Espanola-National Education Association

Udate for Week of Aug 9, 2009

2009-08-20T19:59:00.010-06:00

YOUR RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE DISTRICT

(For Information on Employee Rights Training see below)

The new contracts are possibly in error.

Your salary should have increased by at least $1. You may have the same salary as last year on your current contract. We believe this is wrong and have brought it to the attention of the Superintendent.
Paragraph 10 of the contract states that you can be called in on weekends, during school breaks etc to work or attend PD. This conflicts with our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA.) This has also been brought to the attention of the Superintendent
Some teachers have been told that the deadline to turn in the signed contract was Wed, Aug. 19. The Superintendent said this was incorrect and she will send out a clarifying memo.
The Superintendent will be reviewing the contract and comparing it to the CBA. This could mean there will be other changes/corrections made to the contract.
The Superintendent has put out a memo informing principals that as per our CBA no members of the Bargaining Unit need Dr's notes for any absences.

If you want to sign and turn in your contract you should write this next to your name:

"In accord with terms and conditions per the CBA."

Information for certified personnel:

Prep time is work time and therefore paid time. Other duties may be assigned during prep time without additional compensation but not to exceed more than 3 times in any 20 day period.
Certified professional employees may be required to work beyond the normal work day without additional compensation. Employees may be required to attend faculty meetings of not more than 1 hour, not to exceed 3 hours in every 20 days
Employees may be required to attend other professional activities after then the normal duty day not to exceed 13 additional hours per year. Certified salaried employees may volunteer to attend an unlimited amount of professional activities throughout the year. Level III teachers are required to perform two to three assigned leadership professional activities per school year, as per their competency level.

For more information about your rights we are having two "Employee Rights Trainings"

(Each will be different and cover different material.)

The first is Tuesday August 25, 4:30 pm, Room 806 EVHS (portables behind cafeteria)

The second is Tuesday, September 8, 4:30 pm, Room 806 EVHS

We will be learning what is in the CBA, how it affects you, and what you can do to help insure that everyone's rights are protected. Please come and educate yourself on procedure and employee rights. It is your knowledge and understanding that keeps us all safe and sane at work.

Next AR and General membership meeting:

September 15, Library, Española Valley High School, 4.30 pm

If you want a future meeting at your school please let your building rep or an NEA officer know that you are willing to sponsor a meeting at your school. We will help set it up.

Committee member needed:

We need an NEA member to sit on the School Board Policy Committee. This committee will make suggestions to the school board about school board policy. If you are interested in being a part of the solution, and would like to be a part of this committee, please email Brian Every espanola.nea@gmail.com. You will be expected to meet with the committee and come to the Executive Board meetings of the Espanola-NEA to give a report on the Committee meetings.

Until next time…

John Reese, blog novice

Back in the Saddle Again!

2009-07-29T21:23:00.001-06:00

Hello Fellow NEA Members!

Summer is nearly over, School is getting ready to start – and your Española-NEA executive board has been working already – This is going to be a long letter – so hunker down and get comfortable – or close it and forget about it – but that was fair warning!

In not any particular order except how it occurs to me here is the summer’s news.

There were at least 4 teacher that were given letters of termination who asked for our help – everyone of them was offered their job back –
There was some question about the application of the Sick Leave Policy as bargained – we had an Agreement Oversight Committee meeting to clarify and attempt to resolve the issue – I am glad to say that after discussion with the new superintendent and the administrative team we reached the consensus that administration would fully support the sick leave policy as written for all Bargaining Unit Employees (BUE’s) which is most members. Essentially all cooks (except some head cooks) all custodians (except some head custodians) all secretaries (except office managers) all maintenance workers, all teachers and all teacher aides. If I missed some category, I apologize. Regardless, what this means is that no doctors excuses are needed for any medical absence for BUE’s. But a word of caution here – abuse of the sick leave policy will result in disciplinary action and will give admin grounds to argue and fight to reinstate some restrictions on sick leave. Please – act responsibly.
While we have not yet settled on a calendar we have come to a temporary agreement on how the calendar will look while we continue to negotiate or wait for arbitration – here is the scoop – we will follow last years calendar, day for day, with the adjustment for the dates falling on different days of the week, i.e. last year we started school on Monday August 11, this year, the same date is Monday August 10. The rest of the year, until resolution of the agreement, we will follow last years calendar. The only exceptions are the first week of school. The first week of school we will start on Monday the 10^th, have a classroom work day on Tuesday, a day off on Wednesday, and students start on Thursday the 13^th. After that – see last years calendar.
There have been camera’s installed in assorted places, including looking at the time clock – the reason for the camera’s looking at the time clock is that someone at three different locations vandalized the fingerprint sensor on the clocks. While I understand the urge to engage in this kind of behavior as I too have been tempted to act on similar impulses, it really only hurts all of us to do so – the district reasonably and rightly had to spend money putting in security camera’s to protect the time clocks – spending money that could go for raises, hiring new employees, paying more of our insurance premiums, or more supplies for the classroom. Because the school board has decided to not spend more on security this year, to provide enough security for all places that need it, there are plans to put in even more camera’s, and to have someone monitoring the camera’s. I don’t at this time know where all the camera’s are going, but be forewarned there will be more camera’s going in, and this is the reason why. We have been assured that they are not being installed to monitor employees work habits in anyway – and will not be used to monitor employees for any reason – however, as has already been the case – video records have been used to verify employees being where they were supposed to be, or not being where they were supposed to be in the past. This is likely to occur in the future as well. Some administrators have told employees that they can not use the video records to prove their innocence – the committee meeting cleared this up – video records can be used by both employees and administration to ascertain the facts in any situation – after there is sufficient cause to want to check the video records in the first place. Video records are not to be used for fishing expeditions or routine employee monitoring but rather for security purposes only.
This is all I can think of at this time however we have a few events coming up for those of you who would like to get more involved – please email or call me if you can help with any of these events – dates are solid, times and places are still subject to confirmation – so please call or email for the latest info.

