The Advocate

CPD Plan

At The Table

November 6, 2008

Your Bargaining Team met with the District team on October 30th and on November 5th.  PAT proposed to add a $1500 annual stipend for unit members with a National Certification for School Psychologists (NCSP) and for unit members with a National Certification of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language-Hearing (CCC).  Bernie Lahart, Speech Pathologist, and Chelyn Joseph, School Psychologist, spoke about the requirements and benefits of such certification.  PAT previously proposed the same stipend for unit members with National Board Certification.

Terry McKelvey, a PAT TOSA representative, articulated the concerns regarding the District’s proposal for a year-round calendar for TOSAs.  As she pointed out, TOSAs need to work when teachers work, in order to maximize support for teachers and students.

Your team proposed current language for Article 8:  Evaluation.  We also proposed that the District and PAT would establish a joint committee to update the Teacher Evaluation Process Handbook.  We signed a tentative agreement that establishes such a committee and maintains the current language in Article 8. 

The PAT Bargaining Team presented our initial proposal to the District on May 30th.  You received the complete summary of our proposal.  Each school site has a copy of our complete proposal.  As of November 5th, we have not received a complete proposal from the District.  The District stated that they would present an insurance proposal on November 13th.  Hopefully, we will receive a salary proposal on November 20th.

On November 5th, the District proposed the following in Article 20:  Workday/Work Year/School Calendar:

Your bargaining organizer has a copy of the District's proposal.

We are very disappointed with the District’s proposal.

PAT President Rebecca Levison stated,

The tone of the PPS bargaining team was disturbing.  The implication that Portland educators are not ‘being a community of professionals’ and somehow there is ‘dead time’ during the workday was preposterous.  PAT members are hardworking, outstanding professionals and deserve the utmost respect.

Gail Black, PAT Vice President was present during the session and said,

At the bargaining table, the District stated that high school teachers are ‘quite involved in developing schedules’.  This is simply not so.  In most high schools, teachers are routinely excluded from the process of developing their schedules, and only through the PAT’s contract exception process have they been able to have some input into the final schedule.  In the District’s proposal, administrators could impose a schedule upon the staff.

PAT Bargaining Team member reactions:

Rick Kolinsky, Bargaining Chairperson, Lincoln High School,

Eliminating our workload agreement?  NO!!!

Liz Mayer, Roseway Heights,

I was frustrated by the District’s proposal yesterday regarding workload/work day.  The District is not being thoughtful about the ‘flexibility schedule’ and it was alarming to me as a special education teacher to hear a proposal in which the District is attempting to place more demands on me.

I do not feel like the District is listening to the concerns of the Bargaining Team or PPS teachers regarding workload.  We are being asked to do more with fewer resources.

Bill Wiesner, Faubion School,

It is evident that the District wishes to continue their practice of top-down decision making with their proposed contract language in Article 20 and their deletion of our workload language.  They wish to increase the workday, increase the workload, leave planning times up to the site administrator’s discretion, and yet we still have not seen a proposal on salary or health insurance.  Their poor explanation of this insulting proposal shows just how out of touch they are with the needs of students, parents and teachers.

Bill Wilson, Grant High School,

According to the District’s proposal, high school teachers would teach six classes on top of working longer days and more days per year.  In addition, we would no longer have a prep period each day, but rather prep time per week to be determined by administration.  It’s astonishing to think of what they want in terms of workload in relation to all that we are working to implement from the past couple of years.

Our next bargaining sessions are on November 13th and November 20th.  They are held in the
L-1 conference room at BESC. They begin at 4:30 p.m.  You are welcome to attend.