Traditional Elementary New Teacher Induction

Thanks to those AR's who came to the park to help with NTI today! We were able to talk to a lot of new teachers and introduce them to the JEA. In addition, UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh spoke to the new teachers. We'll be at it again tomorrow for secondary new teachers.

Jordan UniServ AR Training

We held a great AR training in conjunction with Canyons Education Association last night.  We had a good turn out! I was pleased with the engagement and questions coming from AR's who want to represent our members well. Our focus this year is on member engagement and recruitment through relational organizing. If you do not know who the AR in your building is, ask around, or contact me.

Thanks to all who attended!

Online Policy Review

As the Year Round teachers have already been told, everyone will be required to do an online policy review (similar to the one required by the state for re-licensure) entitled "Crucial Policy Review for Licensed Employees."  It is a "class" you will be registered for on JPLS.  There are six sections and a total of 42 questions.  You can do one section and save you answers to return to later.  The instructions indicate that the entire review should take about two hours.  This is in lieu of having a review done by your principal during the preparation days before school starts.  JEA brought this idea to negotiations in 2011, and the District has proceeded with our idea. 

I did the review and found it helpful to have a second browser window open to the policy (there is a link to each one within the review quiz) to make for easier reference.  I am quite familiar with Jordan District policies, and the entire review took me about 30 minutes.  I missed three questions.  You do not have the opportunity to redo your answers once you submit a section of the quiz.  All employees must complete the review by September 28.

Jordan UniServ Joint Executive Board Retreat

We had a great training today with the Canyons Education Association Board.  We talked about the roles and duties of Board members, how to start building relationships with AR's at schools they are liaisons to, and doing some team building.  I appreciate the efforts of the Executive Board members today.  You have elected great people to lead our Association!

Affordable Care Act

The following was written by former JEA President Scott Berryessa based on his experiences.  I share this so you can see some of the benefits of the new Affordable Care Act.

      THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT HAS MADE THE U.S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM STRONGER

All members of UEA and its affiliates are concerned with the rise of health insurance premiums and the ramifications of the Affordable HealthCare Act (ObamaCare.)  No doubt you have all heard many criticisms of this legislation as it has often been demonized and politicized, but I think our members deserve some facts that are separate from the partisan dialogue.

After serving on the Insurance Committee for ten years for Jordan School District and most recently for the last two years as the public education representative on the Board of Directors for P.E.H.P. (Public Employees Health Plans) and The Utah Retirement System, I have been a keen observer of the trends in health insurance.   I’d like to share some trends that you are not likely to hear in the media that you ought to consider.

Hopefully you are each aware of the positive aspects of the ACA as far as added coverage for children to age 26, covered wellness care, no more lifetime caps on coverage and the fact that soon no one can be denied coverage for  pre-existing conditions.   There are many more yet to come as they are implemented.    These are all welcome benefits that may help every one of us --eventually.  However, I’d like to share some data that you may not be aware of, but should consider and embrace.

Much of the criticism of “ObamaCare” that is being spread is that it does not do anything to contain or restrain the rising costs to cover these new benefits, let alone previous ones.  Opponents of the act claim the ACA is driving up the costs of health care. That is not true and here are some facts you need to know as you weigh the healthcare act:

In 2010-11 the initial parts of the act began to be phased in.   Keep in mind it will take a few more years before it is entirely implemented and that one of the biggest cost savings aspects, the insurance exchanges, will not be put into effect until 2014.

I hope you all will remember that in the 10 years prior to 2010, national healthcare expenses were rising year after year.  In Utah many of our school districts experienced double digit premium increases more often than not and this necessitated that employees had to pay more each year for their share of their health insurance and/or had to reduce important parts of your plans so they offered less.  For most of you, co-pays and deductibles were also increased to spread more costs to you.   As a member of the UEA Board and of my districts negotiations team during this time I know that my district and probably all of yours were forced to take less on the salary schedule to supplant additional insurance increases.  This erosion of potential earnings will cost us dearly in our retirement earnings.

Well, the good news is that nationally, insurance costs have dropped to less than 4 percent per year in the last two years and this is also reflected in Utah!!  This is attributed to the ACA and nationally has saved over $220 BILLION since 2010. Furthermore, healthcare costs are projected to stay level in the near future at least according to experts.

Between 2000 and 2009 the average family premium more than doubled at an annual increase of 8.1%, but in the two years since, premiums still rose-- but at a rate of 25% lower -- creating a savings of more than $1200 per family.  Some of the increase the last two years is credited to the fact that many insurance companies raised their premiums for profit taking before the part of the act took effect that demands that  now they MUST  justify any new  rate increase and prove it is necessary directly to improve patient care.  That is another cost saving part of the ACA you don’t hear about.  In fact, starting this month 13,000,000 Americans will be getting rebate checks back from their insurance companies if their company/provider did not meet the standard of proving, through audits, that they spent 80-85% of EVERY premium dollar for patient care directly.  The rebates will average about $138 each for a total of more than $1.1B that will be refunded this first year alone.  This part of the law insures cost efficiency from providers to meet that standard.  The largest companies and providers can only use 15% of every premium dollar for marketing, equipment, buildings, CEO compensation and shareholder dividends –(profit taking) etc.  Prior to the ACA the average spent on these things for most Insurance companies and providers was nearly 30% or more according to many studies.

