Akron Education Association
Random Notes
Union, Board Negotiators Set To Begin Talks
March, April dates set
Negotiators for AEA and the school district have agreed on tentative meeting dates for March and April. Unlike previous years when the teams were able to wrap up negotiations by early May, this years talks will likely extend through May and possibly into the summer. That’s not because we expect to spend lots of time fighting with one another, but because of the board’s budgeting and planning process which is expected, for obvious reasons, to take longer this year than in previous years. There will be issues on the table that can’t be negotiated until the process is completed.
AEA team brings experience to the table
Pictured at the right, negotiators for AEA bring a wealth of experience to the table. AEA negotiators have over 150 combined years of teaching experience and over 80 years of negotiating experience. Vice President Mike Rusnak and Salary Committee Chairman John Robishaw have been team members since 1983 when AEA President Bill Siegferth first took the position of chief spokesperson.
Mediator to facilitate talks
Mediator Rob Stein will monitor each session. Stein’s first involvement with AEA/APS negotiations was back in 1996 and came on the heels of several years of contentious bargaining. Stein has managed to steer the parties to settlements in a relatively short amount of time on three occasions since ’96.
All other groups bargaining as well
In addition to our contract, those of every other bargaining group within the district are also expiring on June 30. Secretaries, custodians, educational assistants, maintenance workers and food service personnel are all members of bargaining units within the district.
John Robishaw has served as salary chairman and negotiating team member since 1983. John is a librarian at Firestone High
School. He has been with Akron over thirty years.
Ohio State Supreme Court to Hear Charter School Lawsuit
The Ohio State Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s charter school laws. The suit was filed by the Coalition for Public Education of which AEA is a member. Other members of the Coalition are the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio PTA, Ohio League of Women Voters, the Ohio Education Association, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, the Ohio AFL-CIO and the Ohio School Boards Association.
The Coalition has asked the Court to rule on its claims that charter schools are unconstitutional under Ohio law for the following reasons:
∙Charter schools represent a separate system of publicly funded, privately owned and operated schools that are not required to adhere to uniform statewide standards that legitimate public schools are.
∙Charter schools are not overseen by elected school boards.
∙The charter school funding formula diverts voter approved local property tax dollars for legitimate public schools to for profit charters.
∙State loan guarantees for community schools violate the Ohio Constitution which does not allow the state to assume debt of corporations or political subdivisions absent invasion, war or insurrection.
While the Coalition considers the Court’s decision to hear our case an important victory, we do not yet know how soon the case will come before the Court. In the meantime, for-profit charter school operators continue to get rich, with the blessing of the Ohio legislature, at the expense of taxpayers who approve school levies for legitimate public schools.
Vice President Mike Rusnak has served on the negotiating team since 1983. He has been an
AEA officer for 16 years. He most recently taught English and was the librarian at East.
Jackie Hovey has been a mem- ber of the team since 1996. She has been Secretary-Treasurer of AEA for 14 years. Jackie teaches art at North High School.
New Office Nears Completion; Move Slated for Spring Break
Workers are putting the finishing touches on the new AEA office building which will be located at 681 North Main Street, just north of our current offices and the Towpath Credit Union (formerly the Akron Teachers Credit Union).
We are planning to move during spring break to avoid disrupting service to members that would be caused by telephone and computer down time.
nd VP Ranay Hatherill teaches Kindergarten at Pfeiffer Elementary School. She has been a member of the negotiating team since 2002. Ranay has taught in Akron for 19 years.
Bill Siegferth has served as AEA president and chief spokesperson since 1983. He has over 30 years experience with the district and taught 6th grade prior to taking office in 1979.
AEA 2nd Vice President Jeff Moats, a math teacher at Good-year Middle, has been with Akron for 14 years. This is his first year as a member of the negotiating team.
Sunday, May 1
2:00 P.M.
E.J. Thomas Broadway Across America Series
Members may purchase discounted tickets on-line at www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/groupsales. The member password is “AEATICKETS”
This Year’s STRS Election Critical to System’s Future As Well As Yours
STRS members will vote this April to fill one open seat for an active member and two retired member seats.
STRS experienced financial hardships caused by the bear market of 2001 and 2002. Lavish spending practices engaged in and permitted by the sitting Board exacerbated the situation. As a result, criticism of the system in recent months has been loud and ongoing. Teachers are furious over steep rises in health care contributions; politicians have used the controversy to justify appointing more political hacks to the board.
This year’s election will be hotly contested. No one can afford to toss his or her ballot (which will be mailed to members’ homes April 4) in the trash.
AEA has chosen to endorse for the first time candidates for the active and retired seats. For the active member seat, we give the nod to Mary Ann Flannagan. For the retired member seats, we like Teresa Green and Jeff Chapman. These candidates best represent in our opinion the interests of teachers, active or retired.
We will be distributing position statements from these candidates within the next week or two. Please take the time to vote for them either by mail, via the telephone or over the internet.
AEA Open
May 21, 2005
Brookledge Golf
Course
AEA NIGHT AT THE STADIUM
May 27, 2005