New Employee Orientation – August 7, EVHS, about 11 a.m. to talk to new employees about what NEA is, what it does, and why they should join - And to eat lunch with them and make them feel welcome – help them fill out applications.
All Employee Orientation – August 10, EVHS, about 9 a.m. (or earlier) to set up NEA table, greet employees, give out goodies, sign up members, present the wonderful smiling face of Española-NEA to the non-members, and do the same after the all employee meeting.
First AR & general membership meeting August 18. Time and place to be announced.
First ER (Employee Rights) meeting August 25, time and place to be announced.
We need volunteers for the ER team, and for the bargaining team – if you are interested, please contact me.

The CBA’s are posted on both our website and our blog – we have had some help with the blog – there are posts being made more frequently now than they were for a while, so please check it out – not all blog entries are sent via email. Also I am going to update the website, so you might check it out at some time, there is a lot of good information there.

Welcome back to school Española-NEA – I am excited about this new school year – I think you will find life quite different this year and I do hope you enjoy this year.

Brian

How to Enroll ...

2007-02-22T14:58:00.002-07:00

Espanola school employees may enroll at any time throughout the year. Dues are pro-rated so a new member only pays for the remaining part of the 12 month year. Most members have our dues deducted, but other payment options are shown on the form too. Please remember to sign your form, and provide all the individual information on the top part of it.

To become a member, please find the Association Representative (A.R.) in your building.

Or, you may click here https://sites.nea.org/JoinNea/ to join online.

Please mail or fax the form to the address/fax number given. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THE FORM DIRECTLY TO PAYROLL.
THANK YOU!

2009-2010 Negotiations Slowed Despite Better Relations with Board

2009-05-18T09:27:00.002-06:00

Espanola-NEA President Brian Every wrote this bargaining update for the membership:

Hi Everybody –
We had our 3rd bargaining session on the 09-10 school year issues on Thursday night (May 14, 2009). This meeting had been planned for seven weeks . We found the evening to be less than satisfactory.

We were prepared, had our financial proposals and proposed several minor changes in the contract. We were ready to start negotiating, as agreed to do with the team appointed to represent the Board.

Sadly the other side was completely unprepared. They had no proposals of their own, nor did they counter any of our offers. What a complete waste of our time, and of district funds for the expenses involved!

This recent experience helps explain to those of you not at the table why it took 17 months to get to an agreement, and another two months to get the agreement approved and signed by the board. On top of all that, their negotiator refused to schedule another bargaining session for at least another two weeks .

Your negotiation team has consistently brought to the table proposals and ideas that sought to accomplish 3 things:
* Are true to the concept of what was best for the students was also best for us and for the district.
* Are fair, reasonable, and honest.
* Are respected the districts needs.

We also attempt to work at all times to find the best solution for all issues – solutions that respected us as employees and satisfied the districts needs. This has not always been easy, especially because one member of the team has on occasion been quite difficult. I am proud of our team, especially Chief Negotiator Laurel Fain for keeping our cool in the face of provocations.
I believe the school board has come to appreciate the work and efforts we are making. Our efforts are professional. The Board has been responsive! Opening up the superintendents selection, holding a ceremony to recognize our CBA, and signing the CBA all point to a change in focus and in attitude from the board. We welcome this change and are encouraged by it.
Thank you all for your support – and for those of you who are now contributing to our blog – We are a growing community of interested, involved and dedicated public school employees and we are proud to be working in Española.

Collective Bargaining Agreement is RATIFIED!

2009-05-07T14:31:00.003-06:00

CONGRATULATIONS!
IT’S YOUR FIRST EVER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT!

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS …
* The District now pays 2% more of your insurance premium.
* When Education Assistants cover classes without a teacher present, they’re now paid an additional $5 hourly, in chunks as small as 30 minutes.
* When an employee is paid overtime or for extra duties, the timelines by which they are paid is sped up.
* All summer time and weekend work is now voluntary; none can be mandated.
* Stipends and increments are all negotiated. No more special deals. The list is updated and inclusive.
* Certified employees asked to work beyond the number of days in personal contracts will be compensated at their daily rate.
* For E.S.P., there are stronger protections for appropriate overtime.

PROFESSIONAL ADVANCES …
* Discipline of students must be fair and supportive of employees and classroom management.
* A new limit is placed on interference with preparation time: other duties can only be assigned during your prep period on not more than 3 of every 20 days.
* A new limit on the number and length of faculty meetings: not more than one (1) hour in length, and not to exceed three hours in every 20 days (and they can’t be called with less than 48 hour advance notice).
* A new limit is created on requirements for the participation of Certified employees in "other professional duties" of not more than thirteen (13) hours per year. When required, employees will receive ten (10) days notice beforehand.
* Grade changes can no longer happen mysteriously or without thorough documentation, and teachers play a critical role.
* Employees will be provided copies of all forms and information concerning PDP’s observation and evaluation procedures at the beginning of each year.
* Site-based committees can’t be staffed by "favorites" only: the administrator must use an open-process. Site-based decisions must comply with the C.B.A.
* The District must consult with employees prior to requesting Class Size waivers from the PED.
Employees who drive (on more than one day) to more than one site, ten or more miles apart, are now reimbursed at the state rate.
* Stipend "post-season" bonuses now apply to sponsors and advisors of academic and cultural activities as well as for athletic coaches.

