John Merrow on Students During Deployment

On YouTube right now there's a great series that PBS reporter John Merrow did for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on how kids cope when their parents are deployed for the military; they're very good pieces that resonate strongly with what we do here in Medical Lake. You can find them on Merrow's YouTube channel, here. I've embedded part 1 above.

Note that YouTube is blocked from work, for obvious reasons, so you'll need to be off of the MLSD network to watch.

The Primary is Coming! The Primary is Coming!

In about three weeks, on August 19th, it will be primary election day here in Washington State. After the Governor the position with the most potential to impact us is Superintendent of Public Instruction, so I thought I'd pass along some resources that I've found that can help as you study the candidates!

The six candidates are, along with their campaign websites:

• Terry Bergeson, the incumbent running for her fourth term. Her official OSPI biography can be found here.
  
• Randy Dorn, recently Executive Director of the Public School Employees Union and a former state legislator.
  
• David Blomstrom, a fan of Hugo Chavez and past candidate for the office. His website is NSFW.
  
• Enid Duncan, a city council member and small business owner from Edgewood with experience advocating for special needs students.
  
• Donald Hansler, a former teacher and writer who once put forth an initiative that would have required lawmakers to pass the WASL in order to hold office.
  
• John Patterson Blair, a supporter of school vouchers. He finished third in the race in 2004.

Richard Roesler of the Spokesman-Review did an overview of the candidates on his blog in May; there was also an article with a bit more exposition in it, here.

Over at Politicker WA you can find out information about all the candidates by clicking on their name to see what stories they've done.

TV Washington has put together a Video Voter's Guide which gives you a chance to hear from the candidates themselves; if you follow the link to "View All", you can also download the interviews as an MP3. This goes along with the state's printed voter's guide, which should be in your mailbox soon if you haven't received it already.

The OSPI race could well be decided here in the primary; if anyone gets over 50% of the vote, they win. Make your vote count!

It's Good to be a Small Rural Local

Washington DC's public schools are in a constant state of flux. Last year a woman by the name of Michelle Rhee was hired as School Chancellor, and she's been making wholesale changes--you might have seen her interviewed on Charlie Rose recently, and she also gets a ton of coverage during the segments John Merrow does for the McNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Their contract negotiations are not gooing well at all, which isn't uncommon.

It's nice to have the contract settled--peace of mind is a good, good thing.

D'oh, and Some Health Insurance Numbers

A few weeks ago when I posted inviting you to fill out the survey regarding work day language someone left a comment that I didn't notice until today. I apologize for missing it, particularly because it's one that bears some discussion:

Thanks so much for your timely updates. How are things going? With a lean year, burdened by finaincial woes and a depressed economy teetering on the brink of recession and the energy crisis hitting us all square in the pocketbook what can we expect in the way of gains for the certified staff? What negotiating concerns have been agreed upon in content and what is still on the table? Have you any idea if the health insurance cost are going to once again absorb any or part of our COLA? Thanks for your time and efforts this summer, keep cool.

I emailed Lynn Paul in the District Office regarding health insurance information, and here's what I heard back from her:

Hello Ryan-the State Fringe Benefit Allocation will be $732 a month for 2008-09..an increase of 3 1/2%

The Health Care Authority remittance for retired school employees (carve out) paid by the District has increased 4.7% to $60.40. Group Health premiums have increased an average 8.9%, the WEA Premera Blue Cross 7.25% and the School Pool Premera Blue Cross 5.75%. WA Dental remains the same (111.20) and Willamette Dental increased 5.37% to $71.75. There will be a letter going out in August to employees about the Benefits Fair and will probably be stating the above also so people can prepare for the increases. Let me know if any further questions and thanks for helping to promote the attendance.

Essentially, then, health insurance costs are doing what they've been wont to these past few years--outpace the money that the state puts into health insurance. Thus, those of us who pay out-of-pocket (OOP) for insurance will likely be paying a bit more, but at least we've got our 5.1% COLA to help out.

