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BESE Report, January 2014

BESE Report January 2014

No mandatory salaries in the new MFP

This week the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved an MFP Task Force report that recommends a 2.75 percent increase in the $3.5 billion formula, but does not specify that half of the increase should go to teacher salaries.

That prompted LFT President Steve Monaghan to point out that after five years of frozen salary steps, teacher pay is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Prior to the Jindal administration’s freeze on the MFP, half of an annual 2.75 percent increase was dedicated to salaries. Although school boards can choose to spend some of the MFP increase on salaries, Monaghan said, teachers and school employees have no voice in the decision.

“There is no real negotiation over the use of funds,” Monaghan said. “Those who have the authority will make the choice.”

The lack of step increases “is having an effect on teachers and educators,” Monaghan told the board. “We are going to lose some good people, and we already have.”

The LFT president suggested that collective bargaining agreements between school boards and employees would help ensure that scarce funds are spent wisely in school districts.

The 2.75 percent increase would amount to about $70 million. An MFP formula will be developed by BESE in March and sent to the legislature for approval. Lawmakers may either approve or reject the formula, but may not change it. If it is rejected, BESE can rewrite the formula, or let the previous year’s formula become effective by default.

Course Choice will be problematic in MFP

The controversial Course Choice program will be included in the Minimum Foundation Program if BESE takes the advice of the MFP task force, a step that LFT President Steve Monaghan said could provoke yet another constitutional confrontation.

Course Choice, one of Gov. Jindal’s pet education initiatives, allows non-public providers to create credit courses for public school students. Funding the program through the MFP was declared unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court.

Since that decision, the $3 million Course Choice program has been financed by the Department of Education outside of the MFP.

Supporters believe it will be legal to launder MFP funds for Course Choice offerings if the money is sent to local school systems to subsidize the courses.

At Tuesday’s meeting of BESE’s finance committee, Monaghan said he believes that would still violate the constitutional ban on using MFP funds for non-public schools.

The LFT president pointed out that the state Virtual School, which was abolished in favor of Course Choice, would have provided online courses without violating the constitution.

VAM study to move forward, sort of

BESE will move forward on a study of the effects the Value Added Model of evaluation has on teachers, but that is not quite what the author of the proposal intended.

Across the nation, questions have been raised about the validity of Value Added Methods. Last October BESEMember Lottie Beebe asked for a study of the reliability of the VAM. She suggested that a panel of statisticians and mathematicians look at the formula, and report on its reliability.

Instead, the board authorized Superintendent John White and BESE Executive Director Heather Cope to get a third party to study VAM with a focus on how it impacts teachers.

Their waffling prompted Dr. James Finney, a theoretical mathematician, to ask, “What are you afraid of Superintendent White? Are you afraid that people will finally learn what you already know, this model does not work?”

FBI investigation of charter school raises questions

An FBI raid on a Baton Rouge charter school prompted discussion of a new policy aimed at informing BESEmembers when a school is under investigation. The charter of the Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School was recently renewed even though Superintendent of Education John White was reportedly aware of an investigation.

BESE Member Lottie Beebe said that members had no knowledge of the investigation into the charter school’s finances, and had received no communication from White about the issue. FBI agents descended on the school in December, just weeks after BESE voted to renew its charter along in a package that included a number of charter renewals.

White said that the department of education will develop a protocol for reporting issues and present it to the board.

Board member under investigation for cheating submits expenses

A BESE member who is under investigation for allegedly double billing the state and his local school board for travel expenses submitted a bill for $3,600 to BESE this month.

DeSoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson has said he plans to charge BESE Member Walter Lee with felony theft and malfeasance in office. Lee allegedly billed both BESE and the DeSoto School Board for travel expenses amounting to more than $13,000. Lee is also accused of shenanigans involving a leased school board vehicle that he returned to a dealership, and then bought for far less than its book value.

BESE President Chas Roemer has reportedly told his colleagues that Lee will not be reimbursed for his current ravel expenses until the legal situation is resolved.

Lee did not attend this week’s BESE meetings.

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SURVEY: Children with Chronic Conditions in the School Setting

TAKE SURVEY HERE. 

Dear EducatorIf you are a regular education teacher in grades 1-12 in a public school and have taught for at least one year, you are invited to participate in a survey that explores your experiences in working with children who have a chronic condition. Children with chronic conditions make up more than 26% of the student body. A chronic condition is defined as one that lasts one year or more and requires ongoing medical attention and/or limits activities of daily living (including learning). Examples include asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, ADHD, learning disabilities, sickle cell disease, kidney disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and food allergies.Dr. Janice Selekman, a professor from the University of Delaware, is conducting a survey to identify the experiences, barriers, and challenges (need for knowledge, skills, and ideas for accommodations) of, as well as resources that are most helpful to, regular education teachers when they have students with a chronic condition. This survey has the support of the American Federation of Teachers and is partially funded by the National Association of School Nurses.

