TAAAC News

Slow Negotiations


Dec 19, 2014

There has not been much significant to report in negotiations despite the fact that the teams have had four full-day sessions and one half-day. The Board’s team has been reluctant to enter into meaningful discussions on matters related to compensation until the Superintendent made his budget proposal. Conversely, TAAAC’s team has made several proposals on the topic. Specifically on salary, they include an across-the-board increase (COLA), step increase, and some adjustments to scales to repair some internal inequities. TAAAC has proposals pending that address compensation other than salary as well. Now that the Superintendent’s budget proposal has been delivered, our discussions at the bargaining table will soon become much more meaningful. The teams meet again on January 8th.

BUDGET AND BUDGET HEARINGS

The Anne Arundel County Superintendent proposed his budget on December 10th. There is both good and not-so-good within its four corners. Items directly impacting public school educators include:

  • $2.4 million for 33 teaching positions to partially address continued enrollment growth, a step toward slowing the continued increases in class size.
  • $2.5 million for expansion of the Triple-E program to the 19 elementary schools in the Chesapeake, Meade, and Southern clusters in addition to the North County cluster. This not just another program enhancement. There’s a side benefit to it. It provides elementary school teachers badly needed planning time.
  • $4 million to bolster our health-care fund.
  • $300,000 for increased Special Education staffing, addressing another area where the heavy workload can be spread just a little better.
  • $11.8 million as a place holder for increasing employee compensation to be finalized when negotiations are concluded. There is a problem with this one. A placeholder of only $11.8 million will not cover a step increase. It is to his credit that the Superintendent included a placeholder for compensation increases. But work needs to be done during the budget process to amend the amount and the effort to do so is already underway. MEMBERS CAN HELP.
BUDGET HEARINGS

TAAAC asks that every available member attends the January 8th Budget Hearing in the Boardroom of the Parham Building wearing TAAAC Blue. Willing members should arrive early enough to sign up to speak and tell their own stories of how the years between 2010 and 2014 have caused injury. The hearing begins at 7:00PM. Sign-up begin at 6:00PM. Come and support TAAAC President Richard Benfer as he presents testimony on behalf of public school educators.

Those that cannot make the January 8th hearing should attend the hearing at Old Mill High School at 7:00PM on January 6th and support TAAAC Vice President Pam Bukowski as she testifies on behalf of local public school educators.

SECOND ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST

TAAAC invites you to join your elected state and local officials and our Anne Arundel County school board for our Legislative Breakfast. This is your opportunity to come out and speak with your elected and appointed leaders in a relaxing environment. TAAAC will feature Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Mike Busch. Stay for a training after the breakfast and learn tips for lobbying your legislators. We will have limited seating so be sure to register today!

Saturday, January 10, 2015
9:00AM-11:00AM
Union Jack’s British Pub
2072 Somerville Rd.
Annapolis, MD 21401

https://taaac.wufoo.com/forms/taaac-legislative-breakfast-2015/

MSDE SLO PROGRESS SURVEY

Be heard on the topic of Student Learning Objectives. Please click on to the link below to participate in the SLO Progress Survey. Responses will be returned directly to MSDE for compilation by December 24. http://goo.gl/forms/6ytrPNRLnT

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