Speaking of insurance costs, as we were getting ready for the bargain with the school district we did some research on the health insurance pool, and the numbers that came back were rather surprising. The chart below shows you the amount of money people paid OOP for their health insurance, as well as the number that paid in the indicated range:

Dollars OOP Per Month	Number of People
$0	43
$0 - $10	2
$10 - $20	19
$20 - $50	7
$50 - $100	25
$100 - $200	12
$200+	10
$300+	9
$400+	3
$500+	2

What does it mean?

• In a district of approximately 130 certificated staff members, 1/3 don't pay anything OOP for their health insurance. That's a fact worth celebrating.
  
• On the other hand, there's also the upper quartile with 36 folks paying more than $100 a month OOP for their insurance. These are the staff for whom the insurance pool is especially important, and I'll freely admit to being one of them.
  
• Given the general high cost of health insurance in the area, even those of us who pay out of pocket are still doing well.

All of this is a build up to remind you that the annual Benefits Fair is Monday, August 25th beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the High School. It's your one chance a year to have the insurance reps right there in front of you, and we all thank Lynn for putting it together. Hope to see you there!

Enjoy your summer!

--Ryan, for the MLEA Exec Board--

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Contract

Hello MLEA Members,

This past Tuesday, July 15th, we had our final round of negotiations with the school district, and we've finished up the proposed contract for the next three years. It was a great discussion about how to improve what is already a very good document, and all of us on the Bargaining Team would like to thank Dr. Veltri and the administrative staff for the dialogue.

I'll be posting more details about the new contract on the website in the coming weeks, and at the staff breakfast on August 27th we'll vote on ratifying.

As the lead negotiator I'd like to give special thanks to Cheryl Spilker for her calm perspective, Sharon Smith for her great ideas, and Melanie Kilgore for her energy and thoughtfulness. A first-time team member was Sheila Overman from Hallett, and her eloquence in speaking about special ed issues really helped to move the conversation forward. Tim Martin, Tina Evans, and Vikki Hernvall did a great job representing the high school. Thanks as well to Terry King for keeping me honest and Sam Peterson for running the numbers like a pro, as well as Wendy Stewart offering her presidential perspective.

A big "Thank you!" also goes out to Carol Tyson, an ex-officio member of the team who was always there to lend an ear when we needed to bounce ideas off of someone.

Should you have any questions about the process please feel free to contact the Bargaining Team member from your building, or your local MLEA Exec Board member.

We Need to Hear From You Regarding the Contract

Hello again,

Negotiations with the district for our new contract have been moving along well. We're entering a critical juncture, though, and we on the Bargaining Team need to hear your thoughts about one of the major outstanding issues: work day language.

The current relevant language on workday reads as follows:

Employees shall be in their buildings one-half hour prior to the start of school and shall remain one-half hour after the dismissal of school. The starting and dismissal times, which may vary from school to school, shall be determined by the Board, but no teacher shall be required to report for duty earlier than 7:15 a.m. one day per week and 7:30 a.m. four days per week nor remain on duty later than 3:45 p.m. one day per week or 3:50 p.m. four days per week. The length of the assigned work day shall be substantially the same for all teachers and will consist of an average of seven and one-half (7½) consecutive hours including thirty continuous minutes duty-free lunch.

What we heard from you during the bargaining survey in February was that in some buildings morning meetings were being called outside of that 7:30 a.m. window, and that the one day a week of 7:15 was particularly onerous for staff members with children at home.

What I need to hear from you, as your lead negotiator and MLEA president, is how far you want us to push on this issue. If you follow this link you'll be connected to an on-line survey--it's quick and easy, at only three questions--where you can give us your input.

You're also more than welcome to call me at any time with questions or thoughts about the process (951-1290), or you can contact the members of the Bargaining Team from your building.

Thank you for your time and guidance. Our ultimate accountability is to you, the members of the MLEA, and we want to make sure we do all that we can to honor your voice.

The survey will really help us in that process.

--Ryan, for the Bargaining Team--