The law will provide even more relief in years to come, including a tax cut averaging $4,000 for 18 million middle class Americans unless the Republican congress repeals the ACA.

Another falsehood being spread is that the law is putting a greater burden on small businesses. The facts show the opposite to be true.  Small business owners were struggling in the health insurance market long before the law passed, spending an average of 18% more than their larger competitors annually for employee coverage and often seeing their bills skyrocket if even a single employee got sick. The result of this was that many small companies dropped offering health insurance to their workers. This was not because of the ACA but the conditions that existed prior to 2020.

Since the law passed, the share of small businesses now offering coverage has held steady and will start to rise with the implementation of the insurance exchanges and, in part, due to new tax credits in the law and according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, this will save hundreds of thousands of small companies thousands of dollars each on their insurance costs.  When small businesses and the self-employed have the choice of shopping for coverage in the new health marketplaces, created by the states that establish market options through the exchanges, this will be a boon to expand worker coverage according to the Rand Corp.

A third common attack recycled about the ACA is that it cuts Medicare benefits.  In truth, Medicare is stronger than ever now.

Thanks to the ACA (ObamaCare), seniors have new benefits such as free preventive care as well as discounts on brand name medications in the “doughnut hole” coverage gap and this has already saved more than 5 MILLION seniors almost $600 each!!  Plus, Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen two years running.  New crackdowns on fraud abuse contained in the ACA have returned a record $5.4 BILLION to Medicare since 2010.  In fact aspects of the healthcare law have strengthened Medicare’s long term outlook, adding eight additional years to the projected solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. These are all important facts especially to every educator that is concerned about the future costs of insurance eating away at their retirement and disposable incomes.

No matter what your political leanings are, insurance costs should matter to you and knowing the facts is critical.  People are entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. These facts and others that I didn’t mention make one thing clear: Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, national health spending and insurance premium rates are rising at a slower rate, health insurance coverage is becoming more available and affordable to more Americans, small business coverage is holding steady and soon will increase and Medicare is on a stronger financial footing.

The legislation is not perfect but there has been no other credible plan or cadre of ideas put forward so I’d hope we as citizens can unite together to push our Congress to work to improve upon what we have.

Scott Berryessa

Year Round New Teacher Induction

We hosted lunch at the West Jordan Veterans' Memorial Park for year round new teachers.  We had a good turn out, and several people join!  Thanks for the help of Executive Board members and ARs who attended.  Congratulations to Melanie Durfee, Eastlake, on winning the $25 gift card for those who became new JEA members today.

School Board Meeting

Thanks to all the JEA members who attended the School Board Meeting last night.  We had about 50 people there in blue shirts.  All who spoke to the Board were respectful and spoke from their hearts!  I was asked to post my comments.  If others who spoke have their comments to post here, please do so, or email them to me to add.  You can see general summary of comments on the JEA Facebook page.

President Bojak, members of the Board, Superintendent Johnson, and Mr. Jolley, I stand before you tonight to express the disappointment felt by members of the Jordan Education Association regarding the negotiations process chosen by the Board this year.  With the election of new school board members and the appointment of a new superintendent, employees throughout the District felt calm, happy, and hopeful that morale was turning around.  The JEA Negotiations Team was looking forward to collaboration that Interest-based Bargaining brings.  That hope was lost when JEA was informed that the Board chose to “broker” negotiations by sending an attorney to the bargaining table.  The attorney you chose is not respected by his colleagues and is not a friend of public education in general. 

            As a school board, you have embraced collaboration and encourage collaboration at all levels of the District; yet, sending a broker to negotiations prevented collaboration.  As a school board you are all in support of the Leader in Me program in the elementary schools; yet, sending a broker, a person who is not invested in the success of students in the District, made synergy used to reach a win-win situation impossible.  As a school board and administration, you tell teachers how valuable and important they are; yet, teachers do not see your actions matching your words.  If the end you had in mind was to improve educator morale, you have not succeeded.

            JEA members are very concerned over the language in your proposal that would take away our right to negotiate policies that impact educator benefits and working conditions, some of which have been negotiated since 1969.  Based on a Dan Jones Survey in 2011, the public is in favor of teachers having a say in their salary, benefits, and working conditions.  As the president of JEA, I share these concerns in the hope that mediation will proceed in a more collaborative manner.

