LTEA Newsletter
July 22, 2016
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - Michele D'Angelo (dangelo@rider.edu)
1. In June, the LTEA honored our retirees and Governor’s Award winners at Rho. Over 50 people turned out to celebrate their colleagues. Thanks for all of the kind words for honorees.(See photo below). For those who did not attend, gifts are available for pick-up at LHS M-F 8-3pm.
2. Your Chief ARs conducted End of Year Member inventories. If you did not meet with your Chief AR at the end of the year, please take a moment to meet with them and fill out the communication sheet this summer. We are setting up our communication system for the upcoming negotiations.
3. In June, the LTEA Executive Board drafted a letter with the assistance of NJEA detailing our concerns that initiated the Vote of No Confidence. The letter was sent to each BOE member with a copy going to the superintendent as well. As a result, I had a lengthy telephone conversation with the BOE president, Kevin Van Hise. During that conversation, I agreed to put together a group of individuals who could explain the VONC process and findings. We agreed on some mutually acceptable dates. My understanding was that the LTEA officers would sit down with representatives from the BOE and we would share our information. I was dismayed when the BOE attorney, with full knowledge of the HR Director and the BOE president, prohibited the LTEA officers from attending and insisted that I attend without counsel to “answer questions.” It got much worse than I am detailing here but please know that I am hopeful that the LTPS and their agents will approach civil discourse as the LTEA attempts to have your concerns heard.
4. Four members of the LTEA attended the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly in Washington, DC over the 4th of July weekend (Alan Wilson, Donna Pitman, Mary Jo Nagy and Michele D’Angelo). Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came to speak with us. This is the first time in many years that a presidential candidate has come live to the convention center. We went through extra security and the Secret Service was there protecting her, but we all agreed that it was worth the inconvenience seeing her. Hillary spoke to us for about 30 minutes and spent another 10 minutes shaking hands as she exited the building. It was exciting and she delivered a very supportive message to educators. Much business was conducted in the 5 days, and New Jersey once again was the top contributor to Political Action monies in the nation. Major themes included: Institutional Racism and the School to Prison Pipeline theory. New Jersey voted against two major science curriculum concerns: teaching Creationism in biology class and ignoring Global Warming in science curriculums.
5. Your Negotiations Team is revving up for another term. We will be attending the NJEA Summer Leadership training in August. We will be studying Advanced Collective Bargaining. The team is as follows: Jeff Rick, Michele D’Angelo, Mike Chomicki, Kim Clancy, Donna Pitman, Lori Boggs, Linda Bradley and Stacie Mariconi. Go Team!
6. Our 1st general membership meeting will be in late September. Stay tuned for constitutional changes coming your way for preview.
7. We hope you are having a great summer…J
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In Memoriam
REMINDERS
- 7/27 Board of Education Meeting - Eggerts Crossing Road Community Center - 7:00
- 8/10 LTEA Executive Committee Meeting - LHS Conference Room - 4:00
** Check the calendar at www.ltea-united.org for more information **
Have a great week!
Michele