Friday, February 25, 2011

Remarks to Alexandria School Board on February 24th

Remarks by EAA President Gina Miller to the School Board can be found here.

Remarks to the School Board by Christina Bohringer, EAA Building Rep at Samuel W. Tucker ES, for herself and her colleague, Alicia Foley, can be found here.

2011 Regional VRS Retirement Meetings

A listing of dates, times, and locations for 2011 Regional VRS Retirement Meetings, sponsored by VEA, can be found here.

Spring Reading & Instructional Issues Conference

The Spring Reading & Instructional Issues Conference will be held on March 5th, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the Mason Inn, George Mason University.  A flyer and registration form can be found here, and a listing of the Keynote and Workshops can be found here.

February Insurance Special

Request a no-obligation Quote from the NEA Auto and Home Insurance program and you will be entered to win a Best Buy Gift Card.  See form here.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Proposed salary scales

A more comprehensive report from ACPS, detailing next year’s proposed salary scales and the impact of these changes, can be found by clicking here.  Be patient, it is a large file and may require a little time to open. 

EAA All-Member Meeting


The EAA All-Member Meeting tomorrow, Thursday, February 24, will begin at 4:00 PM in the Auditorium of TC Williams High School.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Revised Compensation Proposal

Dear EAA Members:

As a result of the February 9th, 10th and 17th meetings between EAA and Dr. Sherman, the compensation proposal has changed.  Your EAA Board of Directors has voted to support this revised proposal.  The School Board has final approval.  The revised proposal is here.  A more comprehensive report will come out next week detailing next year’s salary scales and the impact of these changes.
There will be an ALL MEMBER meeting at TC Williams on Thursday February 24, 2011 at 4pm.  You are encouraged to come and ask questions about this proposal.  The exact location within TC Williams has not been finalized.  We will post the location of the meeting on the EAA blog site and follow-up with an email to membership.

This message has also been emailed to building reps for distribution to all members.

Thank you and take care,

Gina

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

EAA Update - February 15th

Dear EAA Membership,

In my last update I suggested that EAA members should attend the work session on Compensation and Salary this Thursday, February 17, 2011.  The school board has changed the agenda.  It is now a work session on the CIP budget.  The regular school board meeting, and work session on
February 24, 2011 at 7:00pm will be the meeting to attend.  There will be a public hearing at this school board meeting and the school board will be considering compensation scenarios in the work session.

We are asking that each building have a speaker come and convey the perspective of their staff.  We would like several EAA members from each building to stand with their speaker as a show of strength.  Our specific message to the school board is yet to be determined.  It could be either one of support for the Superintendent’s new compensation package or rejection of the plan proposed.  We are in the midst of talks with Dr. Sherman about the proposed salary, benefits and additional time for 2011 and 2012.  Our position remains the same: any additional time must be compensated.   We are meeting with Dr. Sherman later this week and will send information out as soon as possible following the meeting so you can tailor your school’s public hearing speech.  If you have questions or would like help with your speech, please feel free to email me or Lisa Staib (lstaib@veanea.org, (703) 370-1121) for help.

For those who do not know, Dr. Sherman and I have a very tenuous relationship.  There have been several challenging conversations and I have never stepped away from representing this organization with zeal.
Thank you and take care,

Gina

Friday, February 11, 2011

EAA Elections Report 2011

You will find the committee report on the results of the 2011 EAA Elections here.

Save School Jobs!



Urge your Delegate to Vote Against SB966

The House will be voting on SB966 in the days ahead.  This well-intended bill will have the unintended consequence of eliminating the jobs of art, music and physical education teachers.  Please write your delegate urging opposition to SB966.  Click "Take Action!"

Meetings with Dr. Sherman

Dear Membership,
 

I know I promised you an update yesterday! I am sorry! We have now met with Dr. Sherman and senior staff two days in a row. We are working to find a way to get paid for our time and to respect  the budget. We are meeting next week and hopefully soon after we will have great news. I  know it has been difficult and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and dedication to preserving our professional respect. It is with honor I serve our membership.
 

Take care and happy Friday,

 Gina Miller

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Remarks to School Board, Thursday, February 3, 2011

Follow this link to remarks by Gina Miller, EAA President, to the Alexandria School Board on Thursday, February 3, 2011.

EAA Update - February 8, 2011

Dear EAA Membership,

I do not know about you, but February always seems to me like the longest month of the year! Perhaps it is the cold and early darkness.  Or, perhaps it is the million meetings that seem to fill my schedule.  The last couple of weeks have seen some interesting events.   I apologize for not giving you an update sooner.  Here is what we know and what you should know:

  • The Meet and Confer team is meeting with Dr. Sherman and the executive staff today (February 9th) at 3pm.  We are hoping to have a respectful conversation about the expectations for proper compensation for the additional three teacher days and the proposed 30 minutes.  It is my hope to have the School Board and FY 2012 Budget Public Hearing meeting notes from this meeting posted on our website before the School Board meeting on Thursday night.  We will have a lot better idea what the next couple of School Board meetings may yield after we have our conversation with Dr. Sherman.
  • Meetings!  Meetings!  And more meetings!  It will be critical for members, families and friends to attend the School Board meetings!  Your attendance at these meetings will turn the tide!  Please speak or at least come and hear what is said!  It does MATTER!  Here are the dates and times:
    • February 10, 2011 (Thursday) 7:30pm - School Board and FY 2012 Budget Public Hearing 
    • February 17, 2011 (Thursday) 7:00pm Work Session on Salary and Benefits                                                   Please come to this meeting on the 17th!
    • February 24, 2011 (Thursday) 7:30pm - Fiscal Forecast Update and Public Hearing
    • March 3, 2011 7:30pm - Add/Delete Work Session, Public Hearing & Adoption of the Waiver 
    • March 10, 2011 7:30pm - School Board Meeting and Budget Adoption.
  • Please take the survey on the extended day and the extended year.

Make your voice heard!
  •  We have heard your requests to link our blog with “ACPS Underground.”   First, we have not been invited by the author of this blog to exchange links.  Any decision would have to be voted on by the Executive Committee.  If the Blog Owner would like to contact me, email me at GinaEAA@gmail.com 

All my best to our outstanding staff!

Gina Miller
EAA President