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ARE CLEARER AND EXPANDED …
* Now, Discipline of employees must be fair: high standards apply. Disciplinary actions will be based on just cause, and this includes new employees too.
* If a meeting involves any issues which may lead to discipline, the employee can stop it until a union representative can be present.
* Personnel files cannot include any documents which you haven’t been shown first and signed for. You can respond to any document in your file.
* Final Grievance decisions are now made by an Arbitrator selected by the union and management together. The process is no longer political: the Board has no role at all and the administration can be overruled.
* No more time-clocks for certified staff working in one building.
* At the conclusion of faculty/staff meetings, a designated Association Representative may make Association announcements
* When you’re too sick for work…
* Teachers and others can not be made to find their own substitutes (as has sometimes been the practice here).
* The Leave policies now treat you with respect. No more presumption that you’re abusing the policy.
* VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS: Current employees applying for another job will all be interviewed, and will always be considered before outside applicants. Interviewed employees will be given written notice of decisions – no more waiting in limbo.
* The District must prove a REDUCTION IN FORCE is needed before laying off employees for budget reasons and if it is, then the new fair and objective process protects the employment rights of all bargaining unit members. A RIF cannot ever be used to retaliate against an employee.
* INVOLUNTARY TRANSFERS: no employee will suffer a loss in compensation during the current or future years because of a transfer.

EXCLUSIVE ESPAÑOLA-NEA RIGHTS …
* No significant changes can be made by the administration to any working condition without negotiating first with your union.
* At the conclusion of a faculty/staff meeting a designated Association Representative may make short Española-NEA announcements
* Your representation rights are stronger than ever in all employee rights situations.
* An Agreement oversight committee composed of union and management representatives can meet at any time to discuss district-wide concerns, but all major changes need to be negotiated and Española-NEA members vote to approve or reject any changes. Non-members have no say.

Please Note: Your unpaid negotiation team spent hundreds of hours over 18 months, and now you and all other employees in our bargaining unit will benefit. The Collective Bargaining Agreement works for you. Everyone benefits from the success made possible by our dues paying members. We NEED the membership of every Espanola school employee so we can enforce this agreement and together achieve lasting power to negotiate more successes for next year. If you’re not already a member, join today!

NEA President Van Roekel - Union Advocacy, Activism Makes for Solid Education Policies

2009-03-30T12:15:00.000-06:00

SUPERINTENDENT FORUM

2009-03-30T10:49:00.004-06:00

Espanola-NEA will host a Superintendent's Forum. The district has reduced the list of 16 candidates to a list of eight, and they expect to reduce that soon to a short list of two. The forum is set for April 23rd from 4 pm to 6 pm at the CVMS Auditorium. Please send me some questions - we have already agreed to a good size portion of the two hours being questions from the audience, but they also wanted us, Espanola-NEA to ask some questions!

Mark April 23 at 4 pm on your calendar as a must show so you can meet our new superintendent as one of them will surely be chosen. And while I am asking - would you all like to vote on which candidate you like best as you leave the forum? I have not discussed this with Mr. Valerio, but I think he would be willing to hear your input. Obviously our vote would not be binding...but it might be nice to give them the input.

So feed it back to me please...what questions, and vote or no vote! Reminder - Next AR - General Membership Meeting Tuesday April 14, at Big Dawg's - 4:15 pm.

Sign up a few new members, and be there - bring them along we will all benefit from it. Plus, you will get to vote for the CBA!

Brian Every

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS, WE PRINT!

2009-03-24T10:47:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone -
Here are the official election results for our 2009 Officers Election - 70 ballots were returned--all nominee's were elected. We have an elected RA and an alternate, and we have two alternates to the Spring and Fall council for next year as well as a full slate to go to the council. We also have three new officers Olivia Lujan as Treasurer, Becki Trujillo as VP Certified, and Tina Talachy as Corresponding Secretary.

This is exciting and I am looking forward to working with our new board and our new CBA. Election results were certified by John Reese, Election Committee Chairperson, Lucile Martinez-Holguin, Executive Vice President and Brian Every, President.

Exciting times are ahead. But as our new President Obama says, it will not be easy. With the 180 Day student instructional day passed by the legislature, we have very little in the way of options for setting the new calendar which we will be negotiating on March 30. We need all the members we can get signed up as quickly as possible so we have some strength going into those negotiations.

We have plans to have our Ratification election the last two weeks of April --culminating in an ballot count on May 1 -- time and place to be announced. Please plan on voting in that election and attending the Ballot count. The celebration will be on May 1st.

And a reminder of our General Membership - AR meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 4.15 pm at Big Dawg's - See you there.

Brian Every, PresidentEspanola-NEA

WHAT DOES ESPANOLA NEA DO? PLENTY!

