At about 4 PM as we
were preparing to turn the lights out on our week, Sue Polansky and I mused on
the events of the week and the energy they had consumed.
ABut,@
she said, AIt=s
very exciting to be doing something new,@
specifically referring to the work we have been doing to organize the teacher
aides into the PCT.
Sue=s
offhanded remark at the end of a busy workweek contains a fundamental truth
about organizations like the PCT. Vital
organizations are always trying to grow. They
are always looking for opportunities to extend their influence, to tackle new
problems to challenge the status quo.
They are always questioning their policies and beliefs.
Doing so energizes them. It
makes them think more imaginatively. In
trying to figure out the complex questions raised by bringing 161 teacher
aides into our welfare fund, we came up with ideas that will improve our
service and benefits to our existing membership.
Those thoughts probably would never have occurred without the stimulus
of the challenge of organizing the teacher aides.
Facing the challenge of developing new leadership for the PCT, the
officers of the PCT, the Executive Board and I have been thinking hard about
the future of the PCT, doing our best to ensure that the next 45 years are
even more glorious than the first. Next
year, we=re
planning on doing some things differently, a full-time president, Head SRC
Reps in each building and a program of leadership development for officers and
SRC reps that will have a significant commitment of time and money behind it.
I know there are some in our ranks who are uncertain about some of
these changes. It=s
good for the organization to have them challenge our plans.
They force us to think more clearly, to explain ourselves more fully.
But, in the end, the fact remains that if we are to continue to
progress, we must move forward and embrace our future, knowing that each new
challenge we accept leads to others, but knowing too that we grow stronger and
healthier with each step, knowing that the only choice we don=t
have is to stand still.
P.S. I have
received an anonymous letter claiming to be from members raising questions
about teaching schedules and requesting that I answer it in the Pledge.
I never answer anonymous letters. If
members wrote the letter, I would ask them to call me so that we can discuss
the issues they raised.
SAVE THE DATE
On May 16, 17 and 18 members of the PCT will be making phone calls in
support of the District=s
2004-05 School Budget and members of the Board of Education, Library Board of
Trustees and Library Budget. The
school budget which at this point in the review process calls for increases of
about 7.7 percent above the current budget keeps all existing programs intact,
while making some economies in non-essential areas, although probably not
enough.
The phone bank that the PCT mounts each year is a very labor intensive
activity. Officers and building
reps can not carry the burden alone. They
need every member to help.
The officers have asked each member to set aside some time on these
dates to do this important political action work.
As PCT President Morty Rosenfeld is fond of saying, AThe
job you save may be your own.
AIDES MEETING HELD
On Thursday, March 18, the PCT made its last presentation to members of
the Teacher Aides bargaining group prior to their casting their ballots
between March 26 and April 19. The
meeting was very well attended, and for two hours members of the unit asked
questions of the officers and staff. When
the meeting was over, it was the impression of our officers that the PCT had
done very well. Participants
appeared to leave with a very favorable impression of our union.
Votes in this organizing election will be tabulated at the offices of
the New York State Public Employment Relations Board in Brooklyn on Monday,
April 26. Watch for the
announcement of the results.
MIDDLE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
The PCT is expecting to hear from the Board of Education soon about the
structure of a committee to be formed that will permit us to participate in
working on the Board=s
goal to examine our middle school program and make recommendations for its
improvement.
While awaiting the formation of this committee, the officers of the PCT
recently brought together those middle school teachers who participated in the
Nancy Doda seminars, those who went to the middle school conference in Atlanta
and the Middle School SRC Reps to begin thinking about the things we know need
immediate improvement.
Everyone present expressed an interest in finding ways to schedule
interdisciplinary teaming as it is supposed to be done in accordance with the
memorandum of understanding between the PCT and the District.
Scheduling improvements could be done for next year, but if that is to
happen work will have to begin very soon.
SELF-SELECTION
The last edition of the Pledge reported on a motion passed by
the staff of Kennedy High School calling for an end to the policy of
self-selection, the policy which permits students to register for any class at
any instructional level without meeting any firm entrance criteria.
The Kennedy motion was taken up by the PCT Executive Board at their
March meeting and was unanimously adopted, making opposition to self-selection
the policy of the PCT. The
officers of the PCT will now be discussing this issue with the central
administration and the Board of Education.
The PCT has additionally invited a member of PTA Council to a meeting
at which the issue of self-selection is to be discussed.
The officers are very interested in seeing the extent to which the
parents of this community support this policy.
PCT/PAC
DRIVE COMING
TO
CLOSE
The 2003-04 PCT/PAC fund raising drive is coming to a close.
SRC Reps would like to be able to end their collections by the spring
break. To date, this year=s
drive has produced the following results:
School
$ to Date # Teachers
# Clerks Pot.
Dif.
KG Center
$235
33
3 $345
$110
Stratford
$370
40
4
$420 $
50
Old Beth
$360
36
4
$380 $
20
Parkway
$315
40
4
$420 $105
Pasadena
$285
35
4
$370 $
85
Mattlin
$350
73
7
$765 $415
PMS
$105
82
10
$870 $765
JFKHS
$780
144
19 $1535
$755
Total
$2800
483
55 $5105
$2305
Members who have not as yet made their contribution ($10 teachers &
$5 clerical and subs) should see their SRC Reps today.
Monies collected by
PCT/PAC are used only for school district political issue and state campaigns,
the places where workplace and educational issues are decided.
NEA/NEW YORK INSURANCE BENEFIT
PCT members recently received an announcement about a new
auto/homeowners insurance plan available from AIG, one of the largest
insurance companies, through our state organization, NEA/New York.
The promotional material states that savings of up to $300 can be
obtained through this program.
Prior to putting the material out to the membership, the PCT, ever
suspicious of claims by insurance companies, had PCT Secretary Judi
Alexanderson call and ask for a quote on the coverages she currently has with
another company. As the
promotional materials state, she was offered the exact same auto coverage at a
yearly savings of $306. If you are
interest in exploring this benefit, you need only call the following toll-free
number - 1-800-319-4382.
PCT DISCOUNT CARD
PCT Treasurer Elect Andrew Paskal reports that work on the update of
the PCT Discount Card is complete, and it has been sent to the printer.
Watch your mailbox for your new card.
The updated version has many of the old discounts but quite a few new
ones as well.
OTHER BENEFIT NEWS
Coming very soon will be a completely new PCT benefit, discounted real
estate services through Prudential Real Estate.
Watch your letter box for news about reduced fees for buying and
selling a home as well as a host of different services related to moving
and/or buying a vacation home.