TOUGH TIMES IN SHORELINE? NOT FOR ADMINISTRATORS!!
While SESPA employees are asked to make devastating cuts to their work year and cut back on professional development, administrative employees have been busy giving themselves raises.
District documents confirm the following compensation increases:
Superintendent $8,276 or a 4.42% increase
Deputy Superintendent $10,000 or a 7.2% bonus
Superintendent’s Assistant $2169 or a 3.5% increase
Deputy Superintend. Asst. $1517 or a 2.7% increase
HR Executive Asst. $1081 or a 2.07% increase
HR Confidential Specialist $1081 or a 2.07% increase
In addition, the Shoreline District quietly changed the classification system for Professional-Technical employees and upgraded several positions.
Transportation Dispatch Lead added to the salary schedule at $55,918
Student Information System $4,082 or a 7.3% increase
HR Certificated Specialist $4,474 or a 6.5% increase
Public Information Officer $4,474 or a 6.5% increase
Capital Projects Coordinator renamed and given $8504 or a 11.7% increase
Network Manager $12,803 or a 15.76% increase
District administration didn’t want to leave out building and central office administrators from the efforts to improve administrative compensation, so they rolled four (4) supplemental days into the base salary schedule; thereby, pumping up the base salary for future increases.
Meanwhile, Shoreline SESPA employees, an affiliate of the WEA, are being asked to accept cuts of 5-24 work days and professional development pay reduced from $25 per hour to as low as $11 per hour. Over 60 percent of SESPA members do not qualify for experience increments and will have their salaries frozen for five years if SESPA ever accepted the District’s wage offer.
SESPA WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS DOUBLE STANDARD AND NOR SHOULD YOU!!
COME TO OUR SIGN MAKING PARTY ON AUGUST 9 AT 2:00 PM AT THE
WEA-CASCADE UNISERV OFFICE, 18704 Bothell Way NE, Suite 101
Bothell, WA 98011 (right behind Café Ladro in the Lovested-Worthington building
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
July 20, 2010 Update on Bargaining
Shoreline School District's ending fund balance continues to grow. We learned on July 19 that the District is projecting the ending fund to reach $ 10 MILLION by the end of August.
They have plenty of money to address the needs of SESPA members.
Did you know that over 60 % of SESPA members do NOT qualify for an experience increment? Why, you ask? Over 40 % are assigned "temporary" hours and temporary work doesn't qualify for increments. Another 20 % of our dedicated veteran employees are stuck at the top of the SESPA salary schedule. Even those at the 20 year step do not earn a "Living Wage" to support themselves and their families.
The district unilaterally declared impasse at our last bargaining session and requested a State mediator. We have been assigned Robin Romeo as our mediator. Rose Ann McLaughlin and Donna Lurie will meet with the mediator on August 4th. Our next bargaining session is scheduled for August 16.
Thanks for your support,
Your Bargaining Team
They have plenty of money to address the needs of SESPA members.
Did you know that over 60 % of SESPA members do NOT qualify for an experience increment? Why, you ask? Over 40 % are assigned "temporary" hours and temporary work doesn't qualify for increments. Another 20 % of our dedicated veteran employees are stuck at the top of the SESPA salary schedule. Even those at the 20 year step do not earn a "Living Wage" to support themselves and their families.
The district unilaterally declared impasse at our last bargaining session and requested a State mediator. We have been assigned Robin Romeo as our mediator. Rose Ann McLaughlin and Donna Lurie will meet with the mediator on August 4th. Our next bargaining session is scheduled for August 16.
Thanks for your support,
Your Bargaining Team
Thursday, July 1, 2010
District says WE ARE NOT WORTHY
June 29 SESPA Bargaining Update – "WE ARE NOT WORTHY"
That’s the message that the SESPA Bargaining Team received from the District Team in the last few days of negotiations. Administrators argued that SESPA employees are paid enough and should accept a contract offer that includes five years of no pay increases from the District (2008-09 through 2012-13) and substantial cuts to nurses, security, behavior techs, and library techs. Some employees are being asked to accept a loss of 24 days of pay! Deputy Superintendent Marcia Harris will argue that SESPA and SEA employees should rely on the (mythical) State Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) that have been suspended for probably the next 4-6 years. Meanwhile, she just got a $10,000 bonus.
