October 2007

General Membership Meeting

There will be a General Membership meeting at 4:00PM on Wednesday, October 10, at the LMEA office. Voting for delegates to the PSEA House of Delegates will be on the agenda.

LMEA Building Meetings

According to our By-Laws, for the purpose of communication building reps are to call a meeting within one week of Executive Council. These meetings are an important link between the membership-at-large and the leaders of bargaining unit. [Art. VI, Sect. 3]

Unit Meetings

Once each year the president of the LMEA holds a unit meeting in each of the schools and major departments. These meetings are an opportunity to share issues and have questions answered directly by the LMEA leadership. The schedule for the remaining 2007-08 Unit Meetings is as follows:

NEXT UP: Operations…………….Jan. 29 (time TBD)

Cynwyd……………..Oct. 15 @ 3:45 Transportation HH…...Feb. 4 (time TBD)

Penn Valley …………Nov. 5 @ 3:45 Welsh Valley…………Mar. 3 @ 3:15

Bala Cynwyd……….Nov. 28 @ 3:15 Penn Wynne………….Mar. 27 @ 3:45

Lower Merion ……….Dec. 12 @ 2:45 Merion………………..Apr.24 @ 3:45

Gladwyne……………Jan. 8 @ 3:45 Harriton………………May 6 @ 2:45

Transportation LM…..Jan. 17 (time to be determined)

NEW STAFF WORKSHOP

New staff are encouraged to attend the NSW on October 11 at 4pm at the LMEA office and learn about the many PSEA member benefits and have their contractual and other questions answered. Refreshments will be provided! Please RSVP: lmeducationassoc@comcast.net

RETIREMENT PRESENTATION – 4 PM ON NOVEMBER 14 AT THE LMEA OFFICE

Les Benzak from Lincoln Financial will hold a presentation on the PSERS retirement options and update on changes to the laws affecting 403 (b) tax deferred investments. No sales pitch – just good information for those who may be retiring in the next ten years. Bring your latest PSERS statement. Space is limited so please RSVP at: lmeducationassoc@comcast.net

TUITION REIMBURSEMENT

The district sets aside $26,500 for support professionals and $200,000 for professionals for reimbursement of approved courses. So that a larger number of employees may use the program, reimbursement is capped at $1000 for ESP and six graduate credits at the Penn State tuition rate for professionals. The application for reimbursement opens January 1 st for funds available July 1 st of the coming year. Money is allocated on a first-come first-serve basis until all funds are encumbered. Any member who applied for reimbursement in 2006 and did not end up taking the course should let Barbara Pollock (ext. 1851) know as soon as possible so that money can be used for those still on the 2006-07 waiting list. Members are encouraged to apply at any time due to the fact that approved courses are occasionally dropped; and it helps to measure the increasing demand for tuition reimbursement. Read the details of the program in Article 37 of our contract.

NEED A REASON TO WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN?

The House Committee on Education is giving consideration to adding language to the revised No Child Left Behind law that would provide “exemplary” teachers bonuses of up to $12,500 per year “based on a number of factors, including student learning gains, evaluations conducted by the principal, and evaluations conducted by master teachers.” It is very likely that “student learning gains” would be measure by standardized tests. At least a half dozen states, including Florida and Colorado, already have teacher salaries tied to student test scores. The NEA and AFT are lobbying hard to keep this reworked version of merit pay out of the reauthorization of NCLB. PSEA is urging all members to contact their representatives in Washington and demand common sense improvements to the law and to allow teachers to continue to bargain their own salaries. LMEA members can use the link provided on our website www.lmea.online to send an email to their member of Congress.

MIDEAST REGION DUES ASSESSMENT

The LMEA belongs to the Mideast Region of the PSEA which represents 41 locals in Bucks and Montgomery counties. A proposal has been made through committee to begin a $10 dues assessment to all professional education locals for the purpose of providing full release time to the Mideast Region President. The MER president is also a professional working in a local school district and in the past the PSEA has had to “beg” for paid release time for this person to handle the many responsibilities of their job as region president. The dues assessment would create an account that could reimburse districts for full release time and ensure that the MER president has the time required to serve the locals in this key region. Comments about this dues assessment should be directed to lmeducationassoc@comcast.net where they will be printed and given to the LMEA delegates attending the MER House of Delegates on November 15.

DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS IN YOUR CONTRACT?