2009-02-03T08:40:00.008-07:00

I am writing this while feeling pretty good about the subject title - So far, since August we have helped at least 4 employees keep their jobs, helped several employees with scheduling issues and gotten a couple of employees pay for things they should be being paid for but were not. The aggregate of this extra pay is quite substantial - in the thousands - for those employees. We have also assisted in countless smaller issues - helping our members develop better relationships with their immediate supervisors. Here is how a press release - sanitized to protect all involved - but seriously, a true story - about one of our more recent efforts.
UNION HELPS MEMBER WIN BACK PAY FOR LOST PREP:
The Espaňola-NEA helped a teacher-member recently win back their prep period as well as a large financial payment to compensate for prep periods already worked. The victory came at Level II of the process after the member developed the case, working closely with the Espaňola-NEA Employee Rights advocates. While the grievance moved forward, administrators repeatedly claimed nothing could be done to change the class schedules in order to provide the required preparation period, but they then yielded at the last minute.
ON THE NEGOTIATIONS FRONT:
Negotiations for our Certified contract has finally reached impasse. Ironically, this represents progress since it means a federal mediator will help us reach agreement on the only two outstanding issues on which we have not yet reached agreement: Stipends and Association Rights. Without good Association Rights, such as those enjoyed in other districts, we simply can’t represent you well.
Last night, we continued negotiations – this time on our "ESP" contract, and reached agreement on more than a dozen issues!
We will be having our next General Membership and RA meeting at Big Dawg's Tuesday Feb 10 at 4.15 - this will be followed by a presentation by Snookie on members benefits, If you are feeling the pinch of the current world (or local) financial situation you should come hear her presentation - there are lots of ways being a member can save you some money. So come on out, visit with some friends, have a snack and beverage, get the latest news and updates on what is happening with Espanola-NEA and learn how to save some money - we look forward to seeing you.
One other item of note - it is time to start recruiting more members - ONLY members can vote on ratification of our agreement and that election will be coming soon. We have had a lot of success with employee rights, but to be honest, the more members we have the stronger we are, the more success we have - it is a linear equation. Please talk to your friends and colleagues; membership is absolutely the key to our success.
Thank you, I hope to see you Tuesday the 10th.
Brian EveryPresident, Espaňola-NEA

BE IN THE FOREFRONT OF CHANGE

2009-01-28T14:28:00.008-07:00

Be an activist and don't leave the comfort of your home computer. Help shake things up during the 60-day session. Stand up to those who would increase our class sizes and reduce our pay.

The legislative session is a moving target. But you can stay on top of it by visiting the NEA-NM web site. http://www.nea-nm.org/

At the top of the site, you see the blog for the legislative session where you'll find the facts, the day-to-day changes at the Roundhouse. Visit the blog. Take action. Make a difference,

Earning and Saving $s in Tough Times

2009-01-19T16:11:00.002-07:00

Española-NEA
NEA-NM and NEA Member Benefits:
HELPING MAKE MEMBERS’ LIVES BETTER!

SAVING & EARNING $’S IN TOUGH TIMES:
Just In Time For Valentine’s Day:

ONE Hour To Increase the Financial Returns on your NEA Membership
(Your sweetheart is sure to be pleased)!
Presented by
Eleanor "Snookie" Krumbiegel, NEA Member Benefits

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
4:30 p.m. (arrive on time for door prizes!)
BIG DAWG’S RESTAURANT on Riverside Drive

THE INAUGURATION OF CHANGE

2009-01-19T14:50:00.005-07:00

January 20th 5:30-9:30pm
Northern New Mexico College Cafeteria
FREE FOOD
Rebroadcast of the Inaugural Ceremony. Music/ Dancing
Opportunities to Become Involved in Change & Hope in the Española Valley & Northern New Mexico

Join us in Developing Local Solutions to Health Care, Education, The Environment, Justice & Civil Rights, Immigration Community Infrastructure, National Security, Government Accountability, Employment, Voters Rights, Food Issues & Drug Policy

FOR MORE INFORMATION/OR TO RSVP

my.barackobama.com/events or CALL 747-3259

LEGISLATIVE TRAINING MORE URGENT THAN EVER!

2009-01-13T14:44:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 is the date for the NEA Training so that you can be effective when advocating about education issues during the 60-day session. We make it easy for you. Find out all the information you need to know and register on line at our web site:

www.nea.org

And have fun with us in the evening after the training, and after you've visited the state capitol to meet with your representative. From 5 to 7 p.m is the legislative reception, NEA-NM's annual big bash. Food, drinks, music, fun and networking. See you there!

MEET AND GREET ON SATURDAY

2009-01-13T14:40:00.002-07:00

Jose (Coco) Archuleta, a soon-to-be school board member is hosting a Meet and Greet this coming Sunday from 4 pm to 6 pm at Big Dawg's Cafe on Riverside. NEA members are invited. This is a great opportunity for you to meet and welcome a new school board member (he is running unopposed), as well as express your concerns about any particular issues. With the governor looking to cut $76 million from the school budget, how our district is run is even more important than ever before. With the new school board hiring a new superintendent there, is a lot at stake in the up coming school year.

Come by and say hello. Wear an NEA pin, or mention you are a member!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

2009-01-09T13:51:00.003-07:00

Next Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 from 4.15 to 5.30 we will be having our monthly AR and General Membership meeting. It will be at Big Dawg's Cafe on Riverside.

ACTIVISTS WANTED AND URGENTLY NEEDED:
The training for activists for the 2009 legislative session is set for Wednesday, January 28, 2009. Go to the NEA-NM web site to register.

www.nea-nm.org

BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR: 2009

2009-01-01T09:28:00.002-07:00

Back to School Picnic

2007-08-27T20:26:00.000-06:00

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen -

It has been a long and busy summer for me, and for all of you no doubt. We had a great election committee meeting back in July and have a wonderful Election strategy lined up. We have 20+ new members joined this past few weeks and more looking to join.

We had a great picnic this past Saturday with about 50 people showing up, including the current president of NEA-NM Sharon Morgan and the immediate past president of NEA-NM, Eduardo Holguin. We also had spouses, significant others and a lot children show up. It was really great. We all had a really wonderful time. It was very nice meeting and getting to know more of us in a social context with face painting, frisbee, swings, slides, and even a hoola hoop!