Analysis of the surveys will be used to assist pre-service educators to understand the needs of practicing teachers and to expand programs to enhance the health-related knowledge of new teachers. It will assist current school administrators to address faculty needs for working with students with chronic conditions and it will assist school nurses to understand their role in enhancing the health of these children and adolescents by preventing health-related problems and enhancing academic outcomes. The findings will be presented to teachers and school administrators, as well as school nurses to assist them in understanding the needs of teachers in regular education classrooms.

Please fill out the attached survey and submit it via Survey Monkey. If you would rather fill out the survey by hand, contact Dr. Selekman at the e-mail below and one will be sent to you. You can send it to Dr. Janice Selekman, 317 McDowell Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716.

This questionnaire is voluntary and your return of the survey indicates your willingness to participate. We will not collect your name or school’s name; the goal is to have representation from throughout the country, including urban, suburban, and rural areas as well as representation from those in elementary, middle, and high school.

It is estimated that the survey will take about 15 minutes of your time. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Dr. Janice Selekman at selekman@udel.edu (302-897-8884)

Janice Selekman DNSc, RN, NCSN, FNASN
Professor, University of Delaware

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LFT News: New MFP won’t require teacher raises

New MFP won’t require teacher raises

LFT President Steve Monaghan: “There is no real negotiation over the use of funds. Those who have the authority will make the choice.”

This week the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved an MFP Task Force report that recommends a 2.75 percent increase in the $3.5 billion formula, but does not specify that half of the increase should go to teacher salaries.

That prompted LFT President Steve Monaghan to point out that after five years of frozen salary steps, teacher pay is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Prior to the Jindal administration’s freeze on the MFP, half of an annual 2.75 percent increase was dedicated to salaries. Although school boards can choose to spend some of the MFP increase on salaries, Monaghan said, teachers and school employees have no voice in the decision.

“There is no real negotiation over the use of funds,” Monaghan said. “Those who have the authority will make the choice.”

The lack of step increases “is having an effect on teachers and educators,” Monaghan told the board. “We are going to lose some good people, and we already have.”

The LFT president suggested that collective bargaining agreements between school boards and employees would help ensure that scarce funds are spent wisely in school districts.

The 2.75 percent increase would amount to about $70 million. An MFP formula will be developed by BESE in March and sent to the legislature for approval. Lawmakers may either approve or reject the formula, but may not change it. If it is rejected, BESE can rewrite the formula, or let the previous year’s formula become effective by default.

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Appeals Court Vindicates 7,000 Fired Educators

Appeal court vindicates 7,000 fired educators

To read the Court of Appeal ruling on the case, called Oliver et al v OPSB et al, please click here.

(Baton Rouge – January 16, 2014) Some 7,000 teachers and school employees who were wrongfully terminated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were vindicated Wednesday by a five-judge panel of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

The unanimous ruling says that the educators “were deprived of their constitutionally protected property right to be recalled to employment without the due process of law.” The ruling means that all tenured employees who were fired after the storm must be paid two years’ salary by the Orleans Parish School Board. Teachers who meet certain criteria must be paid an additional year’s salary by the State of Louisiana, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers General Counsel Larry Samuel, who also serves on the Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee in the class action.

“We are very pleased with the ruling,” Samuel said. “These employees suffered a dual tragedy, once when the levees broke and another when their livelihoods were taken from them.”

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said “We hope this will mark a positive ending to one of the saddest stories to emerge from the 2005 disaster. Teachers and school employees lost family members, their homes and property, and their jobs. Much cannot be replaced, but at least they will have the knowledge that their firing was illegal, and they will have some compensation for their loss.”

Most of the educators were members of the United Teachers of New Orleans, an LFT affiliate, which was the collective bargaining agent for teachers and some school employees when Katrina struck.

The Class Action applies to all employees who were tenured on August 29, 2005, including principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, central office administrators, secretaries, social workers and other employees who provided instructional, administrative, food services, security, maintenance, transportation and other services.

Following the storm, efforts to re-open schools that had not suffered damage were thwarted. The State of Louisiana, acting under a radically expanded Recovery School District authority, seized control of New Orleans’ schools. After that, the district terminated the vast majority of its employees.

“New Orleans had a corps of dedicated professionals who wanted nothing more than to teach children,” Monaghan said. “The city had a handful of schools that could have been opened within weeks after Hurricane Katrina. They were kept shuttered, the state took over the schools, and all the teachers in the city were fired.

“This ruling paves the way for some semblance of justice for those educators,” he said.

The ruling is not necessarily final. The school board and the state have the right to ask the State Supreme Court to review the ruling.

– See more at: http://la.aft.org/press/appeal-court-vindicates-7000-fired-educators#sthash.eqzYFN8D.dpuf

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[LINK] Thank a Million Teachers!