Compare this offer with the fact that administrative groups (Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent, confidential assistants, principals, and central office administrators) all received substantial improvements in their compensation packages, in addition to the (mythical) State Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA).
Shoreline School District’s ending fund balance is at an all-time high - over $15 million in the District’s May budget report). A fund balance = the money that is not spent.
Services to kids will be diminished after promising voters that Shoreline will retain the full staffing model of support services for students and families. Will we be forced to close libraries or health rooms for blocks of time? What about time for special education teams to plan behavior interventions and appropriate services for special needs students?
Never mind that SESPA employees were promised by Sue Walker that some restoration would be made to employees when the fund balance returned - in recognition of the sacrifices they have made for Shoreline Schools over the last decade (wage freeze for last two years, suspended professional development stipends, loss of over 100 positions, loss of hours, reductions in benefit programs, etc.)
When the SESPA Bargaining Team refused to freeze wages for five years and accept devastating cuts to our members’ work years, the District Team broke off negotiations and unilaterally declared impasse. The District will request that a State mediator be involved in negotiations. SESPA does not see how ending face-to-face discussions and placing the bargaining teams in separate rooms will improve the parties’ relationship or ability to communicate with each other.
Being RESPECTED, VALUED AND PAID would go a long ways with SESPA employees. If the Shoreline administration truly wants a productive working relationship, then they need to stop treating their hard-working and dedicated employees as "unnecessary expenses" and "non-essential" staff.
Please contact Superintendent Walker at sue.walker@shorelineschools.org and School Board members at school.board@shorelineschools.org to communicate your concern over how SESPA employees are being treated by the Shoreline administration. Talk to your friends and neighbors over the summer.
Thank You for Your Support, from your SESPA Bargaining Team
SAVE THE DATE – AUGUST 16 – COFFEE RALLY AT 7:30 AM
LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED – CHECK www.sespaunion.blogspot.com
That’s the message that the SESPA Bargaining Team received from the District Team in the last few days of negotiations. Administrators argued that SESPA employees are paid enough and should accept a contract offer that includes five years of no pay increases from the District (2008-09 through 2012-13) and substantial cuts to nurses, security, behavior techs, and library techs. Some employees are being asked to accept a loss of 24 days of pay! Deputy Superintendent Marcia Harris will argue that SESPA and SEA employees should rely on the (mythical) State Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) that have been suspended for probably the next 4-6 years. Meanwhile, she just got a $10,000 bonus.
Compare this offer with the fact that administrative groups (Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent, confidential assistants, principals, and central office administrators) all received substantial improvements in their compensation packages, in addition to the (mythical) State Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA).
Shoreline School District’s ending fund balance is at an all-time high - over $15 million in the District’s May budget report). A fund balance = the money that is not spent.
Services to kids will be diminished after promising voters that Shoreline will retain the full staffing model of support services for students and families. Will we be forced to close libraries or health rooms for blocks of time? What about time for special education teams to plan behavior interventions and appropriate services for special needs students?
Never mind that SESPA employees were promised by Sue Walker that some restoration would be made to employees when the fund balance returned - in recognition of the sacrifices they have made for Shoreline Schools over the last decade (wage freeze for last two years, suspended professional development stipends, loss of over 100 positions, loss of hours, reductions in benefit programs, etc.)
When the SESPA Bargaining Team refused to freeze wages for five years and accept devastating cuts to our members’ work years, the District Team broke off negotiations and unilaterally declared impasse. The District will request that a State mediator be involved in negotiations. SESPA does not see how ending face-to-face discussions and placing the bargaining teams in separate rooms will improve the parties’ relationship or ability to communicate with each other.