Our next social event is scheduled to be a tail gate election celebration in the parking lot at EVHS right after the vote counting on September 12th. Hotdogs, chips and salsa, ice cold soda's, high fives, and dancing in the street. Please plan on attending!

I want to thank everyone who helped put the picnic together and especially to thank Theresa and Janelle for their incredible efforts that made this such a great event. I also want to thank all of you members for all your efforts toward getting us to this election and for having the faith and trust that we can reach excellence together!

I also want to welcome the new members and thank them for joining. We need all the help we can get and I hope you are interested in being active, involved members. We are going to have a very interesting and exciting year, so get ready!

Watch this space for election details in the very near future!

Brian

SEARCH FOR NEW SUPERINTENDENT

2008-11-20T13:19:00.002-07:00

Community meetings for input into the selection of a new district superintendent will be held at Carlos Vigil Middle School in the Connie Valdez Auditorium.

December 10, 2008 @ 6:30 - 8:30 PM
January 14, 2009 @ 6:30 – 8:30 PM

ANTOINETTE "TONI" MONTOYA: NEA-NM HALL OF FAME

2008-11-05T15:34:00.002-07:00

The news today may be overwhelmed by the national election results, but it won't crowd out the news that Antoinette "Toni" Montoya (center) has been inducted into the NEA-NM Hall of Fame. She is shown here with Bobbi Stratton, left (Central Region chair) and right, Lucille Martinez-Holguin. Toni Montoya served as the NEA-Espanola local's vice president for six years and local AR for Espanola High School. She was Registrar at Espanola High School (for 26 years), library assistant at the high school, volleyball coach, Senior Olympics participant, and softball coach. She represented the Espanola local for state and national conventions. Now Toni has been retired for the past two years and is honored by her colleagues for her long service to NEA when she was a member for 19 years.

WHAT CAN WE DO? MEETING TO DISCUSS RESPONSES

2008-10-09T18:22:00.006-06:00

If you are as outraged as we are about the excess money going to the privileged few in central office (not everyone there), then come on down to Big Dawg's Restaurant Tuesday, October 14 at 5:30 p.m. Together, we'll explore all options available to end these unfair practices!

In case you missed the Rio Grande Sun article, HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS from the article by Jose de Wit, SUN Staff Writer:

A select group of Española School District central office employees has raked in thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars in additional pay over the past two years, even as other employees were targeted for budget-related cuts.

Almost every type of District employee, from cooks to coaches, occasionally receives some kind of additional pay over their regular salary. But roughly 15 employees in the human resources, payroll and business departments, along with one top-level secretary, consistently received overtime and other extra pay ranging from a few hundred dollars to a more than one thousand dollars along with their semi-monthly paychecks.

"It's just a gross amount of money that's being spent," Española School Board member Leonard Valerio said. Superintendent David Cockerham defended the additional pay he gave those employees, suggesting their work is more critical to the District than the work of teachers, principals and custodians. The District spent at least $86,000 last school year and $120,000 the year before in overtime pay for roughly 15 employees in the aforementioned departments, according to payroll records. This school year, the District is on its way to matching those amounts, having already spent in less than three months close to $30,000 in additional pay for the same number of employees. Half those employees made one-fourth to one-half their annual salaries in overtime. Some earned enough additional pay to inflate their salaries to rival those of higher-level administrators.

Business Manager Charlene Sanchez's combined earnings of $83,639 last school year rivaled superintendent salaries in 15 New Mexico school districts, according to the state Education Department's web site. Her earnings of $88,218 the year before were competitive with superintendent salaries in 30 districts.

When Cockerham paid his assistant, Frances Frazier, $24,320 in overtime over her $42,400 annual salary last school year, her combined earnings exceeded the salary of Reading First Director Jeannie Martinez and roughly matched the salaries of Transportation Director Sennie Quintana and Projects Manager Paul Salas, according to payroll records.
Both Sanchez's and Frazier's additional pay adds up to more days of work than seem possible in a year that is only 365 days long.

Sanchez, for example, accumulated $26,428 working "additional days" during the 2006-07 school year, according to payroll records. That figure, divided by her daily rate, amounts to 96 days. To work those days on top of her 260-day contract, Sanchez could have taken no more than nine days off the whole year — including weekends.

Sanchez said it is "entirely possible" she worked 356 days that year. "I work most weekends," she said.

Cockerham agreed. "Sure, I think it's completely possible. Absolutely!" Cockerham said. "I come by 75 percent of the time on weekends to check on them, and they're here. They work real hard, all of them."

At least as of last school year, Sanchez has also been working for Rio Arriba County Treasurer Livia Olguin at a $50-an-hour rate, according to a previous SUN report. She earned roughly half as much additional pay last school year than the year before.

Sanchez also hired her sister, former Española Valley High School nurse Monica Smith, for overtime work. Smith made at least $2,500 in overtime work for the business office, according to payroll documents.

On one occasion this May, Frazier billed the District for 166 hours of overtime over a two-week pay period, payroll records state. In April 2007, she billed 199 overtime hours — which would have put her in the office 20 hours a day, every day, for two weeks.

Time cards attached to those payments suggest they are for overtime accumulated and never paid over several months' time. Frazier said most of her overtime is for time spent at Board meetings, and for hours of work at home transcribing meeting minutes. She said the two large payments are for hours spent at Board meetings that she had neglected to claim before.