Comments by Heather Reich

My name is Heather Reich.  I teach sixth graders at Majestic Elementary and I love my job.  The only things I don’t love about the “3 Rs” are the 3 Ps: Paperwork, Politics, and Pay.

Paperwork – I know you can’t do anything about that.  I am learning to manage this as I gain more experience and knowledge about my profession.

Politics – That’s you.  You’re elected officials.  You have to please your constituents.  Like me – I’m your constituent.  My students’ parents are your constituents.  We want you to support public education by fairly compensating teachers.  Students in Jordan District deserve the best teachers – highly qualified teachers – not just the most affordable ones.  New teachers are working in Jordan District for three years, benefitting from our Mentoring Program, earning career status and leaving.  That is not what’s best for our kids and our community.  Just as teachers will leave the district – your voters will leave you if you fail to invest in experienced and well-educated teachers.

Pay – You can help with this, too.  Jordan’s last offer to teachers was a two-year deal that would fund steps and lanes for one year and not the next.  This means that you have the money to fund steps and lanes – at least for a year.  This year.  Offer teachers a one-year deal.

Please participate in negotiations and do as twenty-two other districts have done and fund steps and lanes.  Let us know you care about students in your district as much as other districts care about theirs.  Invest in experienced teachers who increase their own education.  That’s what’s best for the kids of Jordan School District.

Comments by Glenda Adams

Dear Board,

I’ve come to speak to you today because I am so disappointed in your decision to stop open communication with your employees by bringing in a broker/lawyer to the talks about salary and policy decisions. How is this going to help build a trusting relationship with your employees? I believe it will tear apart what has been building over the last year.

My school has recently been training to implement the 7 habits of the leader in me within our school. This isn’t a new program but rather a new way to build lasting habits for life. These habits are to help our students and us to learn and practice daily tools/habits to put our best efforts first. It is to teach us how to build deep lasting, highly effective relationships with other people in our school/workplace and at home. Habits such as; Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood, to Think Win-Win and to Synergize by working together for better solutions.

Your actions to stop open collaborative talk with your employees are speaking louder than you words and do not show a highly effective relationships with us. This board along with our new superintendent started to make positive steps forward with their employees by meeting with us but I’m sad to say that now your actions will begin crumbling the foundation of our trust. No one will win, there will be no best efforts to build upon and working together for better solutions will not be decided collaboratively. 

Please reconsider your decision to communicate with employees solely through a lawyer/broker. Let’s come to the table to help all of us work together for better solutions. Let’s all win and be proud of our “new” “kinder” ‘better and effective’ district that we have been working on up until now.

Thank you, Glenda Adams

Comments from James Maughan

Board Members and Superintendent Johnson:

On June 25, teachers in the district received a statement via email describing the current impasse in negotiations.  I would like to respond to this statement.

It is true that the JEA rejected your litigating attorney’s tainted offer of lane increases.  The offer was rejected because teachers refuse to relinquish 30 plus years of negotiated policies that have improved working conditions for teachers and learning environments for students.  Your attorney’s goal, and I assume yours, since he is your representative, is to eliminate collective bargaining for teachers.  This is unacceptable.

The statement also mentions the unsolicited two percent bonus awarded to teachers last year.  In other words, the board secretly appropriated a $4 million benefit without consulting the professional teachers’ association.  This was done strategically.  Teachers were not bumped up on the salary schedule, thereby avoiding future financial obligations, and the board would appear generous to the public.

I would also like to clarify the phrase “a substantial salary increase.”  We teachers are not asking you to fund extravagant lifestyles.  We are simply asking you to honor the promises you made when you hired us; if we remained loyal to the district and provided a quality education for the students, we would be compensated accordingly.  You have failed.

Finally, the statement suggests that a choice must be made between providing a quality education for students and boosting the needs and morale of teachers.  The choice is false.  We teachers provide the best education we can with the resources you have provided, and will continue to do so.  However, if you cannot provide competitive financial compensation, highly effective teachers will seek positions with other districts.  Ultimately, the families in the Jordan School District will suffer.

You, Jordan School Board must provide resources for recruiting and retaining excellent teachers, and thus a quality education for the students.

I have just publicly reprimanded and criticized you.  I now invite you to visit my classroom – any day, any period, and let me know how I am performing.

Thank you.

Comments by Robin Frodge

Good evening Board, Superintendent, and Mr. Jolley.

 My name is Robin Frodge, and I am a Special Education teacher at West Jordan High School.

 I was very disappointed in my school district when I heard that even though Jordan's nighboring districts were offering steps, lanes, and COLAs, Jordan was not making a similar offer to its employees.

 I do not know why the School Board didn't direct the District Office to prepare a budget that included funding for employee salary increases similar to other school districts'. That is a major piece of how we will restore employee morale and ensure quality schools for Jordan District students.

 I encourage the Board at this point to quickly move toward a positive resolution of negotiations with your employees.

 Thank you.