PAT Colleagues:
The bargaining session on Friday, October 16 (view here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) resulted in some major gains for all PAT members. The PAT and PPS bargaining teams reached tentative agreements on one complete section of the 2020 – 2021 Distance and Hybrid Work Agreement (view signed TA document here).
One of the most important issues settled Friday is working conditions for educators who have a total assignment of less than .66 FTE. We were able to get an agreement that guarantees no less than the prorated amount of the 950 minutes per week of educator-directed time. That means that .5 FTE teachers get at least 475 minutes of educator-directed time. In addition, those educators are not required to attend PLC meetings, which means that some individuals may receive more than the prorated educator-directed time.
Both teams agreed to terms for PLC meetings. We were able to get the district to agree that the extraordinary number of PLC meetings is not an expectation for schedules once we return to a “normal” school year. PLC meeting time must now be divided into two parts. The first half of the time must follow a schedule agreed to by the building instructional team and the building administrator, and the second half must be mutually agreed to by the administrator and the professional educators in the meeting. Starting this week, professional educators have a real say in how the PLC meetings are conducted.
We reached agreement on access to technology. Although we could not move the district to accepting a tech stipend for educators, we were able to get the district to accept that educators can not only have access to their classrooms if they want to conduct CDL lessons from their school building, but educators are also able to bring home any technology that would normally be part of their classroom tech setup. That means that technology normally locked to carts in classrooms may now be taken home by professional educators who need to work away from the school buildings. Additionally, professional educators are to have access to copy machines and any other shared resources or equipment at their worksite. Finally, educators are to have access to supplies / consumables that would normally be available during in person instruction for use at home.
We finalized the evaluation agreement by including language on Student Learning Goals (SLGs). Now, educators must submit two SLGs and one professional growth goal. The goals can be focused on SEL, family or student engagement, and they are not due until November 1st.
Finally, we agreed to language regarding the PAT Extended Responsibility positions. The agreement is complicated, but in general:
- If the ER is not being conducted (e.g. Safety Patrol) then ER will be canceled until in-person education resumes.
- If the ER position is still going on, even with reduced elements (e.g. testing coordinator) the ER will be paid in full.
- If the ER position is directly connected to an educator’s class and marked with an asterisk on the ER schedule, the ER will be paid in full, although if the number of performances expected is reduced the rate of pay may be changed.
- Athletic ER has its own section which grants pay for proportions of seasons worked, rather than no pay at all.
Negotiations regarding the COVID work environment is not concluded. We still need to bargain “safe return to in-person instruction” language, and community/family support language. Once those are completed, we will bring the full MOA to members for ratification.
Once ratified, PAT and PPS will begin to bargain for the successor agreement to the current CBA. We have a great deal of work ahead, but thanks to your support and engagement we have been able to move the district to agreements that protect everyone.
In Solidarity,
Your PAT Bargaining Team-
Steve Lancaster, Chair
Emy Markewitz
Francisca Alvarez
Charity Powell
Andre Hawkins
