The Advocate - October 20, 2017

• Add Your Own Flair to Organizing and Make it Shine
• PAT Supports Puerto Rico
• Help PAT Engage!
• Donate to the Sick Leave Bank
• Advancing on the Salary Schedule – Upcoming Deadline October 31^st
• PERS Bubble and Mid-Year Retirement
• Attendance at Staff Meetings

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Buttons! We’ve asked you to wear them, but I wanted to highlight some examples of creativity and collective solidarity we’ve seen as part of this campaign.

Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact on Puerto Rico is still unfolding, but one thing is certain—the island's most vulnerable communities have been pummeled the hardest and face the longest road to recovery. That’s why your Executive Board voted to contribute $1,000 to support frontline Puerto Rican communities in the recovery from Hurricane Maria.

Have you heard? PAT is doing a listening campaign and we need your help.

With so much going on in our district, and in education nationwide, there couldn’t be a better time to talk seriously with our members about the challenges they’re facing and their hopes for the future.

During the 2016-17 school year, PAT members helped 30 colleagues in need thanks to contributions to the PAT Sick Leave Bank.  These colleagues had exhausted their accumulated leave balances, but were unable to work due to extended or recurring personal illness. But thanks to our contributions to the Sick Leave Bank, they were able to avoid the additional hardships of lost salary and lost insurance coverage.

If you have earned enough credit to advance to another column on the salary schedule, our contract requires the District to pay you at this new level within twenty (20) days of the time you supplied the transcripts or other required verification to the District.  The salary advancements will not be retroactive. However credits verified by October 31^st will be retroactive to the beginning of the school year. Check to make sure that PPS has received your verification and get an email, a receipt, or some other written confirmation from PPS that they have received the verification. 

We have completed a PERS Bubble Agreement for this school year.  This Agreement allows members to retire and work until the end of the school year while collecting PERS benefits.  Members may start as early as December 1, 2017.  To retire by December 1^st, you must submit your intent to retire by November 6^th.  Please review the complete PERS Bubble Agreement for more details.  

Professional educators are generally required to attend staff meetings or trainings for up to two hours beyond the workday on Tuesdays.  Such meetings are a part of the workweek and attendance is a professional responsibility.  Any educator who establishes a pattern of non-attendance may subject him/herself to potential disciplinary action. 

However, an educator may have to be absent from a staff meeting/training for a medical appointment, personal matter, or other reason.  On such occasions, the educator is not required to use accumulated leave if they miss all or a part of a Tuesday afternoon meeting/training.  Please see new contract language in Article 14.A.1.d. which makes that clear.