UEA Elections Underway

Final voting has begun for UEA elected positions including a new Davis director for the UEA Board of Directors. DEA building reps will be delivering a card to you which contains the information for voting. The deadline to cast ballots is May 7, 2010 by 5 PM. Candidate videos can be found at www.utea.org. Although there is no contest for UEA President, please view Sharon Gallaghar-Fishbaugh's video so you can get to know the next UEA President. Both candidates for UEA Vice President have been to our monthly AR meetings. Your building rep may have some insights for you. You can also view their videos on line.

Three candidates from DEA are on the ballot for positions including Brian Ferguson, Trudy Henderson, and Jennifer Tanner.

If you have questions, contact your building AR or call the UEA Office at 800-594-8996.

Negotiations Started but Slow Moving

The negotiations team has had two meetings with the district team. Progress has been slow as final numbers from the state were being prepared and analyzed and potential adjustments to insurance are being considered by the District Insurance Committee. Several meetings are scheduled in the next two weeks. Hopefully, progress can be made as numbers become firm and the district receives direction from the school board.

DEA will continue to gather data from members and association representatives as the process continues. Please remember that most of what happens in the sessions can't be reported until the process is completed.

Keep in mind that the loss of funding to the district exceeds $20 million this year which is on top of the more than $20 million lost last year. Rumors regarding potential changes are spreading through schools. No decisions have been made concerning negotiated items. The district has begun making some administrative changes that do not require negotiations. Reports on those changes will be coming through district announcements rather than from the DEA.

Thanks for Your Input

We had 1163 responses to our insurance survey which is now closed. The negotiations team and insurance committee will look at those responses today as they continue to examine the budget for next year. We know you are aware that education was cut less than other state agencies, but there were indeed cuts. Exactly how much that cut was is beginning to become clear as details are sent from the state office. While tough choices still need to be made and will require more input from members, some preferences are becoming clear about adjustments to the budget which are preferred by our membership.

Go to the blog to post comments.

Last Day for Insurance Survey

Today is the last day for completing the insurance survey. Nearly 1100 members have already completed the survey surpassing all other surveys in the last year. The survey will remain open throughout the day Tuesday. The results will be analyzed first thing Wednesday in anticipation of the District Insurance Committee meeting tomorrow at noon. While a few people have reported problems with the survey, most members have been able to complete the survey without reported problems. If you had problems with the survey or have additional comments, send them to pat@dea.org.

A follow up negotiations survey will be discussed tomorrow morning as well. Expect to see that survey soon. Member input is very important to the negotiations process.

Reminders for Spring Break

The insurance survey will remain open over the break. Please take some time to answer the questions if you have not done so already. The link was sent to you in an email. In less than 24 hours, nearly 600 people have already responded. We want a much better response rate than last year when only 770 responded to the survey. We need the feedback right after the break.

Those who are delegates to the conventions on April 10, please check our web site for the responses we have received so far from candidates. If you have questions about specific districts, contact Pat at pat@dea.org before the convention.

Utahns for Ethical Government will continue to work even though school is out. You can contact these people for information about efforts in your area.

Senate District 21 - Betsy Thurgood (801-825-4120) or Andrew Owen (801-825-5002)
Senate District 22 - Carole Peterson (801-547-9802)
Senate District 23 or General Questions - Dee Burningham (801-295-7846)

Any signatures you have can be sent with your building reps to the AR Meetings on April 12 or 13. You can also contact Pat at pat@dea.org for information about how you can help.

Survey Coming Today - No Joke

Later today, April 1, DEA members will receive an email with a link to a survey focusing on increasing insurance costs and how to adjust the district budget and insurance coverage to meet the current funding shortfalls. The survey will remain open throughout spring break closing on Tuesday following the break. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions thoughtfully and carefully. This survey will take a few more minutes than recent political surveys we have sent out. Please allow 5-10 minutes to avoid being rushed to finish.

Unfortunately, this survey will once again ask members to choose between bad and worst. The economy is recovering more slowly than any of us had hoped. Although education was treated better than most state agencies during the legislative session, funding did take several hits which need to be adjusted for as we plan for next year. Contrary to some news reports, education was not held harmless during the legislative session.

What Now?

The legislature is over. What happens next? The stress continues as we wait for exact figures from the Utah State Office of Education regarding funding for next year. Although the negotiating team has been formed and will begin meeting before spring break, final figures will not be revealed until after the break. At that time the team will begin meeting with the district in earnest. The Insurance Committee has been meeting all year and will be meeting several times in the next month to analyze our usage patterns and cost increases which must also be addressed during negotiations.

As we await results from the district's survey and budget meetings, we have begun to craft our own survey which will help us fill in any gaps from the district's information.

At the same time, we are gathering final signatures for the ethics petition. If you have a signature book, we ask that you arrange to get it to us before spring break so they can be turned over to Dee Burningham who has been coordinating with us throughout the process. If you wish to sign and have not been able to do so, please visit the Utahns for Ethical Government web site where you can sign on line.

In addition, we must continue to organize for county and state conventions as well as primary elections. We will continue to post candidate responses to our survey as we receive them.

As you can see, the stress and time commitment of your elected and staff leaders does not end with the legislative session. Watch for updates on all of these things on the blog and in your email boxes.