All in all, Frazier has made an average of $2,100 a month in overtime the past two years. On at least one occasion, Frazier requested a week of paid leave, then worked through the week at overtime rates, according to time cards.

Cockerham stood by the employees' overtime work, saying it is the only way to keep the District running.

The business and payroll department is short three employees, Cockerham said, so current employees had to step in and pick up the slack. Cockerham claimed all the applications the District has received for the vacant positions the last year and a half were sub-par, incapable even of using a spreadsheet.

"The bottom line: without that overtime, we would not be able to function as a payroll department," Cockerham said. "We don't have the qualified staff." Besides, Cockerham argued, because the overtime is drawn from a pot of money budgeted for the vacant positions, no school, department or program in the District is deprived of funding because of the overtime.

Board Secretary Joann Salazar did not buy Cockerham's explanation.
"Why aren't they hiring other people? In my opinion, they're not hiring them because they're getting the work and they're getting the overtime," Salazar said. "All that about not being able to find someone, I think that's a bunch of baloney."

The amount of money spent on overtime has led Board members to question the legality, or at least the propriety, of such arrangements. And the way overtime pay is distributed has teachers and some administrators crying favoritism.

Hourly employees made most of their extra pay in regular overtime, paid at one-and-a-half times their hourly rates. Administrators, who earn a set salary to work a certain amount of days each year, were compensated more creatively. Four salaried administrators are routinely paid "additional days," a form of compensation that does not exist in District policies, according to payroll records. Accounting manager Carl Stevens, for example, made $8,368 working 30 additional days at $260 each last school year. The year before, Sanchez made $26,000 almost exclusively in additional days, each billed at $275.

Last school year, Sanchez made extra pay by banking off-the-clock work as "annual leave" or vacation days, then selling it back to the District later. Sanchez banked 22 days of annual leave last school year and cashed most of them in this July for $4,860, according to payroll documents.
Salazar said both practices sounded dubious. "I don't think it's normal or even that it's legal. I'd like to see what policy allows (Cockerham) to allow that," Salazar said. "I think it's an abuse. They're still getting paid, no matter what you call it."

State Education Department spokeswoman Beverly Friedman said as long as the District is paying overtime out of its general operational fund, overtime policies are a District matter. Several administrators said some departments get extra work — and pay — lavished on them, while other departments are afraid to request overtime pay for work their employees are doing off the clock.

"I want my piece of the pie, too," high school Principal Bruce Hopmeier said, pointing out that he and the school's three other administrators are not paid overtime for work they do on evenings and weekends.

"I really don't think it's fair," high school Assistant Principal Dolores Guzman said. The Title One and Bilingual departments have each lost an employee over the past two years due to job cuts. Title One Director Evelyn Maruska said she routinely needs to take her work home, but has been denied requests to bank days to her annual leave or get paid additional days — benefits awarded regularly to business office and human resources administrators. When Maruska requests overtime for her two assistants, they are granted a "minimal" amount of time, she said. Bilingual Director Marilyn McBane said her assistant has been granted overtime exactly twice, for four hours each.

"Most of the time, though, I never ask, because it's been made clear that we're not going to get it," McBane said. Cockerham attempted to cut the contract days — and salaries — of administrators and support in Title One, Bilingual and two other departments in April, citing a projected budget shortfall for this school year. Until as recently as Sept. 30, when Cockerham settled a complaint from the District's employee union, transportation department employees risked losing their jobs in January.

Teachers also asked why they don't get overtime for the hours they work off the clock. Like administrators, teachers are paid an annual salary, which also obligates them to attend training events and school functions on evenings, weekends and during the summer. Teachers are not eligible for overtime pay, and while they are sometimes paid a stipend for weekend and summer work, it amounts to half a day's pay or less, Every said.

"My salary comes with an expectation that I'm going to get certain stuff done, within my regular schedule or not, and I'm not going to get paid extra for it. That's why I'm salaried," Española Valley High School math teacher Brian Every said. "But if they're willing to pay salaried administrators overtime, they should be willing to pay teachers overtime as well."

Every, who is also the employee union president, said the situation is often worse for custodians. High school custodian Sylvia Garcia said custodians are often told there's no money — no money for overtime, no money for substitutes, no money for supplies.

"They tell us to do what we can in our eight hours and leave the rest," Garcia said. "I clean it all up anyway, even just on my own time. I just want it to be clean for the students the next morning."

Cockerham dismissed all those employees' complaints, claiming they are not required to work outside their regular working hours. If a custodian chooses to spent extra time cleaning, if a teacher wants to spent a few days of summer vacation preparing her classroom for the next school year, that's great of them, Cockerham said, but it doesn't entitle them to overtime.
Cockerham also argued the central office employees are more entitled to additional pay than teachers or custodians because the administrators' work is more critical to the functioning of the District.

"The question is, is it critical to the operation of the District?" Cockerham asked of custodians' work. "Who's going to complain if they don't get paid? Every employee in the District."

Charles Goodmacher, a representative from the state office of the National Education Association, took issue with Cockerham's attitude. The District's employee union is a chapter of the Association.

"That's just outrageous," Goodmacher said. "When employees who directly serve the students — custodians, teaching assistants — when they're denied that privilege categorically, while certain few in central office are paying themselves overtime, it's simply outrageous."

District Agrees To Bargain All Changes!

2008-10-02T09:53:00.001-06:00

Hi Everyone -

Great news!

