Next Stop, D.C.

The end of the school year in Springfield is still dragging out, as our BOE still hasn't approved a budget for 2012-13, and ratified contracts for teachers, schools nurses, ESP and bus drivers have yet to be presented to the BOE. I don't remember a year in which a budget wasn't approved prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year, but it looks like a probability in Springfield this year.

After two sessions of impasse, Springfield NEA finally reached a tentative agreement with the district, and an unusual summertime ratification meeting was held at the MNEA/SNEA offices on June 19. Nearly sixty members attended, which wasn't a bad turnout considering that many were scattered far and wide for the summer. After a discussion of negotiations, proposals and counter-proposals, SNEA members voted 57-1 for ratification.

Our district is now attempting to manage an unexpected cut to Title I funding that amounts to around $1.2 million. Apparently, new poverty census numbers indicate that our district population is just as poor as it's suppose to be . . . at least that's my interpretation. While our free & reduced lunch population has blown past the tipping point of 50%, the rate of increase in poverty was actually lower than in other areas of the state. Thus, a cut in funding that affects some dozen Title I positions and a score or more para positions. Several SNEA members have called for clarification on their placement for next year. So far, it appears that everybody will be placed, but the affect on each school community is difficult to measure with these kinds of unexpected transfers.

Next, it's on to D.C. for the NEA Representative Assembly and, upon return, Summer Association Leadership Training sessions in Kansas City, Columbia, St. Louis and Springfield. By the time those are wrapped up, we're practically back in school, with new teacher induction events, building rep meetings, etc.

I guess all this just underlines how varied our work is with NEA. National, state and local issues are intertwined, which ultimately creates a strong core of support for schools, education professionals and the students we serve. It's also a reminder that my candidacy for MNEA president is actually secondary to the local work at hand. I agree with the new NEA emphasis on building local capacity. It's where our basic work is done and where we are closest to our underlying purpose as an association.