Executive Committee Minutes

NOVEMBER 13th , 2007

The meeting was called to order by President Bob LaCorte at 3:50 pm. The following members were in attendance:Bob LaCorte, Mario Capitelli, John Heslin, Maureen Hines, Jean Klausz, Cathy Rienth, John Troise, Jennifer Vetter, Valerie Cafarelli, Jen Conti, Ray Pickersgill, Mark Wojciechowski, Alex Young, Joseph Zarzycki, Tom Cestaro, Nick Antonucci, Frank D’Abramo, John Finta, George Jacobsen, Glen Monsen, Regan, Robin Dallanegra, Thomas McGrath, Gene Higgins, Marnin Lack, Chris Oakes, Cindy O’Connell, James Virga, Gina Capodieci-DeFlumeri, Kathie Stanford, Melanie Purcell, Dan Sussman, Tara Scully, Beverly Grosshandler, Laura Seguna, Michelle Anastasio, Allison Poffenbarger, Larry Sciarrone, Brian Rogers, Mary Caffrey, Denise Enlund, Debbie Degenhardt, Christi Skillman, Cathy Manone, Nicole Villani, Carol Wilkinson, Maryann Robinson-Deludice, Lauren Roddin, Nancy Bloom, Jeanette Pedersen, Jeanne Lutz, Eric Berman, Darlene Haas, Tom Lipani, Lisa Ficken, Tina Diaz-Foster, Maryellen Scarola, Sabine Alfano, Fern Fier, Doris Marshall, Tracy Mancuso, Jean Caruthers.

It was moved by Nancy Bloom and seconded by Maryellen Scarolla to adopt the agenda as amended. Motion carried.

It was moved by Marnin Lack and seconded by Dan Sussman to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried.

Speak Out
Deadline for the next issue is Friday, November 16.

Special Projects
65 tickets were sold for the Islander Game. December 15 will be the warehouse sale for Estee Lauder. Tickets will go out the end of this week. See you building rep if you are interested in attending.

Treasurer’s Report
It was moved by John Finta and seconded by Alex Young to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Motion carried.
Jen Vetter met with the outside auditor and he will conduct the annual audit of the books.
The 1099 earnings form must be completed prior to the next meeting in order to receive your check.
It was moved by Gene Higgins and seconded by Tom Lipani to pay $425.59 for a new refrigerator. Motion carried.

Vice Presidents’ Reports
Mario Capitelli
The SCTA had 37 entrants for the LIPC Essay Contest: K-2 had 3; 3-5 had 8; 6-8 had 21 and 9-12 had 5. Winners will be selected and forwarded to the contest. Reps are asked to pick up the updated pages for their Rep Handbook. The SCTA Annual Party will be held on Saturday, April 5 at the West Lake Inn. Music will be provided by Naked Truth. The deadline for notification to the District for anyone wishing to retire this year is March 1, 2008. These members will be honored at this year’s event as well as those members who retired last year and over the summer.

John Heslin
The SCTA has filed the following 8 grievances; 2Vertical Step Grievances, 2 Summer School Grievances, Step 21 Longevity Payback Grievance, Step 25 Placement Grievance, New Teacher Meetings Grievance, and the Middle School Activity Bus Grievance. They have also filed 2 improper practice charges related to Step 25 Placement and Middle School Activity Buses. Effective January 1, 2009 there will be changes to the 403BLaws. As a result the District will be looking for a 3rd party provider to monitor and handle the 403B accounts. They will become a service provider for the individuals who have accounts and will be someone to call if you have questions. There will also be and impact on the 21/26 paycheck option. The STC/Endicott College issue regarding Teacher Center Courses should be sorted out by the end of this week. The Teacher Center is also optimistic that you may be able to take graduate courses at Stony Brook University for a reduced fee through the Center.

Maureen Hines
FMLA and Child Care Leave questions will be answered at the workshop scheduled for November 29 at 3:45 pm at the Union Office. If you are interested please call and reserve a spot. The Pathfinder lists have been given to Kerri Abernathy. Please be aware if no changes were noted the information will be inputted as listed. Defensive Driving will be offered on December 5 & 12 from 5 to 8pm. and on Saturday January 12, from 8:30am.
It was moved by Dan Sussman and seconded by Gene Higgins to extend this years and next years terms of office for NYSUT Delegates to the month of May with the delegate election to be held at the same time as the SCTA Officer Election. Motion carried.
The District has the right to implement a new computer program for elementary report cards. The Union has the burden of proof to show that this program will create a major impact on the work day. The Union is also aware that many teachers have been asked to redo report cards due to inferior paper ordered by the District. The Union will pursue a grievance for the extra work encumbered.

Jean Klausz
A roving Officers Meeting is scheduled for tomorrow 2:30pm. at Gatelot. We will start scheduling additional meetings in January. Members Day Out-Breast Cancer Fundraiser was a tremendous success. About 140 members walked at Jones Beach and we raised $18,122 from just the walk. We received an additional $780 to date on the Raffle. The Grand Prize is a one week stay in Mazatlan, Mexico during the April Break, courtesy of Arthur Bamel. The SCTA will be receiving a plaque from the American Cancer Society for raising the largest funds of any School District.

Cathy Rienth
SRP Recognition Day is Tuesday, November 20. Each SRP Member of the SCTA will be receiving a set of Stickers and a Chocolate Bar in recognition from the Union. The District will be reprinting the Teacher Aides salary agreements to include the $600 longevity payment. The Teaching Assistant, Job Coach and Interpreter summer school, club and chaperoning retro payments will be paid in November.

John Troise
Bruce Singer has advised that the digging of the dry wells at East to prevent future flooding will be part of the Bond Issue this spring. Sinks for the second grade wing at Waverly may also be added. There will be an indoor Air quality test done in the Guidance Suite at North to start to address the Air Quality Issue. The Suffolk County Dept. of Health has concluded that Sachem has surpassed requirements for cleanup for the MRSA Staff Infection. They also said that one in four people carry it on their skin and that it is treatable with the proper antibiotics. Please be aware that if you attend a workshop at District expense you will be asked to conduct a follow up PDP workshop for staff members on the subject. The Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) Committee met at East on 10/16. They are investigating alternative options for end of year evaluations. EAP Reps met on 10/25 to discuss how to create a more positive workplace environment. They are putting together a survey to ascertain how positive or negative our work environment really is.

President's Report
Teacher contracts are printed and ready to be distributed. If you do not have enough copies for your building please let the office now and additional copies will be made available. There are three 3020A hearings pending. The Union is looking into the possibility of filing against the District for Violations of Law. The administration is intimidating staff at CSE to make recommendations that do not necessarily meet the needs of the students. They are checking with NYSUT Legal on the matter. The NYSUT Teacher Retirement System Conference discussed the 55/25 issue and the tier III inequity for the 3%payment. They are advocating one month of credit for every year over 10 that they paid into the system. A list of payroll codes was provided to decipher you paycheck for the retro pay. The Fall Coaches payroll date will be 11/21/07. There will be a NYSUT retirement seminar on Nov. 19, 2007. This will be given by Sheila Salinger at the Union Office at 4:00pm.

Old Business
The issue of Black Shirts was again raised. It was decided that the reps should get feed back from their buildings and the discussion will be reopened at the December meeting.

It was moved by Mary Caffrey and seconded by Tom Lipani to adjourn the meeting at 6:25pm.

Approved
Valerie Cafarelli