Legislative Dinner

Thursday evening, January 21, DEA Executive Board members gathered for dinner with 8 local legislators. During the dinner DEA members discussed many issues with legislators with proposed retirement changes being among the topics. Senator Liljenquist indicated he is reconsidering the move to a 35-year requirement for full retirement. This is a major shift which would keep him closer to his stated intention of not impacting current employees.
Following the dinner, legislators and the others present heard a presentation from Dr. Pam Perlich from the University of Utah which focused on the changing demographics of the nation and Utah. She indicated that Utah is in a good position to learn from the mistakes made by other states since we are behind the nation in this trend. We have time to implement changes to address these shifting demographics in ways other states did not.
Susan Firmage was thrilled with the turn out and the response of our legislators. Even in these difficult times, it is good we can still communicate with our legislators and have some impact on decisions they are making regarding and classrooms and personal finances.

Legislaturive Session Begins on Monday

You have probably heard that there was a leadership shakeup in the Senate just one week before the session begins. Those of you who were delegates to the county convention may be involved in the choosing of a replacement for Sheldon Killpack in District 21. You will also be hearing news about important issues under consideration by the legislature this year including retirement, ethics and the budget.

We encourage you to get in the habit of checking this blog and UEA Under the Dome ( http://www.utea.org/politicsLegislation/legislativeInformation/index.htm ) for developments. We will also continue to pass on information from the UEA lobbying team as it comes to us. Contact your building reps or the DEA Office if you have questions during the session.

Town Meeting Tomorrow in Bountiful

A pre-session Town Hall meeting will be hosted jointly by Sen. Dan Liljenquist, Rep Becky Edwards, and Rep. Sheryl Allen. It will be held Wednesday, January 20, at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the Bountiful Library. They are hoping for a large crowd who will come to participate and share in a discussion of ideas and suggestions for the situations we are facing as members of our community and state.
Those represented by any of these legislators may want to plan to attend. There may be some discussion of the retirement system as well as other issues facing the education community.

Professional Days

During negotiations last spring, our goal was to allow teachers as much time as possible in their classrooms during the professional days. Recognizing the need for time for preparation and grading, the district agreed to set aside only four hours from those five days for in-service. Principals were also encouraged to keep interuptions to a minimum during those days. Since these days are no longer funded by QT money, some limitations set by the legislature for use of those days no longer apply.
Although we decreased from seven QT days to five professional days, we were able to maintain more days than many districts. Some lost all of those days. Remember, all Davis School District employees took a two-day furlough this year.
DEA encourages teachers to take advantage of in-service and other opportunities to keep current and learn new strategies. As professionals, individual teachers can best determine the best balance between in-service and preparation.

DEA Building Reps Gather in Farmington

Monday and Tuesday, January 11 and 12, representatives from schools in the county will gather at the DEA office for their monthly meeting. They will receive updates on such things as the following:

- Retirement
- Upcoming Legislative Session and Related Activities
- Calendar for Next Year
- Plans for the Professional Day, January 19
- New UEA PR Campaign
- Building Rep Group Site
- DEA Swim Night - Bountiful Recreation Center at 7 PM on Janaury 23
- DEA/DCEA Retirement Seminar at Northridge High on February 18

Ask your building reps for updates and keep checking this blog.

Retirement Update

As the legislative session approaches, we are getting a better idea what may be proposed. Keep in mind DEA and UEA oppose any changes in the system at this time. Instead, we propose a year of study to be sure the possible need to make adjustments to the retirement system could be fully understood before any action is taken.

You can link here for the most current UEA summary of anticipated proposals.

http://www.utea.org/politicsLegislation/retirement/issueOverview.htm

Davis Teachers Impact NEA Resolutions

The National Education Association and its affiliates are governed democratically. NEA actions and policy are determined each summer at the Representative Assembly (RA). The Davis Education Association usually sends twelve or more delegates to this assembly. The official document containing NEA's beliefs or position on various topics is called the NEA Resolutions. This document is updated and reauthorized by the RA each year.
The group that guides the revising and updating of this document, and assists any NEA member who may wish to submit an amendment to the document, is called the Resolutions Committee (RC). Utah has two teacher members and two education support professionals on this committee. One of the Utah representatives on the committee is Andrew Owens, a member of the DEA Executive Board. Andrew will be traveling to Washington, DC in February for the Resolutions Committee Winter Meeting.
The Resolutions Committee is guided by a five member group called the Internal Editing Committee (IEC). This group, which includes the committee's chair, Tony Crawford, from Oregon, is selected by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and approved by the NEA Board of Directors. We are fortunate to have Brian Ferguson, who currently represents Davis on the Utah Education Association Board of Directors, as a member of the IEC. He will be meeting with the IEC in January to prepare for the full Resolutions Committee meeting in February.
As you can see, along with Lily Eskelsen, the NEA Vice-president, who is also from Utah, we are very well represented at the national level of our organization.