The APEA Executive Committee is holding two (2) General Membership Meetings on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at the Asbury Park High School Auditorium at 2:45pm and 4:00pm, to accommodate ALL staff members. We are requiring EVERY APEA MEMBER to attend one of these extremely important meetings. NJEA Representatives will be in attendance to assist OUR local and answer additional questions.

The purpose of these meetings is to discuss Contract Negotiations, Professional Development, and any other pertinent items. We will also hold an election for the District Wide Professional Development Committee during this meeting. It is IMPERATIVE that you make very effort to attend. Neither the Executive Committee, nor the Building Reps. will be able to give you “private” meetings to discuss the direction of this school district or negotiations. We have moved our negotiations to FACT FINDING, which is EXTREMELY SERIOUS. This is a time to show our SOLIDARITY.

We are also asking that you begin to attend the Board of Education meetings beginning Wednesday, January 27, 2010. All Board meeting dates are listed on the district wide website. Our presence in this district is NECESSARY if you have any desire to receive a fair and equitable contract.

We look forward to seeing you at these meetings.

TO: APEA Membership

FROM: John Napolitani, President
Sean Hamilton, Vice President

DATE: January 19, 2010

The APEA Negotiations Team has attempted to bargain with the Board of Education in good faith, while remaining focused on the issues to settle this contract, we have clearly hit a stone wall. The Board has turned its back on the dedicated staff members of the Asbury Park School District. They used the excuse of the current economic situation, as well as our refusal to sign off on the RTTT grant application NOT to handle their moral and legal obligations to this school district.
With the Board’s posturing in mind, our mediator advised us he recommending to PERC that we move to the next step in negotiations: FACTFINDING.
We need to be VERY clear that this process WILL be very long and drawn out. We may NOT have an initial meeting for at least three months. The process may take more than one year. The comfortable bubble that our profession has been in for decades has finally burst. This is an official call to action by EVERY staff member in this district. Jobs are on the line. There’s no sitting on the side waiting to get a handout from the Board. Tenure WILL NOT protect from the onslaught of the Board. Watch your “P’s and Q’s” because the nitpicking of the dedicated staff is about to begin.

Had we agreed to sign off on the RTTT, our UNION would begin to be dismantled by the State of New Jersey based upon the serious implications this grant will have on our collective bargaining.

Strong Opposition to Federal Excise Tax Needed

Current conference discussions aimed at a compromise between the House and Senate versions of federal health legislation continue to include a 40 percent federal excise tax on health benefits costs that exceed $8,500 for single coverage and $23,000 for family.

Your immediate action is needed to oppose this additional new tax.

The House version contains a reasonable alternative that would fund health care reform through a tax on millionaires – defined as individuals making over $500,000 and families with incomes over $1 million.

As proposed, the federal excise tax will amount to a tax increase that will fall mainly on middle class workers and their families and is not fair.

Here’s what you need to do:

· Call your senators and tell them to oppose any measure that contains an excise tax:

Senator Frank Lautenberg, (973) 639-8700

Senator Robert Menendez, (973) 645-3030

· Call your congressman and tell him to oppose any measure that contains an excise tax. If you need help identifying your congressman, go to njea.org to find that information.

Attached is a Congressional district locator and roster as well as a sample phone script y ou may want to use to make your calls.

Additional information is available – and will be updated – at www.njea.org.

Act now to oppose this added tax – this bill could be finalized within days!

BACKGROUND
On December 31, we sent an update to each NJEA local association president providing the latest news on Phase 1 of the federal “Race to the Top” (RTTT) grant program.

ANALYSIS OF RTTT PROPOSAL
Based upon the discussion at that meeting, NJEA leadership’s discussions with NJ DOE staff, and review of New Jersey’s grant application, NJEA believes the grant application is severely flawed and that it contains numerous objectionable provisions as it now stands.

Among the provisions causing the greatest concern are those which would tie teacher evaluation, compensation, and tenure to student test scores.

In addition, it appears that the application would commit New Jersey to a massive expansion of its standardized testing program and a significant increase in the educational bureaucracy.

Finally, the provisions dealing with merit pay, evaluation, and length of school day/year have significant collective bargaining implications for local associations.

Based on our assessment of the proposal as it now stands, we are advising our local associations NOT to sign the memorandum of understanding because it includes merit pay, pay for performance, and/or the utilization of student test scores for teacher evaluation.

NEXT STEPS
The Department of Education has created a Memorandum of Understanding and is asking each district to obtain signatures from the superintendent, the president of the board of education, and the local association president.

On the form, it reads that the signatures are required. Please be advised you are not required to sign this form and be aware that your signature on the form would commit your local association to support all of the items included in the state’s RTTT application.

On behalf of the APEA, I would like to wish all our brothers and sisters that celebrate Passover and Easter, as well as anyone who tunes into our website to have a very blessed and happy holiday. I would also like to say to each and everyone to have a safe and happy spring break. This is a much needed rest for everyone.

With that being said, there will be no updates to our site for approximately 1 week, as we will be on vacation. We will keep everyone abreast of all the issues that affect our Union once we return from Spring Break. I ask that every member stay tuned as we need to stay mobilized for the job cuts that are going to affect our school district. We are having a very important meeting with the Ministerial Alliance and the Parent Listening Project over the break. Together, we are going to combat the Board with these cuts.

California’s Orange County Register (10/8, Leal) reported, “Hundreds of students, parents, teachers, and principals ditched cars and school buses [Wednesday] morning and slid into their sneakers and other comfortable shoes to pound the pavement” for the third annual International Walk to School Day. The nationwide event was meant to “promote children’s health, environmental awareness, and a sense of community.” The Register noted that for the walk, “local businesses donated bottled water for the kids and coffee for the grown-ups, while police officers joined in the walks to encourage safety and awareness along the roads.” More than 10 local elementary schools participated, including the Pacific Drive School in Fullerton, which “was chosen by the Orange County Department of Education and Federal Express as the featured campus in the county.” Maryland’s Gazette (10/8, Arias), Florida’s Daily News (10/9, Lewis), and Iowa ABC affiliate WQAD-TV (10/9) reported on local International Walk To School Day events.

Some California students express concerns about walking to school. The Los Angeles Times (10/9, Barboza) reports, “Students at thousands of schools nationwide walked en masse to school Wednesday in events timed for International Walk to School Day, meant to encourage physical fitness and to reduce carbon emissions.” Meanwhile, students “in poor, urban communities…where most students are not driven or bused to school but go by foot, the annual event served as a forum for long-held concerns that the journey can be a treacherous one.” At Garfield Elementary School in Santa Ana, Calif., “fifth-graders accompanied by teachers, and public health officials traced their steps to and from school” for 45 minutes on Wednesday to complete “surveys about their walk to school.