Retirement Seminar January 27

The annual retirement seminar sponsored by DEA, DESP, and the District will be held on January 27 at Northridge High School. Registration begins at 4:00 PM with presentations beginning at 4:30. This is a great opportunity for anyone whether beginning a career or approaching retirement. Watch for more information by email or call DEA for more information.

2011 Legislative Session Preview

This information is from UEA's Under the Dome

The UEA Legislative Team is preparing to face several hot issues as the 59^th Utah State Legislature begins its work Jan. 24. While few details are available about any specific legislation, here are a few issues the team is tracking:

• State Budget - Gov. Gary Herbert presented a proposed 2011-12 budget that provides $63 million in new funding for public education. Legislative leadership balked at some portions the governor's proposal, indicating they may seek to cut about 7 percent from the overall budget.
• Teacher Merit Pay - Past years have seen localized pilot programs, but no statewide pay-for-performance proposal has yet been seriously considered. The UEA opposes any plan that uses student test scores as the sole indicator of teacher effectiveness.
• School Property Tax Equalization - Attempts have been made during the past few years to equalize property tax funding among school districts statewide. Several proposals have surfaced this year, including one from the State School Board.
• Grading Schools - Legislators are discussing a plan to give a single letter grade (A,B,C,D,F) to public schools, modeled after similar legislation enacted in Florida.
• Retirement - There has been talk about modifying last year's Senate Bill 63 to allow retirees to substitute teach. Changes to Utah Retirement System contribution rates may also be considered.
• Orderly Termination Act - Recent hype about the perceived inability of school districts to fire "bad teachers" has some legislators interested in making changes to the Utah Orderly School Termination Procedures Act. This Act provides a process for removing employees who have passed their probationary period and earned "career" status.
• Charter Schools - Legislators have discussed proposals for increased charter school funding and creating a process to convert a traditional public school to a charter school.
• Elections for State School Board Races - In a meeting with the UEA Board, Gov. Herbert called the current state school board election process "screwy" and in need of change. Some legislators have discussed making these elections partisan and subject to the party caucus process.
• Association Leave - There will likely be another attempt to eliminate school district pay for teachers who serve as association presidents, a change that would impact four school districts.
• "Backpack" Funding - The current WPU is a form of "backpack" funding where money follows a student to each school district. There have been discussions about pushing this funding to the individual school level.
• Optional Full-Day Kindergarten - The Governor's proposed budget includes a $7.5 million line item to continue an optional full-day kindergarten program.

"Whether we like it or not, what happens on Utah's Capitol Hill impacts what we do in the classroom," said UEA Government Relations Director Kory Holdaway. "I encourage all UEA members to follow legislative issues impacting education and, more importantly, contact their representatives to let them know how they feel about those issues."

Welcome Back

Welcome back to school after a two-week break. We hope everyone is refreshed and ready for the end of first semester. It is hard to believe the year is nearly half over. DEA is busy preparing for the upcoming legislative session. As we learn more about the legislature's intentions, we will get that information to you using this blog and direct emails. Information will also be given to your building reps as the session progresses. Although the economy shows signs of improving, we are still expecting a difficult session. Thanks for your continued membership. Our strength is in our numbers.

Executive Board Member Published in Tribune

DEA Executive Board Member Richard Heath had an article published in the opinion section of The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, December 12. Click to read the article.

School Board Approves Calendar Revisions

The school board officially restored the two furlough days, February 7 and 8, during school board meeting on December 7. The restoration of the days also resulted in some other calendar changes.

• The end of third term was moved from March 24 to March 18 in order to keep the terms relatively even in length.
• The professional day originally scheduled for March 25 was moved to March 21.
• Year round track C will have the restored days on May 12 and 13.

The revised calendar can be viewed on the District's web site.

DEA Represented at NCUEA

Last week, four leaders from DEA attended the National Council of Urban Education Associations fall conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This conference was a great chance for our leaders to communicate with others from the largest local associations in the country. They had three busy days of workshops and discussions focusing on issues facing the NEA along with state and local units. NEA Vice President and former Utah teacher Lily Eskelson addressed those in attendance. Building Reps will be updated on issues facing the association at their meetings next Monday and Tuesday. This photo was taken while the DEA delegation was changing flights in the Phoenix airport on the trip home Saturday night. Southwest Airlines offered free photos with Santa. Don Paver, Jessica Dunn, Susan Firmage, and Valerie Lindeman took advantage of the chance.

Schools to be Open February 7 & 8

As you should have heard, the District and DEA have agreed to use some of the money from the federal jobs bill to restore the two school days on February 7 and 8, resulting in two additional days of pay for employees.

Those two days will be the same as any other school day. Students will be expected to attend, although teachers are asked to be accommodating with make-up work for that day. We suggest that in most cases teachers follow already established classroom procedures for absence make up, with perhaps a little more understanding for those who made plans based on the original calendar.

For those employees who may have made unchangeable plans for those days, leave will be allowed as on any other school or contract day. In negotiations on November 30, options available to employees were discussed. Teachers who may be out of personal leave may request an advance of personal days, rather than lose pay. The district indicated administrators should be inclined to approve those requests because of the exceptional circumstances involved.