After an exhausting day of negotiations through our lawyer and our UniServ - Charles Goodmacher - we resolved one of our Prohibitive Practices Complaints against the District - Below is Charle's summary of the settlement preceded by NEA-NM President Sharon Morgan's comments on our success. WE keep standing up and insisting on fair and equitable treatment - and we are getting it - this would not be happening with out the continued support all of you are providing by being vigilant at work, vocal to admin and your NEA representative and your continuous recruiting of new members - it is our strength in membership coupled with our dogged insistence in fair and honest treatment that allows us to make the changes we are achieving.

We are hoping to have the CBA finished and ratified by Thanksgiving...which would make it just over a year in the creation.

And from Sharon Morgan -

Congratulations! Wow-this is a great victory and hopefully now you'll be able to move forward and complete bargaining!
Congrats to all!
Sharon

And from Charles Goodmacher -

District Agrees to Halt Unilateral Actions
Prohibited Practice Complaint Settled
October 1, 2008

The Espanola-NEA and Espanola Public Schools agreed to a settlement yesterday in the matter of a Prohibited Practice Complaint filed by the union. "With this settlement, we move forward in our mutual bargaining relationship. The outcome is good for all the individuals directly affected as well as for the union and the District," said Española-NEA President Brian Every.
The settlement agreement includes:
1. The District agrees not to implement unilateral changes that affect wages, salary, and working conditions of the employees;
2. The District and Espanola NEA agree to bargain in good faith over wages, hours, and all other terms and conditions of employment of the bargaining unit employees. The District will not bargain directly with any employee over wages, salaries, and working conditions;
3. The work year of affected employees is restored, or altered by a voluntary agreement.
4. Prior to any mid-year staffing changes that may be required for financial reasons, the District will follow the Reduction in Force procedure set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the District and Espanola NEA.

We Need to Think - and Stand UP!

2008-05-11T17:24:00.003-06:00

Hi All –

As a person working in the world of education I have been frequently surprised by people – in education - who seem to feel they really know what is best and what is right, usually someone in administration but occasionally another teacher. So I was surprised, and pleased to see these two very different people, in addressing very different crowds, agree with the point of view I have come to embrace as I have become more and more educated. For what it is worth, here are the two articles I read this week.

“In a rare public rebuke, Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week scolded the Air Force for not doing enough to help the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Gates specifically complained that getting the Air Force to send unmanned surveillance aircraft to war zones was ‘like pulling teeth.’ Gates has been pushing the Air Forsce for months to send more Predator drone aircraft, which can engage enemy soldiers without risking the lives of U.S. personnel. Officers ‘stuck in old ways of doing business’ have resisted the shift to unmanned aircraft, Gates said. Gates, who served in the Air Force in the 1960s as a young officer, urged the officers in his audience to challenge conventional wisdom. ‘Dissent is a sign of health in an organization,’ Gates said. (emphasis added) (The Week, May 2, 2008, volume 8, issue 359, pg 7)

So here we have the United States Secretary of Defense telling officers in the Air Force that they should be questioning their superiors, and suggesting that is a sign of health for them to do that. I wonder if that would be good policy for all organizations? For ours? Could, would or does this apply to us as well?

Story number two, same magazine, page 12, Susan Jacoby, Los Angeles Times. “The closing of the American mind – As an atheist who takes a dim view of the influence of religion, I am greeted enthusiastically in nearly all of my public appearances. I’m not bragging. It’s just that everywhere I appear, 95 percent of the audience shares my political and cultural views – and serious conservatives report exactly the same experience. Indeed it is getting harder to find anyone who’s willing to give a fair shake – or any hearing at all – to opposing viewpoints. Whether watching television news, consulting political blogs, or (more rarely) reading books, Americans today have become a people in search of validation for opinions that they already hold. So when Gen. David Petraeous testifies before congress, liberals tune to radio or TV shows that mock him and insist that Iraq is lost; conservatives, meanwhile, comfort themselves with echo-chamber pundits who proclaim that victory is at hand. Such close-minded stubbornness is not only lazy; it makes you very vulnerable to being duped and mislead. As long as we continue to avoid the hard work of scrutinizing public affairs without the filter of polemical shouting heads, we have no one to blame for our growing national ignorance but ourselves.“ (emphasis added)

So there are two – probably at opposite ends of several different spectrums – people saying essentially the same thing. We need to spend some time thinking about things ourselves, and listening to opposing points of view, and more, and I suggest, we need to be teaching our students to do the same thing. This is part of the skill set we supposedly are teaching our students called Critical Thinking Skills. And you know they are getting close to doing it when they complain “Oh, but teacher this is so hard! It makes my brain hurt!”

Thanks for thinking, and helping our students learn how to think – and for taking the time and effort to do all you do for our students.

I apologize for it being so long between posts - I too suffer from way to much to do and no where near enough time to do it.

Membership Drive

2008-03-10T21:27:00.002-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen -

Española-NEA has teamed up with NEA-NM in a major membership drive. We are offering two different basic deals, with different permutations for Classified and Certified. You can down load the members apps at www.nea-nm.org upper right hand corner where it says "Spring Forward" - Put in the amounts shown, we are Central Region $4 and Local Dues are $20 for a total of $495 - Write "Pro-Rated" along the right hand side next to the membership fees.

New members will pay $20.62 (approx) every two weeks, same as everyone else, (Certified - $11.56 approx Classified) For every new member an existing member signs up, the existing member will receive a 'bounty' of $30 for every Classified new member and $20 for every Certified new member.

IN ADDITION - Every Classified new member (full time) will get a REBATE of $50 for Joining ($25 Part Time) and every Certified new member will get a REBATE of $100! Now we all know money doesn't grow on trees - and this is a goodly amount of money, so there must be some hitch right?

Yes. There is.

