the school office by 4:00 p.m.
OTHER IMPORTANT DATES:
- June 7 appears on the Teacher Calendar as a Compensatory Day. This day is on the calendar (1)
to account for staff having worked seven hours of Building FLEX, (2) is NOT a day staff report
for duty, and (3) is reported to the state as a contractual day to account for the paid day of FLEX
time. - July 15 is the deadline for notifying LPS if you are electing to have accelerated payment of your
pay in the summer for the 2010-2011 school year. If you have elected to receive all of your
summer pay in advance in the past, you do NOT have to contact the district for advance pay next
summer. Your previous request will remain in place. If you want to revoke your request for
accelerated payment in the summer, you must make that request for the 2010-2011 school year by
this same deadline.
SUMMER INSERVICE INCLUDING PINNACLE TRAINING IN AUGUST
- Members are required to take seven hours of District and seven hours of Building FLEX time for
the 2010-2011 school year. (Additionally, 3.5 hours of Building staff development and 3.5 hours
of District staff development will be scheduled August 11th for Elementary and August 11th/16th
for Secondary staff before students report.) - FLEX offerings required by curriculum consultants for District FLEX must be honored by
certificated staff and (1) a list of required sessions must be available to all staff for the 2010-2011
school year before the end of school and (2) the requirements for these District FLEX sessions
cannot exceed seven hours for the 2010-2011 school year. - IF members choose to take sessions that are not required by their curricular consultant and their
curriculum consultant requires seven hours of inservice, then the additional sessions an individual
attends will NOT count as a part of meeting the seven hour District FLEX requirement. Members
are strongly encouraged to plan accordingly! - Individuals who serve more than one curricular area do NOT have to attend more than seven hours
of District FLEX and are NOT to have to engage in a tug-of-war between consultants as to which
sessions the individual must attend. Consultants need to be made aware of any such conflicts for
individuals and the consultants are to work out an agreement between them as to what the
individual must attend for their seven hours of FLEX and so notify the impacted member. - Members can NOT be directed to take more than seven hours of required District inservice. FLEX
time must be offered for mandatory training/inservice. FLEX time IS considered contract time (up
to seven hours for District and up to seven hours for Building). - Members MUST be granted Building or District FLEX time for the Pinnacle grade book inservice
scheduled for August 2, 3, or 4. Members can NOT be required to attend this inservice if they are
NOT being granted FLEX time for their attendance. If a building (or the District) is NOT
providing FLEX time for the Pinnacle training in August, then training sessions MUST be set up
during contract time during the 2010-2011 school year. “Staff development which shall be
mandated as a requirement for Lincoln Public Schools certificated employees shall be offered
during the contract day…” (Article 5-7f of the LEA-LPS Professional Agreement). - The above REQUIREMENT of FLEX time during the summer or training during contract time
also pertains to individuals being required to attend BIST training. - Members are always free to voluntarily attend as much inservice as they wish. If District or
Building administrators state that attending any inservice is “highly encouraged” or words to that
effect, members need to understand exactly what they are being told. Members are encouraged to
get a specific answer to the question: “Am I being directed to attend this inservice? Is my
attendance required?” If yes, the inservice MUST fit within the contract/FLEX time guidelines
addressed above. If attendance at the inservice is simply being encouraged, that means attendance
is VOLUNTARY, and individuals must make their own decisions regarding attendance,
accordingly.
From April 1, to April 30, 2010, the LEA Member Rights UniServ Director provided the following
services to members (in no priority order):
- Advised a number of members re: prearranging absences
- Advised a number of staff members re: having input on building budget decisions. Article 5-13
“Staffing Resources” in the Professional Agreement reads, “All employees shall have the
opportunity to contribute to decisions regarding the utilization of staffing resources within their
building as allocated” [editorial emphasis]. - Advised members re: report card due date changes at their sites
- Advised a number of members re: leaves from the District for a variety of reasons
- Advised a number of members re: written responses to appraisals
- Advised and worked with the District on behalf of members re: non renewal of contracts
- Advised a number of members re: being placed on Notice of Performance Concern by their
building administrators and represented members in meetings with their appraisers in regards to
NPC’s - Advised a member re: concerns expressed to them by their building administrator
- Assisted members in voicing concerns to LPS HR re: issues at their site
- Advised and assisted a member re: their contractual status
- Advised a former member re: NEA and NSEA policy re: representation and legal assistance
- Advised and represented a member in a meeting with a building supervisor
- Assisted a member re: resignation from LPS
- Advised a member re: contacting the Nebraska Retirement System
- Met with the staff at LEA, District HR staff, the LEA-LPS Negotiations Team, the LEA Board of
Directors, attended Capitol District Pre-Delegate Assembly Caucus, and presented at FR Council. - Logged 41 confidential phone calls with members and potential members.
- Had 15 confidential one-on-one meetings with members.