Being RESPECTED, VALUED AND PAID would go a long ways with SESPA employees. If the Shoreline administration truly wants a productive working relationship, then they need to stop treating their hard-working and dedicated employees as "unnecessary expenses" and "non-essential" staff.
Please contact Superintendent Walker at sue.walker@shorelineschools.org and School Board members at school.board@shorelineschools.org to communicate your concern over how SESPA employees are being treated by the Shoreline administration. Talk to your friends and neighbors over the summer.
Thank You for Your Support, from your SESPA Bargaining Team
SAVE THE DATE – AUGUST 16 – COFFEE RALLY AT 7:30 AM
LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED – CHECK www.sespaunion.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 24, 2010
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
United We Stand!!
Thank you to all SESPA and SEA members for attending the School Board Meeting on 6/7/10. Please send your statements and stories to Donna Lurie @ dlurie@washingtonea.org We are starting to collect all of them, but need more. We would love to see you there again on 6/21/10 Monday @ 7:00pm, bring some friends! Here are some Frequently asked questions and sugggested talking points:
SESPA FAQ’s on Contract Negotiations in Shoreline:
1. What do the proposed staffing cuts REALLY look like?
Reduced hours for Secondary Nurses and Security staff
Reduced permanent hours and positions for Special Education, ELL, Title I, and Early Childhood
Reduced hours for playground and lunchroom supervision
9-12 work days cut from School Nurse work year
30 work days cut from Secondary Library Tech work year
9 work days cut from Security staff work year
5 work days cut from Behavior Tech work year (on top of previous cuts to daily hours)
5 work days cut from Elementary Library Tech work year.
2. What impact will these cuts have on student services?
School nurses need the non-student days to review student immunizations, create life-threatening health plans, inform coaches and teachers of student health issues, complete State-required reports, and address student medical needs.
Security staff need the non-student days to complete investigation reports, engage in training, compare notes with surrounding districts, and ensure safe school facilities.
Library techs need the non-student days to repair books, process thousands of books, complete District reports, maintain the Library budget, and help carry out the District’s technology initiatives.
Behavior Techs need the non-student days to create and revise behavior management plans, contact other agencies, meet with teachers on suggested interventions, and provide student data reports.
3. What impact will these cuts have on our students?
If the workload is NOT handled on non-student days, it will have to be done while students are in school. Students will receive fewer health and safety services from nurses, security, and student supervisors.
Students will receive less academic, research, and technology help from Library Techs.
Our most vulnerable students will receive less instructional, behavioral, and social skill assistance and coordination from the cuts to Behavior Tech hours and positions.
Cuts to staff and positions in Special Education, ELL, and Title I will result in fewer and less experienced adults helping our struggling students.
4. What impact do these cuts have on Shoreline employees?
These cuts will result in the loss of thousands of dollars in wages and benefits for Shoreline employees and their families. Our members are already struggling to survive on the wages and benefits currently provided. We are not paid a “Living Wage” – an hourly wage high enough to afford to live in this area without reliance on family, parent, or government assistance. Many of our members work at least 2 different jobs to make ends meet.
5. How much money does Shoreline REALLY have?
Shoreline’s last financial report in April shows a general fund balance of $16.7 million. It is highly unlikely that the District will spend all of this money down to $3.5 million dollars. Our financial analysts are projecting a total ending fund balance of $11 million in August. This figure includes all of the “reserve” accounts specially created this year for a State COLA (not happening), Curriculum adoptions, unspent school dollars, and other purposes.
6. What is the difference between a “reserve” fund and the “unreserved” fund balance in the School District Budget?
A “reserve” fund is an amount of money that the District sets aside for a designated purpose. Funds are sitting in these accounts and have not been spent. Shoreline has created a long list of “reserve” accounts in an effort to shrink the size of their “unreserved” surplus.
