may bulletin 2016 - poughkeepsie public school teachers ... · ppsta bulletin may 2016 ( 4...

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PPSTA Bulletin Vol. #18 Issue #9 May 2016

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CONTACT US! PPSTA Office Secretary

Olga Mirabilio hours: M-F 8:00-12:00

PPSTA Office: address: 40 Garden St., Suite 207 phone: (845) 471-3376 Fax: (845) 471-6793 Stephanie Green,

PPSTA President:

[email protected]

David Laffin:

[email protected]

Nancy Dingee:

[email protected]

Dominick Aquafredda:

[email protected]

Deanne Archibald:

[email protected]

Michelle Devlin:

[email protected]

For PPSTA bulletin, send

information to

[email protected]

THE PPSTA BULLETIN IS THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION FOR OUR MEMBERSHIP OF ALL MEDICAL AND DENTAL INSURANCE INFORMATION THROUGH

POMCO Benefit Coordinator -Debbie Kardas’

office hours are Tues-Thursday – 10:30-1:30 Call the PPSTA office if you have any questions

Or email at [email protected].

CALENDAR

May 4 - PPSTA Exec Mtg – 3:30 – Garden St BOE Mtg – 7 pm- Jane Bolin May 16 - Phone Banking – 5:00 – Garden St May 17- BOE Meeting (BOE & Budget Vote) – 9:30pm – Jane Bolin Curriculum Comm Mtg – 3:30 Jane Bolin May 18 - Rep Board Meeting –- 3:30 – Garden St May 19/20- Committee of 100 May 23 - Negotiations Committee – 3:30 May 25 - LAP Team Meeting – 3:30 – Garden St May 26 - CWA Poughkeepsie Picket Line 3-5 May 30 - Memorial Day June 3 - PPSTA Social – Christos June 8 - BOE Mtg (Public Hearing/Wkshp) – 7pm – Jane Bolin June 22 - BOE Mtg (Reg) – 7pm- Jane Bolin June 24 - Last Day of School June 27 – 29 –Leadership Training - Otesaga

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2 PPSTA BULLETIN May 2016 (

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Benefits Information: Calendar year information:

Medical calendar year: 1.1 - 12.31 Dental calendar year: 7.1 - 6.30 Vision calendar year: 9.1 - 8.31 Legal calendar year: 4.1 - 3.31

Notice to all PPSTA/Pomco Plan members: • POMCO-PHCS/Multiplan is the PPO network being utilized for PPSTA. • Members can locate providers by logging onto MyPOMCO. • All members have access to care based on the zip code in which they reside. • According to the Plan Document (NHAI) “Out of area status will not be available

after notice from the Plan that there is an extensive availability of PPO providers in that area”.

• Please consider this your notice that there is extensive availability of PPO providers in your area.

The PPSTA Plan document administered by POMCO is now on the PPSTA website. To access it go to www.ppsta.org, On the top menu, click on “POMCO” then click on the “PPSTA PLAN”. The PPSTA Plan document is also on the MYPOMCO.COM site. To access it there, log in and click on “My Benefits” on the top menu. Go to “Forms and Communications” and click on “PPSTA Benefit Trust SPD”. Did you get married this summer? Call the PPSTA office for a change of status form. After you receive the marriage license, please send a copy to the PPSTA office.

Did you move this summer? Call the PPSTA office with a change of address and phone information.

Do you have a child in college? Dependents in colleges are enrolled in the plan regardless of how far they live from home. There is no Out of Area coverage needed.

Did your child graduate from college recently? All children are covered under their parent’s plan until the age of 26 as long as they are enrolled in the plan.

Are you expecting a new family member? Newborns are automatically covered during the first 30 days following birth. Please send a copy of your child’s birth certificate and his/her new social security number to the PPSTA office. Parents have 30 days to enroll an adopted child or a child in legal custody. If there are any questions, please call the PPSTA office. All office information is on the first page of the bulletin.

For complete benefit details, see the PPSTA Benefit Trust Group Health and Dental summary plan description, available on MyPOMCO.com.

If you need to make any changes to your enrollment status, or to the enrollment of any of your eligible dependents, please contact the PPSTA Benefit Trust Office.

