Comments from the NEA RA

From Andrew Owens:
A day in the life at the RA: We get up early and get to our Utah representative caucus and discuss the legislative issues that will be on the discussion board for the day's debate. We discuss the pros, cons, and outcomes, and then we take a vote for the Utah group. We then have one hour to grab some breakfast and get over to the convention center.
The Resolutions committee worked for large portions of two days to address amendments or new statements to be added to the list of belief statements that form the foundation of the NEA's daily actions. Utah is lucky enough to to have 5 state representatives that work on or with the Resolutions committee. We make sure that Utah's voice is heard and that Resolutions are worded in such a way that the rights of ALL NEA members are reflected fairly.
The days before the actual meeting began, we had a HUGE convention hall full of booths and benefits for teachers with teaching tools and merchandise aimed directly at educators (similar to the UEA convention booths). The Representative Assembly itself includes great speeches from fantastic educators and others, including international guests, Teacher of the Year, Education-Friendly Governor of the year, Education Support Professional of the year, and of course our very eloquent and motivation President Dennis Van Roekel, and VP Lily Eskelsen.
A 30 minute lunch break is really too short in a building with more than 10 thousand people and a mall-sized food court, so many of us bring snacks in our bags. More business and speakers in the afternoon, including debate on whether we should spend up to 5 million dollars on various action items. The representatives are VERY cautious with the funding that comes from the dues we all pay, and we work hard to do the most effective business with the least amount of expenditure. It is really neat to see an expensive proposal re-edited to accomplish the goal with less money, sometimes cutting a million-plus proposal down to an amount in the thousands. It is a wonderful experience to stand behind one of 40 microphone stands in a room of 10 thousand peers, and voice an opinion, and then vote (and actually take action) on issues that will affect the state of education across our nation.
In the evening, we usually find close, inexpensive restaurant with a very tasty range on the menu, and enjoy some free time to see the many sights of this historic town (New Orleans, this year, Chicago next)! We are glad to be here working for all of you, and carrying out the action that will improve the state of education in our great nation!

DEA Board Members attend NEA RA in New Orleans

Each year about 10,000 NEA leaders gather at the Representative Assembly during the weeks surrounding July 4. This body has been praised as being the most democratic in the world. UEA sends more than 100 delegates. This year 13 of those delegates are members of DEA - Susan Firmage, Don Paver, Shelli Arthur, Jessica Dunn, Brian Ferguson, Richard Heath , Paulette Hopfenbeck, Bruce Illum, Holly Lee , Valerie Lindeman, Andrew Owen, Yvonne Speckman, and Jennifer Tannner. During the course of the Representative Assembly the NEA budget will be approved, the legislative agenda will be set, resolutions will be approved, and hundreds of new business items will be considered. DEA delegates to the RA have been asked to send comments while they are there which will appear on this blog. Check back to read first-hand comments on events during and following the RA.

Most DEA Recommended Candidates Advance to the Final Election

The results are in! Most of the candidates recommended by DEA PAC in the primary are still in the running. Becky Edwards came through the Republican primary with 58% of the vote in House District 20. Larry Jensen gathered the most votes for Davis School Board in District 3. Burke Larson will continue to the final election in Davis School Board District 6. Each of these candidates has submitted responses to our questionnaire which can be viewed at this address:

http://www.dea.org/legislativeandpac/candidateinformation.html

The PAC will now interview the remaining candidates for the final election. Watch for those results in August or early in September.

In another election of note, Joel Briscoe, DEA Executive Director, was successful in his bid to be the Democratic Candidate in House District 25. We wish him luck in the final elections in November.

Davis Well Represented at Leadership Academy

Thanks to our Ignite participants, Kim Rathke, Cathy Bell, Kathy Sutherland, and Todd Hammond. Thanks to Executive Board Members, Andrew Owens, Richard Heath, Jessica Dunn, Bruce Illum, Julie Lundell, Don Paver and me. Thanks to UEA leaders and UPDP members, Trudy Henderson, Jesse DeHay, Brian Ferguson, Ellen Thompson and Roz Van Vleet. Thanks to our UniServ Directors Pat Riley and Joel Briscoe. In all Davis had 18 people attend the UEA Leadership Conference in Midway. We were well represented on all levels! I don't think there was another local with that many. You are wonderful people to work with. Thank you again for your dedication and service! I feel lucky to work with such quality people!

Susan Firmage
DEA President

Professional Days for 2010-11

Last year the Quality Teaching Block grant which provided seven Quality Teaching Days, was not funded. Through the negotiation process, five days were funded as Professional Days.

Again this year, the 2010-11 calendar includes a total of five Professional Days. Two of the Professional days are calendared prior to the beginning of the school year. A contract day is also calendared prior to the beginning of the school year giving educators a total of three days before school starts. The additional three Professional days appear at the end of the first, second, and third terms.

Important Dates to Note
August 17 New Teacher Orientation, 9:00 - 12:00
August 18 Professional or Contract Day*
August 19 District Department Sponsored Meetings, 8:00 - 10:00
Teacher preparation time
August 20 Professional or Contract Day*
October 29 Jr. High Summit and High School SLC Summit, 8:00 - 11:30
January 18 Elementary Summit, 8:00 - 11:30

* The contract day scheduled prior to the beginning of school is reserved for individual and team planning activities. According to the Professional Agreement, this day must be free of any mandatory meetings so that educators may use it to prepare classrooms and lessons in anticipation of the new school year. At the discretion of the JSSC, the teacher contract day can be either the 18th or the 20th. The 19th is reserved for District sponsored meetings and teacher preparation time.

Primary Election Information

Many of you will be facing a decision about which candidate to support in the June 22 Primary. We have posted information on our web page about the five primary races in Davis County and will continue to update that during June. Please check that page as the election time nears. We have posted answers to a survey we sent to all candidates for those candidates who have returned them. We will also be posting our PAC ratings of the candidates that were interviewed soon. Remember, DEA does not endorse candidates but tries to provide information that will help you see where the candidates stand on issues related to education. We know that our members are concerned about other issues and will need to make voting decisions based on the complete picture. We hope the information is helpful.

Early voting begins in Davis County on June 8 and continues until June 18. This link will take you to the information from the county.

http://www.co.davis.ut.us/clerkauditor/elections/early_vote_schedule.cfm

Ratification Vote Passes

With a sizable majority, the vote to ratify the contract has been successful; however, there is a clear message that this does not mean educators are satisfied with the loss of days and other cuts necessary to balance the budget. The message is clear that members feel the negotiations team did a good job given the situation, but there is a recognition and dissatisfaction with the fact that Davis County schools will be different in the fall with larger class sizes, less time for students with counselors, administrators carrying a heavier load, and support staff reduced in schools and at the district.

The school board will continue to examine the budget throughout the summer. It is still possible that some cuts can be restored if revenue increase from local, state or federal efforts. The school board will consider changes to the calendar proposed by the District Calendaring Committee at their meeting today at 5:30. Those proposed changes can be seen at the following link:

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=30295813