7. Is the Shoreline District administration making personal sacrifices in these tough economic times?
Not really. The School Board just gave a $8,276 pay raise to Superintendent Walker and a $10,000 bonus to Deputy Superintendent Harris. Board members stated that the pay raises were for hard work, dedication, and increased work load. SESPA members are dedicated, work hard and have increased workloads, but the District wants cuts in pay rather than raises.
8. What about the building administrators?
The two-year agreement with building administrators was mysteriously reopened and renegotiated this year to roll their four supplemental days into their base salaries. Future salary increases will be made to these higher base salaries. In addition, administrators are guaranteed to be paid at the midpoint of comparison school districts.
9. What can I do if I am unhappy about the impact of District budget decisions on the people who work directly with students?
Email the School Board at school.board@shorelineschools.org
Email the Superintendent at sue.walker@shorelineschools.org
Call the Superintendent at 206-361-4214.
Tell your friends, family and neighbors to speak up and insist that the safety, health, and instructional needs of kids come first.
We hope these FAQ'S and answers help you all.
SESPA FAQ’s on Contract Negotiations in Shoreline:
1. What do the proposed staffing cuts REALLY look like?
Reduced hours for Secondary Nurses and Security staff
Reduced permanent hours and positions for Special Education, ELL, Title I, and Early Childhood
Reduced hours for playground and lunchroom supervision
9-12 work days cut from School Nurse work year
30 work days cut from Secondary Library Tech work year
9 work days cut from Security staff work year
5 work days cut from Behavior Tech work year (on top of previous cuts to daily hours)
5 work days cut from Elementary Library Tech work year.
2. What impact will these cuts have on student services?
School nurses need the non-student days to review student immunizations, create life-threatening health plans, inform coaches and teachers of student health issues, complete State-required reports, and address student medical needs.
Security staff need the non-student days to complete investigation reports, engage in training, compare notes with surrounding districts, and ensure safe school facilities.
Library techs need the non-student days to repair books, process thousands of books, complete District reports, maintain the Library budget, and help carry out the District’s technology initiatives.
Behavior Techs need the non-student days to create and revise behavior management plans, contact other agencies, meet with teachers on suggested interventions, and provide student data reports.
3. What impact will these cuts have on our students?
If the workload is NOT handled on non-student days, it will have to be done while students are in school. Students will receive fewer health and safety services from nurses, security, and student supervisors.
Students will receive less academic, research, and technology help from Library Techs.
Our most vulnerable students will receive less instructional, behavioral, and social skill assistance and coordination from the cuts to Behavior Tech hours and positions.
Cuts to staff and positions in Special Education, ELL, and Title I will result in fewer and less experienced adults helping our struggling students.
4. What impact do these cuts have on Shoreline employees?
These cuts will result in the loss of thousands of dollars in wages and benefits for Shoreline employees and their families. Our members are already struggling to survive on the wages and benefits currently provided. We are not paid a “Living Wage” – an hourly wage high enough to afford to live in this area without reliance on family, parent, or government assistance. Many of our members work at least 2 different jobs to make ends meet.
5. How much money does Shoreline REALLY have?
Shoreline’s last financial report in April shows a general fund balance of $16.7 million. It is highly unlikely that the District will spend all of this money down to $3.5 million dollars. Our financial analysts are projecting a total ending fund balance of $11 million in August. This figure includes all of the “reserve” accounts specially created this year for a State COLA (not happening), Curriculum adoptions, unspent school dollars, and other purposes.
6. What is the difference between a “reserve” fund and the “unreserved” fund balance in the School District Budget?
A “reserve” fund is an amount of money that the District sets aside for a designated purpose. Funds are sitting in these accounts and have not been spent. Shoreline has created a long list of “reserve” accounts in an effort to shrink the size of their “unreserved” surplus.