If you have prescription drug related questions, please contact ProAct at 1-877-635-9545. If you have other questions regarding your available benefits, including the preventive

and routine services available to you and your dependents, contact POMCO at 1.866.227.9936 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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APPR (As per the April Bulletin) Your building advisor/rep will be bringing you an APPR survey. The survey data (no names included) will be used for APPR Negotiations with the District and conversations with Dr. Cook regarding ongoing issues with the process. Please make sure you have reviewed the APPR flow chart and supporting documentation from the TED workbook. During your pre and post conference, you should be able to review your rubric along with the administrator’s notated evidence from all parts of the process. You have the right to provide additional, supporting evidence that you feel has been overlooked during any part of the process. TESTING (As per the April Bulletin) For State Assessments or MAPS/NWEA testing, please notify your Principal, AP, and Dr. Cook, (as well as the PPSTA President), with any anomalies to the testing process/procedures. These could be environmental, behavioral, or procedural issues that come up. It is imperative that you document any issue related that could influence how your students ‘score’, as this may influence your APPR. As Dr. Cook stated, you cannot just take a stance of ‘wait and see’. 10% LONGEVITY June 15th is the deadline to file for the one time 10% longevity benefit for those unit members that have been employed full time in the Poughkeepsie City School District (Article II Section 5.8 on page 12). If you believe you qualify and want to file for this benefit, call the PPSTA office for a form letter. This benefit is paid as additional salary during the 2014-2015 school year but is listed separately from contract salary so as NOT to be utilized as Final Average Salary in the calculation of benefits for teachers entering the retirement system after June 1971. OPEN ENROLLMENT Members can change health insurance plans from May 9th until June 9th. There has been an extended date for retirees. Please contact Central Admin or the PPSTA Office for your options and any additional questions you may have. BOARD OF EDUCATION AND BUDGET VOTE The City of Poughkeepsie voters passed the PCSD budget and elected Randall Johnson to return to the open board seat. There was a very low voter turnout and questions have been raised regarding absentee ballots. Coverage of the election has been provided by the Poughkeepsie Journal.

DIRECT DEPOSIT/BEDS: We are writing a reimbursement proposal for Shaw’s office to compensate members for their time and any penalties caused by disrupting direct deposit. This would also include a guarantee that no such action will ever occur again. “Floating Study Halls”: The PPSTA is met with Waterman and Cook on January 12th. Information will be forthcoming. Please have your timecards date stamped by the secretary and ask for a copy. Please provide a copy to your CBR. SLOs: If you are asked to recalculate your SLOs, please request a meeting with the administrator. You have every right to bring a union rep with you. You should also request, in writing, the rationale for the administrator to question your data. It is imperative to question why you are unable to utilize the same process previously used. General Membership Meeting: Due to ongoing issues, the general membership meeting will be held in February. Watch for a notice in your mailbox and email. Two – Hour Delays On two hour delays, you are not required to come to work any earlier than what we’ve done in the past. Teachers are expected to be in attendance 2 hours after the normal start time. Driving to work ‘in a timely manner’ on inclement days could prove dangerous. Please don’t risk your safety.

APPR Please make sure you review the timelines and requirements for the APPR. You should understand what is expected and when. Review the APPR Flow chart and TED booklet.

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Thank you to Kim Popken for the following write up on the Regent Judith Johnson visit and thank you to all of the PPSTA members who attended and represented the PPSTA!

Regent Judith Johnson spoke at Arlington High School on Thursday, April 7th 2016. The event, sponsored by the Dutchess County School Boards Association, was attended by teachers, administrators, and board members from all over the Hudson Valley. After giving a presentation, Mrs. Johnson answered audience-submitted questions. She was asked about all areas of education.

The PPSTA members that were in attendance submitted questions about receivership. Regarding receivership, Mrs. Johnson expressed the following:

• She agreed that the receivership law is flawed.

• Schools in receivership need more help.

• The issue of receivership would be discussed at the next meeting for the Board of Regents.

On the issue of APPR, Mrs. Johnson expressed the following:

• She has been a consistent critic of state testing and evaluation procedures.

