PCTA Summer ACTION

Volume I, Issue 5- Special                 June 29 , 2009

PCTA Summer Action - Special Edition

Attention PCTA Members!

Thank you for spreading the word about Summer Action! We are getting more e-mail addresses each week. Please continue helping us make every effort to keep members up-to-date on PCTA and Pinellas County Schools activities during the summer. Let PCTA members know about the Summer Action electronic newsletter. They can sign up by calling PCTA at (727)585-6518 or by e-mail to robin.haines@floridaea.org. They can also access the Summer Action from the PCTA-PESPA homepage at our website http://www.pcta-pespa.org/. The link can be found in the column on the left side of the homepage.

PCTA Salary Proposal

PCTA has made a proposal to PCS chief negotiator Ron Stone to address our negotiations stalemate on salaries for 2009-10.  The proposal is as follows:

PCTA Salary Proposal

2009-10

• 1. The proposal includes step increases for members of the PCTA bargaining unit and establishes additional steps of $300 for any bargaining unit member who would not advance one step using the 2008-09 schedule.
• 2. PCTA recognizes that a there is a loss of funds available from the 2008 Referendum. In recognition of that decreased funding, PCTA bargaining unit members will have one day of leave without pay as part of the 198-day instructional work year.

"Executive Director Marshall Ogletree and I have been meeting with individual school board members these past two weeks," said President Kim Black. "It is our goal to demonstrate how the board can prioritize spending within their budget constraints."

The Board's indication that they are inclined to support the special 0.25 property tax millage is fundamental to this proposal. The new revenue gained by that action will reduce the operating budget shortfall to no more than $3 million that can be balanced by specific and prioritized spending. We have identified different ways for the board to get there. Your pay is PCTA's highest priority and must also be the board's highest priority!

Every member of the PCTA bargaining unit would receive no less than a $300 step increase. Note: You will move one step and not two on the PCTA proposal. For the 08-09 school year, each employee received one year of experience although the current salary schedule was frozen. Those employees who were due a longevity step in 2008-09 would receive that step in the PCTA 2009-2010 proposal.

The other big constraint in bargaining is the referendum allocation. PCTA cannot change the fact that property tax collections are down but we have proposed the step raise to offset that loss which is calculated to be an average of $290 for each bargaining unit member. Therefore, PCTA is proposing to have one day of leave without pay for the instructional bargaining unit during the 2009-10 school year.

Again, we need your help in supporting our hard fought efforts. We ask that you talk to a potential member and ask them to join PCTA now. Give them the form attached to this Summer Action or they can join by calling PCTA at 585-6518. Their dues payments will not begin until fall but they will add to our strength and numbers as we work to complete contract negotiations. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

July 1 - 7, 2009                       NEA Conventions, San Diego          

July 27, 2009                           Watch Your Mail for FR/AR School Invitation and Information

July 28, 2009                           School Board Meeting   5:00 pm, First Budget Reading 7:00 pm.

August 11, 2009                     School Board Meeting  10:00 am.   

August 22, 2009                     FR/AR School of Instruction                         Harborview Center