Newsletter

C.V. Educator

A Publication of the Central Valley Education Association

Newsletter Archive

October 2009

Meet Your Building Rep

The Representative Council of the Central Valley Education Association is made up of the CVEA Executive Board and building reps from all buildings in the district. Each building is allowed a representative for every ten certificated employees. This organization meets once a month, usually the third Tuesday. The Rep Council is the heart of the organization. They approve the annual budget, select members of the bargaining team and must ratify any changes in the organization’s Standing Rules. More importantly they provide the most direct link between the members in the trenches and the Executive Board. Please get to know your Rep(s) and thank them for all they do. As you can see from the chart below there are positions open in several buildings . Please consider serving. If you are interested please talk to your Building Rep or call the CVEA office.

Open Enrollment ends November 15

If you are planning on making any changes to your benefits package you must do so by November 15. All forms need to be completed and in the hands of the payroll department by that date. If you have questions or if you need the correct forms contact payroll as soon as possible. Colleen Franke at 5466 or Kari Gossett at 5468 will be glad to help.

Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033

On November 3rd you will be asked to go to the polls and vote on issues both local and state wide. Please take the time to research the impact of Eyman’s latest initiative. Cutting taxes and limiting spending always has an appeal but the depths of the cuts will no doubt have some serious consequences to many public programs, education being one of them.

We have just gone through some drastic reductions in state spending. The question becomes are you willing to make further cuts in our programs and continue these into the foreseeable future? To read more about this initiative, go to www.educationvoters.org and then click on “BALLOT” and choose “Initiative 1033” from the list. Become informed and please don’t forget to vote.

Have you been asked to cover for another teacher?

As we just now start into the official flu season, it might be wise to review the contract language that governs the practice of teachers covering classes for other teachers. When a teacher is absent, a sub is retained to cover that person’s classes. In an emergency or some other unforeseen circumstance, it might be impossible to get a sub into the building on such short notice. There is a process outlined in the contract that is designed to deal with these situations. In all cases, the building principals are the first line of support and should cover the classes until a sub can be called. If that is not possible, the building principal needs to consult the list of staff members who have agreed to do such duty. In every case, covering a class is the choice of the individual teacher and will be time sheeted accordingly. The following language can be found on page 41 of the contract.

Section N - Covering for Teacher Absences

Principals will make available, at the start of the school year, a voluntary signup list for teachers who wish to assist in covering for absent staff when substitute coverage is not readily available and are willing to give up their planning time occasionally to do so. Signing up does not obligate the teacher to cover should an absence occur, but rather communicates to the principal/designee that a teacher may be willing to do so. Teachers who cover for this purpose will be reimbursed at the District hourly professional rate of pay. Compensation will be for the length of the planning period, but never less than one hour.

Are your personal records up to date?

As an educator it is important to keep and maintain your own professional records file. Your file should include, but not be limited to the items on this list. It is also important to keep this file in a safe location away from your current teaching site. While things might be going well for you now, it is not hard to imagine how your situation could change quickly with a new administrator, a change in superintendent or even a new school board for that matter.

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