• She agreed that the APPR system is flawed.

• She does not believe that the APPR system is fair or gives an accurate picture of a teacher’s ability.

Mrs. Johnson stated that the problem is that receivership and APPR laws need to be changed, but the Board of Regents lacks the power to change these laws. However, they are providing their opinions and making recommendations for receivership and APPR.

She spoke of the shortcomings of the State tests as well. However, when asked whether she would opt out her own child from the State tests, she said she wouldn’t answer the question.

Mrs. Johnson feels that the Board of Regents has shifted its opinion with the addition of new members who agree with her on these issues. She has been named to head up a new “work group” that will look into the issues that strike at the heart of the state’s current system. She said the foremost question revolves around whether there is evidence based on credible research that proves test scores of students in elementary and secondary schools are effective in helping evaluate teachers’ classroom performance.

Regent Johnson has been a consistent critic of state testing and evaluation procedures. We hope she continues to fight to change these laws.

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For the last few weeks our Union brothers and sisters at Verizon have been on strikeighting for a fair contract. You may have spotted Verizon workers picketing locally. We, NYSUT members, as fellow unionists must stand with them in solidarity and help educate the public and ourselves on their issues and the corporate greed of Verizon management. I am asking that every local in ED 13 adopt a Verizon staging (picketing) sight just one day a week, Monday through Friday. Ask the members to join the picket line on that day. If every NYSUT local adopts one staging site we could have NYSUT members at all the picket lines in ED 13. The moral support we can provide for our fellow unionist will be appreciated. Verizon workers are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, which is under considerable attack. Who knows? The job we save may just one day be our own!

The Poughkeepsie Public School Teachers’ Association is adopting a Verizon picket site:

CWA Local 1120 Picket - Verizon Wireless 2544 South Rd Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Join the picket line! Thursday, May 26 3:00-5:00

Come for an hour or two - even 15 minutes of your time will make a difference! Provide moral support for your fellow union brothers and sisters who are under attack! The job you help

save might some day be your own!

Wear your PPSTA shirt or a red shirt.

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Are you still paying the 3% Pension Contribution? If you have completed 10 years of service, there should be no 3% pension contribution

deduction from your paycheck! Due to union-backed legislation in 2000, employers must stop deducting the 3% pension

contribution for Tier 3 and Tier 4 members who have been members in the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System for 10 years. This means membership in the system, not just years of service. It doesn’t matter if you’ve rendered part-time service or service in another school district. Check your personal records and TRS member profile. If you find that the 3% pension contribution is being improperly deducted from your paycheck, call PPSTA President, Stephanie Green, at the PPSTA office AND the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System at 1 800 348 7298, ext. 2857. NYSTRS will contact the school district.

Your statewide union has a fundraising arm called VOTE-COPE: (Voice Of Teachers in Education, the Committee On Political Education). VOTE-COPE is a non-partisan political action arm of NYSUT and its affiliates, funded entirely by voluntary contributions from members. By law, our union dues cannot be used for many types of political advocacy. NYSUT keeps Vote-Cope contributions separate from union dues. Member contributions are the only source of political action funds for NYSUT and its affiliates. Your contributions support NYSUT-endorsed candidates and campaign committees that are pro-public education and pro-labor. The single largest category of VOTE-COPE expenditures is in the form of rebates to local unions to be used in local activities such as school board races and for passage of school budgets.

The PPSTA will be conducting its VOTE-COPE shortly. Your building representative will contact you with additional information. Nancy Dingee is

our Vote-Cope Coordinator. HELP YOUR UNION FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!

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The Importance of Record Keeping Whenever you send or receive a document such as a personal business day request, a time card for payment, a request for in-service credit

or course approval, a formal evaluation or any other communication with the District office or administration, it is very IMPORTANT THAT YOU MAKE AND KEEP A COPY. There are

times that these forms are lost or misplaced or some problem arises with them. It makes it much more difficult to retrace steps and for the PPSTA leadership to argue on your behalf. Without copies of all documents it is more difficult to make sure that you are afforded all the rights to which you are entitled. If you submit a disciplinary referral, you should keep a

copy for your files. If you have any confrontations with either administration or with parents you should document all such encounters in writing. It is much easier to recall conversations right after they have taken place than after the fact. Always try to put exact quotes in such documents. Documenting any such encounters and making copies of all documents, allows your

union to represent you more effectively.