7. Is the Shoreline District administration making personal sacrifices in these tough economic times?
Not really. The School Board just gave a $8,276 pay raise to Superintendent Walker and a $10,000 bonus to Deputy Superintendent Harris. Board members stated that the pay raises were for hard work, dedication, and increased work load. SESPA members are dedicated, work hard and have increased workloads, but the District wants cuts in pay rather than raises.
8. What about the building administrators?
The two-year agreement with building administrators was mysteriously reopened and renegotiated this year to roll their four supplemental days into their base salaries. Future salary increases will be made to these higher base salaries. In addition, administrators are guaranteed to be paid at the midpoint of comparison school districts.
9. What can I do if I am unhappy about the impact of District budget decisions on the people who work directly with students?
Email the School Board at school.board@shorelineschools.org
Email the Superintendent at sue.walker@shorelineschools.org
Call the Superintendent at 206-361-4214.
Tell your friends, family and neighbors to speak up and insist that the safety, health, and instructional needs of kids come first.
We hope these FAQ'S and answers help you all.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
WHAT DOES THE DISTRICT WANT THIS TIME?
SESPA BARGAINING UPDATE – JUNE 1, 2010
RESPECTED AND VALUED as SESPA? NOT IN SHORELINE!
Despite losses of over 100 SESPA positions over the last few years, the District is proposing the following cuts and take-backs at a time of budget surplus:
Nine to twelve fewer work days for all Nurses
Nine fewer work days for Security Monitors
Five fewer work days for Behavior Techs
Five fewer work days for Elementary Library Techs
Thirty fewer work days for Secondary Library Techs (not a typo)
Different daily schedule for Secondary Nurses and Security that may result in a loss of thirty minutes per day (in addition to the loss of work days)
Have nearby schools share Crossing Guards for the same hour, thereby reducing work opportunities and hours for this group
Force injured employees to use personal sick leave to maintain their salary while recovering from injuries sustained in the line of duty
Remove frontloading of sick and personal leave in September
Require supervisor or principal approval to determine what professional development classes or training should be taken for a stipend.
The District used the SESPA staffing model in the schools to urge SESPA employees and community members to support the Maintenance and Operations Levy. Now, the District wants to change the model. Isn’t that playing “bait and switch” with our voters?? Shoreline doesn’t need to make cuts. Their ending fund balance is projected to be $11.7 million by August, 2010 – that’s 13.5 percent of their expenditures – three times what is needed by Board policy!
COME TO THE JUNE 7 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING AT 7 PM. TELL THE BOARD WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR PROPOSALS.
Your SESPA Bargaining Team
RESPECTED AND VALUED as SESPA? NOT IN SHORELINE!
Despite losses of over 100 SESPA positions over the last few years, the District is proposing the following cuts and take-backs at a time of budget surplus:
Nine to twelve fewer work days for all Nurses
Nine fewer work days for Security Monitors
Five fewer work days for Behavior Techs
Five fewer work days for Elementary Library Techs
Thirty fewer work days for Secondary Library Techs (not a typo)
Different daily schedule for Secondary Nurses and Security that may result in a loss of thirty minutes per day (in addition to the loss of work days)
Have nearby schools share Crossing Guards for the same hour, thereby reducing work opportunities and hours for this group
Force injured employees to use personal sick leave to maintain their salary while recovering from injuries sustained in the line of duty
Remove frontloading of sick and personal leave in September
Require supervisor or principal approval to determine what professional development classes or training should be taken for a stipend.
The District used the SESPA staffing model in the schools to urge SESPA employees and community members to support the Maintenance and Operations Levy. Now, the District wants to change the model. Isn’t that playing “bait and switch” with our voters?? Shoreline doesn’t need to make cuts. Their ending fund balance is projected to be $11.7 million by August, 2010 – that’s 13.5 percent of their expenditures – three times what is needed by Board policy!
COME TO THE JUNE 7 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING AT 7 PM. TELL THE BOARD WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR PROPOSALS.
Your SESPA Bargaining Team
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