LOETA NEWSLETTER
August 2023
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!
We wish you a smooth start to the work you do in your classrooms at your site.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to your site reps as issues arise. We are in this together!
Lauren and Jeremy
LOETA Co-Presidents
TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Stalling on Purpose
Here is a recap of what we are asking for:
- A $2500 stipend for all Educational Specialists based on the countless hours that they work outside of contract hours to prepare, facilitate and submit paperwork for their caseloads. The district is in agreement.
- Unfreezing the steps in the higher end of our salary. There are places where members stay frozen at a salary for 3 years before seeing an increase. Applying 2.5% to our schedule in these particular steps would not only unfreeze them but increase our salary so that members reaching 25+ years would end with a salary that is over $100,000! The district also agreed to this.
- A 5% salary increase for all members.
These are the areas that are unresolved at the present time. There are other areas that we have tentatively agreed on that are not related to compensation such as the addition of language that supports teachers who are mainstreaming students and a revamped committee structure that hopes to align itself more clearly with our needs and with MTSS/Community Schools.
We were hopeful that all of these things would be presented to us in a comprehensive package in May but the district came to the table stating that they were offering us 5% total and that we could choose how we wanted to use it. This is why we decided to not conclude our negotiations and push them to come up with the money necessary for the things we are asking for this fall.
September 15 is a critical date for us. It is when the state releases the Unaudited Actuals which reveals exactly how much money the district has to spend. We are hopeful that armed with this information, we will be able to continue to push for all three bullets listed above.
We must keep the pressure on! We made great progress through speaking at board meetings and working together to involve the community in our struggles.
TIMELINE
We will have a planning meeting with negotiators on August 10. Our first Executive Board meeting is on August 14th. We will hold a General Meeting on August 21st to share our plan.
September 15 will show us what funds we are actually working with.
We have two bargaining sessions schedule in October: 10/4 and 10/9.
If they are not successful, we will be in the right position to declare an impasse in bargaining which will trigger a third party fact finding process to determine how we come to agreement. From there, we can opt to pursue more intensive actions if we agree that they are necessary.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
SCHOOL NURSE or REGISTERED NURSE?
Dr. Morales has asked that LOETA consider signing an MOU to our contract allowing the District to hire ONE RN for the 2023-2024 school year.
LOETA acknowledged the need for a nurse and agreed with Dr. Morales that a nurse be able to work an 11-month year to cover the beginning of school as well as be present during Summer School and Summer Camps that the district offers.
LOETA asked that the District provide a salary schedule for the RN so that we are aware of how the position is being funded. The RN most likely would be a non-represented employee in a Management or Director role. We will wait to see their proposal before agreeing to sign the MOU. It is also possible that this action requires a vote from the Executive Board and/or the entire membership.
Your LOETA Leadership has secured a grant for $8400 from CTA to purchase more visibility items such as hats and signs, as well as send leaders and members to leadership conferences. Click the link below to read our grant.