 

Thank a Million Teachers

Help Farmers’ Insurance  Thank A Million Teachers and Give A Million Dollars to Teachers

Farmers’ Insurance is giving away $2,500 grants to America’s teachers and you can help! Take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to an educator that’s made a difference in your life and your community.

Everyone has a story of a teacher who has gone the extra mile and had a lasting impact on someone’s life.  Whether it was the 6th grade English teacher who stayed after school to put on a play, a science teacher whose infectious enthusiasm launched a lifelong passion or a coach who taught us to never quit, we each have an experience that we still appreciate today.

Join Farmers in showing educators how valuable they are to us. Share your stories, tell your friends and make sure the teachers in your life understand what big effect they had on your future.

Thank a Teacher Here!  

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What to Do If A Fight Breaks Out

Guidelines – what to do if a fight breaks out – There is no set of laws or court principles that require you to physically intervene or to put yourself at risk if a fight breaks out at school. Red River United urges you to use your own moral code and common sense. You should, however, take all reasonable steps to deter and dissipate a fight, such as:

  • Call/page for security
  • Send a student to the office
  • Yell and scream
  • Wave your arms and gesture wildly
  • Stomp your feet and clap your hands
  • Do anything but stand still!

 

You run certain risks regardless of how you choose to break up a fight. Red River United wants you to use your best judgment but to also know the risks involved in getting physically involved in a fight.

 

If you physically get involved to break up a fight you run the risk of:

  1. Being accused of using excessive force and charged with battery
  2. Sued by the parents of the students involved in the fight
  3. Fired
  4. Physically hurting yourself

If you choose not to get physically involved you can still be sued or fired. Therefore, it is EXTREMELY important that you take all reasonable steps (listed above) to deter and dissipate a fight.

Contact Red River United immediately if you have concerns in this area.

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Teacher Tip Of the Week!

This Week’s Teacher Tip

 

 

 

 

Use “seconds” as a way of getting students to clean up. At the end of the period tell the students that each item left on the floor counts as 30 seconds off their recess. After the first day of 3 minutes off recess we rarely have to stay in more than 30 seconds anymore. They really enjoy picking up their “seconds”.

– Staff Submission 

View past teacher tips HERE.          Submit a teacher tip HERE. 

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LFT News: Bogus Reform Group Touts Vouchers Again

Bogus reform group touts vouchers again

(Baton Rouge – January 14, 2014) To no one’s surprise, an organization dedicated to promoting school vouchers for private and religious schools is heaping praise on Louisiana’s voucher scheme.

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute today released a review of vouchers across the United States, and lauded Louisiana as a “national model when it comes to transparency and accountability.” It marked the second year that Fordham has issued a report supporting Louisiana’s voucher law.

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan characterized the Fordham Institute as a right wing storefront that exists as a shill for vouchers.

“Obviously, Fordham did not read the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s review of the state voucher program,” Monaghan said. “They would have known that just a handful of the 118 voucher schools reported their performance data to the state.”

In addition, Monaghan said, Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera said that only three of the 118 schools tracked their public dollars separately from private funds, and that one of those overbilled the state by nearly $400,000. That school was subsequently excluded from the voucher program.

“A model for transparency and accountability? It is simply astounding that anyone can hold such a dismal record up as a model,” Monaghan said.

In what it described as a “policy toolkit,” Fordham suggested three objectives that define accountability for voucher schools:

All voucher students should participate in state assessments.

The result of those assessments should be publicly disclosed except when a school has so few voucher students that disclosure would identify individual students.

A “sliding scale” should be used when acting on test results, meaning that “private schools that derive little of their income from vouchers should be largely left alone.”

Despite the legislative auditor’s findings, the Fordham survey concluded that Louisiana has one of four voucher schemes “that have generally gotten these policies right.” Others are in Indiana, Cleveland and Milwaukee.

But Monaghan said that even the metrics suggested by Fordham’s toolkit are flawed.

“Requiring all students who receive vouchers to participate in state assessments is not the same as requiring that these assessments have the same high stakes consequences as they do for public school students,” Monaghan said.

As far as the second recommendation is concerned, Monaghan said that voucher schools have figured out how to game the system by keeping numbers low in certain grades and subjects.

The LFT president said the idea of a “sliding scale” is absurd. “If they’re in for a dime’s worth of state dollars, they should be in for the full dollar of state accountability,” he said.

Holding voucher schools unaccountable just because they have few students is an invitation for abuse and an insult to public education and every classroom teacher, Monaghan said.

– See more at: http://la.aft.org/press/bogus-reform-group-touts-vouchers-again#sthash.iO4uUYYG.dpuf

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VIDEO: The Truth about International Education Comparisons

 

What Does the PISA Report tell us about US Education? 

When the OECD releases the PISA report every three years, many people use the ranking to claim public education in the U.S. is failing and push their corporate education reform agenda. But looking at the data, lessons that can be learned from the highest performing countries point in a completely different direction. For more information: http://go.aft.org/pisa #ReclaimIt