All new members signing up under this program agree to remain members through the 2010-2011 school year.

PLEASE NOTE - NEW MEMBERS MUST SIGN UP WITH THAT SPECIFIC MEMBERSHIP FORM FROM NEA-NM.

And the member who signs them up needs to write their name in on the bottom where it says recruiter to get their bounty.

So go sign them up! Our first new member had signed up another with in 12 hours of joining!

And the Bargaining has Begun!

2007-11-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

We met at CVMS Friday the 16th of November and began negotiations between the administration of EPS and the Employee's of EPS. Interestingly the administration tried to tell us that we were not employees for the purposes of negotiations, and therefore could not be on the negotiation team or at negotiations during duty time, but administrators could. As I was not in the room during this conversation I can't tell you exactly what transpired, nor am I supposed to - until agreements are reached the negotiations are essentially secret.

However is it not typical of the district to claim that we, the district employees, are not employees for the purposes of negotiations? Instead that we represent the union, not the district, as if the district is negotiating with some unknown entity - or for that matter a known entity it considered hostile. Why do you suppose they find it so hard to believe that highly educated and very dedicated professional people such as ourselves would want to work towards creating a better, fairer, more humane, and higher achieving district? A district whose even greater successes and achievements would make us feel even more pride than we do about our efforts and the goals we have met?

Approximately 16 of us walked into the negotiating room Friday evening - physically representing custodians, counselors, reading coaches, elementary teachers, mid-school teachers, and high school teachers - spiritually representing every single distinct employee in every job category except administrator and legally representing all employees except administrators, office managers and confidential employees.

Our Lead Negotiator - Laurel Fain - opened the negotiations with this short speech -

On September 12, the Employees of Espanola Public Schools made history. On that day, they declared two things:
1. Change was necessary and critical
2. They had faith in their colleagues who were a part of NEA to represent them in making those changes.

The statements were important, but not historic. What was historic was the unanimity of the employees' voice. Fewer than 4 of every 100 employees in the district disagreed with those two assertions. Fewer than 4 in every 100 disagreed.

Never, in the history of public school employees in New Mexico, and perhaps in the realm of public employees statewide and nationwide, have employees been so united in their desire for change.

So, I congratulate each of us in being here today. Our meeting today begins an unprecedented opportunity to Reach Excellence Together. We sit at this table today in a way that has not been done within this state before. We are making history.

I would like to introduce the members of our teams. After I speak the name of each member, I ask each to state their position and school or site. I am Laurel Fain. I am a teacher at Carlos Vigil Mid High School.

She then introduced the members of the negotiation teams for Certified, and for the ESP teams, and then the members of the Support Team. At that time the support team members retired to a caucus room to work on negotiation documents while the negotiating team negotiated the ground rules, and dates, times and places for future negotiations. Here are the agreed upon dates, times, and places for future negotiations. It is quite possible that more negotiation dates will be agreed upon at some point in time - if more dates are agreed upon, I will post those too.

Negotiation Dates -
ESP - Always 4.30 pm, always EVHS Conference room

January 7th
February 5th
March 4th
April 8th
May 5th

Certified - Always 4.30 pm, always CVMS Conference Room

December 11
January 22
February 19
March 25
April 22

Española-NEA welcomes and encourages all members of the bargaining unit (anyone who could vote in the bargaining election, whether they did or not) to show up before the beginning of the bargaining session to show your support for your team, to make suggestions and share ideas on how to better the district.

We also welcome any members who wish to have a more formal hand in the negotiations to join the support team - you may do so by emailing espanola.nea@gmail.com or sending a letter to any of the Española-NEA officers.

To all members of the bargaining unit - I suggest to you that if there was ever a time to stand up for what you believe is right and proper in our workplace, NOW IS THAT TIME! We can Reach Excellence Together and we will do so with your support United We Bargain for mutually agreeable rules in the work place with mutual respect, Divided We Beg for anything we might want or need, including dignity.

I hope everyone will come to CVMS on Dec 11th before 4.30 to shake the hands of the Certified Bargaining team as they go into begin negotiations - See you there!

Recent News -

2007-11-01T20:47:00.000-06:00

Hi All -

Sorry I didn't post anything last weekend - things were up in the air and I kept waiting to see if anything resolved. And it did - about mid week. We now have a date for our first meeting with Mr. John Martinez, and the rest of the administrations bargaining team. The purpose of the meeting will be to introduce the -we assume - three negotiation teams to each other (two for us, classified and certified and one for them administration) set the ground rules for negotiations, and set several dates for future negotiating sessions.

The date and time for this will be 4:30 on Friday the 16th of November.

And this ushers in a new age and reality for all of us. How interesting and strange it feels - to see our hard work actually make a change.

We have our first newsletter nearly ready to print, and I expect we will be getting it to you in the next week or so.

The bargaining team continues to meet and train, the support team is busy putting together positions on results of survey - we continue to plumb the data for indications of what is most important and to whom, and what other information we can glean from the results. Thank you all who filled in the survey and returned it. This information will help us tremendously.

We have an Employee Rights committee formed, they are working on learning the ropes, the ins and outs of the school and district policies and how those are affected by Collective Bargaining, and what proper procedures are when there is conflict and misunderstanding. Anyone interested in being part of the Employee Rights committee please indicate by email to espanola.nea@gmail.com and we will get right to you.

If you are interested in working on any of our other committees, please indicate by email to espanola.nea@gmail.com as always there is plenty to be done and your commitment can be as little as an hour a month or as much as you like. Remember WE are the NEA.

Till next week.

Brian