BUILDING SAFETY & DISCIPLINE Please make sure to document all student violations of the PCSD Code of Conduct via the Infinite Campus referral format. You should follow up with an email to your administrator. Transformation Teams in every building should be working on DISCIPLINE initiatives, as well as academics and student attendance. Please share your ideas/solutions with the team members.

We are on Facebook! Find us under “Poughkeepsie Public School Teachers’ Association,

then like us! The PPSTA bulletin is posted on our website each month.

The PPSTA bulletin is the official means of communication with our membership, especially on matters about our health insurance through POMCO.

If you would like to receive notification by email when the bulletin is posted on our website, send an e-mail to: [email protected]. In the subject line, write: MY BULLETIN. In the body of the e-mail, include your name and the name of your building OR indicate if you are a retiree. Only personal e-mails will be accepted!! PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IF YOUR E-MAIL CHANGES, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING THE EDITOR AND SENDING AN E-MAIL UPDATE TO [email protected].

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Sick Bank Protocol To request Sick Bank days: Go to the PPSTA.org website, click on forms tab at the top, and print 2 forms: 1. Request for Withdrawal of Sick Days 2. Doctor Certification form for Sick Leave Bank Send these forms along with a copy of a doctor’s note specifically giving reason and dates to: Sick Bank Chair: Amber Grant, PMS, 55 College Ave. Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 The doctor’s note should also be sent to: Sheryl Small Administration Building 11 College Avenue Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 If possible make your request two weeks before days are needed. You must use ALL of your allotted sick days first and then apply for Sick Bank for the remainder of the time you need to be out. If in doubt about the number of sick days you have, contact Sheryl Small at 451-4900 Ext.4970. If you have questions email Amber at [email protected]. The maximum number of days that can be requested is 30 days. If more days are needed then the entire process needs to be repeated.

MAP, APPR & TIP DOCUMENTATION: Please make sure you document any and all meetings regarding your TIP and APPR. If there are

inconsistences with the timeline or process, please notify your Advisor or CBR for guidance. If you run into problems with MAPs, please notify your building principal via email ASAP. Please BCC: your

CBR. Documenting these issues may assist in recalculation of developing or ineffective scores on your final composite report.

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Negotiations Our next meeting is coming up on May 23rd. Our members and your rights are at the forefront during every step of this negotiations process. We have given ENOUGH! Local Action Project Your LAP team is gearing up for their first training in Saratoga July 10-15. This is very intensive 6 days of strategizing, planning, and learning. Prior to attending we will have a union self-assessment to really guide our actions. The purpose of LAP includes member engagement, improved communication, political action, and community outreach/public relations. We are very excited to bring our union to the next level! LOOK for updates and please be ready to JUMP IN! We are the union! We are all part of the solution! Public Relations: If you have ideas for PR, please share! Any requests for funding will need to be reviewed and voted on. Requests should include how the PPSTA will be able to ‘advertise’ itself. We need to continue to share the hard work of our teachers with the public. If you have been or will be involved in any community outreach activities, please send a short summary with the activity info, members involved, and pictures to David Laffin at [email protected]. This information may be used in press releases to the Poughkeepsie Journal and through our PPSTA Facebook page. Political Action: With NYSUT, the PPSTA PAC team will begin a PLEDGE TO VOTE campaign to get our members out to vote in the upcoming election season. We need to make sure our rights are protected and supported by our legislators. We will be running a combined online and mailing campaign. If you are interested in joining the Political Action Committee, please contact Beth Kassa at Clinton School. Social: SAVE THE DATE! Our end of the year social to celebrate our retirees, newly tenured, and our union solidarity is coming! See the attached flyer and return ASAP to get your seat! We hope you can join us for a bigger and better celebration! SEE YOU THERE!

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may bulletin 2016 - poughkeepsie public school teachers ... · ppsta bulletin may 2016 ( 4...

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