SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE
Just a quick reminder that all scholarship applications for the MEA 15-B Coordinating Council Scholarships must be sent to the Cadillac Uniserv office and be postmarked on or before March 14, 2003. Two $500 scholarships will be granted; one scholarship to a child of a Support Staff Bargaining Unit Member and one to a child of a Teacher Bargaining Unit Member.
WEBSITE UPDATE (www.mea15b.org)
Webmaster Jim Neff keeps updating this site with more links to information that help us do the jobs we do better. Several new resources have been added to our MEA 15-B website including KIDS.NET.AU, a new child-safe search engine with 20,000 safe sites divided into 4,000 categories (located under "Search Engines"); and BRIDGES4KIDS, which provides a circle of support for children who have disabilities or special needs (located under "Special Needs"). Thousands of resources are neatly divided into easy-to-use categories and topics. Give it a visit. You might find it useful. Also, Time Magazine For Kids is a wonderful site that is currently located on the front page of our website along with Classroom Management Help, which links you to 106 resources for assistance with this challenging topic. Enjoy!
MEA DUES
The Representative Assembly of MEA will meet on May 2nd and 3rd to consider, among other legislative initiatives, a dues increase. Just for your information, the dues have remained the same for the last three years. They actually were higher 10 years ago than they are today. In recent times our expenditures have exceeded our revenues as an organization. We have gone from a 20 million dollar surplus to an 11 million dollar deficit. Why? There are many reasons, and one of them is the economic climate.
NEGOTIATIONS – WHO WANTS TO DO THIS JOB?
We have 12 contracts open in 15-B for next year. We are dealing with a State that may not meet its financial commitment to our schools, and that all trickles down to us. This is adversity - and out of adversity comes creativity. The bargaining team that represents you this year will need to be up to the challenge and need to be creative. For example: Staff reductions are a possibility. Perhaps early retirement incentives can be created that help some employees retire, rather than other employees being laid-off. This "some" should be able to include both EA and ESP. You will need to stay informed and support your team as it works on your behalf. Kudos to each of those on your bargaining team who have stepped forward and want to do this job. Good luck to each of you.
BARGAINING UPDATEBargaining 2002-03: Evart ESP – Still bargaining for this year. Evart Transportation has a tentative agreement.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
| March 24-28 | Roger on vacation |
| April 6 | Daylight Savings – Set your clocks ahead one hour! |
| April 18 |
MEA Closed – Good Friday |
| April 24 | OPIE Banquet – Make your reservation NOW! |
CONGRATULATIONS
This year we will be honoring 14 individuals as Outstanding Persons in Education and nine individuals as Friends of Education at our 27th annual OPIE Banquet to be held April 24th. Congratulations to each honoree for your exemplary efforts toward the cause of educational excellence, and a hearty thank you for your dedication, enthusiasm, and willingness to go the "extra mile" for our children. Our schools’ success depends on people like you. You help students understand the world they see, and what they have the potential to be.Outstanding Persons in Education
– Diana Thomas, Cadillac EA; Donna Sayer, Cadillac ESP; Mary Burke, Cadillac TASC; Jay Wallace, Evart EA; Judy Bennett, Evart ESP; Pat Hiller, Manton EA; Patti Swanson, Manton ESP; Mark Johnson, Marion EA; Beth Menz, McBain EA; Tammy Huston, McBain ESP; Marsha Remick, Mesick EA; Kimberly Jurik, Pine River EA; Sandra Gustafson, Pine River ESP, and Dawn Petersen, Wexford-Missaukee ISD ESP.Friends of Education – Dr. Randall Myers, Cadillac; Sgt. Justin Halladay, Evart; Dr. Robert Cunningham, Manton; Scott & Rose Ballew, Marion; Steve Hill, McBain; Colleen Douglass, Mesick; and Gordon & Yvonne Johnson, Pine River.
We will be holding our banquet at a new location this year. It will be held at Timber WoIf Lake, located just four (4) miles north of Lake City on M-66. This is a beautiful lodge in a scenic location. If you haven’t already made your reservation, why not do it now and join us for a wonderful evening of celebrating education. Reservations are coming in fast. Remember, space is limited.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCE WARNING
Some of you may choose to use your district’s or ISD’s server to save the monthly subscription fee. Just be aware that if you are using a district computer and/or the district server, your usage can and may be tracked by the district. Tracking can include someone reading all of your incoming and outgoing e-mails. Tracking can also include someone noting the sites, times, and lengths of visits to each site that you visit on this worldwide web. This tracking can cause the Employer to question whether they want to have a person working on their staff with their youth who visits questionable sites or sends questionable e-mails. It is their paradigm that is used to question your use. What may be funny to you or interesting to you or "I didn’t mean it that way" may not be a satisfactory explanation to the Employer. They have software to assist them in this tracking process. I have been in meetings where the Employer has confronted employees with downloaded e-mails and pictures. Please be careful. The outcomes of these meetings were not good
.COLLABORATIVE BARGAINING
Collaborative bargaining requires training for both management and labor bargaining teams, with all team members required to attend the training. If you can’t make it to the training, you won’t be bargaining. This type of bargaining requires that both management and labor bargaining teams work together to resolve problems. It has a structured framework and method for negotiating a contract, and often requires a third party facilitator to help guide the teams through the process. The Pine River EA and ESP are investigating a collaborative mode of bargaining and a collaborative process for solving problems. This concept has been brought to the training and consideration phase by Pine River Superintendent, Cindy O’Brien. It requires mutual trust to work effectively. Traverse City tried this process a few years back, and a huge mess was the result. However, several board teams and employee teams in this State have used this process effectively to bargain contracts and improve working relationships. As the Pine River employees head down this path, let us hope they are successful. We will be looking very closely at their settlements and their experiences with the process.
MARCH MADNESS
It’s that time of the year again to remind you that it has been a l-o-n-g winter – but spring is just around the corner!! With March Madness, the threat of war looming, and the economy so uncertain, it is especially important for each of us to take a deep breath and be especially patient with each other – and with our students. Compliments can be contagious! Enjoy your spring break. Take time to relax. Go for a walk; play with a pet; or Judy suggests you eat chocolate!!
Advice is something we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn’t!
Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.
Copyright © MEA 15-B. All rights reserved.