The Advocate - February 21, 2018

• President's Message: Thoughts And Prayers Are Not Enough
• PAT Election Results
• Portland Educators Endorse Candidates for May Election
• Performance Evaluations for Probationary Teachers
• Thinking About Taking a Leave? Don't Miss Key Dates!
• Retirement Seminar March 1^st
• Tax Tip: Did You Know You Can Deduct Your Union Dues?
• Disrupted Learning: OEA Needs Your Story
• Join the PAT Delegation at the OEA PAC Convention
• Let's Engage!
• Addressing Hate Speech in PPS
• Do You Have a Student Loan?
• A Cross-Border Social Justice Conference

I can’t begin to describe the pain I felt on Wednesday, February 14^th when 17 lives were taken, and thousands of other lives forever darkened. As a 1994 graduate from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, this shooting hit incredibly close to home for me.

I know you felt that pain too—educators across the city have been reaching out, ready for action.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the PAT election, and congratulations to our newly elected leaders! 

Officers

• President: Suzanne Cohen
• Vice-President: Elizabeth Thiel
• Secretary: Alisha Chavez
• Treasurer: Al Rabchuk

Executive Board Members 

• Mike Bauer
• Greg Burrill
• Gwen Sullivan
• RaeAnn Thompson
• Huck Wilken 

The Portland Association of Teachers Political Action Committee (PAT PAC) is proud to announce its endorsements for the May 2018 primary election. The board considers candidates’ positions on public education, their commitment to union values, their alignment to PAT strategic goals including racial equity, and their electability. We look forward to working with these candidates to improve our schools, and move our state, city, and county to better support our students and families.

Probationary educators must be evaluated each year during their 3-year probationary period. The process is described in the contract and the Educator Handbook for Professional Growth and Evaluation.  Performance ratings must align with the PPS Performance Evaluation Rubric and ratings must be based on direct evidence included in the written evaluation. 

Don’t forget that you must apply for a full-year unpaid Personal, Exchange, or Career Development leave of absence (whether part-time or full-time) for next school year prior to March 1^st. If you miss that deadline, you will not be approved, (except in extenuating circumstances where such leave requests will not be unreasonably denied).  The language covering leaves can be found in the new PAT/PPS Contract, Article 14.D.1. 

Are you retiring in 5 years or less? Join us for a seminar addressing what you’ll need to know to prepare for retirement, including: How does my pension work? What can I do to prepare now? What can I do with an I.A.P. account? When can I access my other retirement accounts? Is it too late to start saving for retirement? The seminar will be March 1, 2018, 4:30 - 6:00 pm at the PAT Office. You can RSVP here.

This seminar is only open to current members.

Thanks to the recent changes in the tax law, 2017 will be the last year you can deduct union dues on your federal income tax return. Approximately 62% of the total of NEA, OEA and Local association dues may be included as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on 2017 tax returns. Note that this is a reduced percentage than in recent years. Starting in 2018, the deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions has been eliminated. Please consult your pay stub to determine exactly how much you paid in union dues for the 2017 tax year.

Our OEA staff in Salem are looking for stories to share with lawmakers this legislative session, about teachers’ experiences with disrupted learning in our classrooms.  They plan to hand-deliver a story from one of our members to Oregon legislators every day of the February and March session.  Your stories are a crucial part of the work that the OEA lobby team will accomplish this session. 

How have behavioral challenges and dealing with unmet student needs changed the work you do? What solutions would you suggest to help ensure that all students are able to learn in a safe space? Please take a few minutes to write down your experiences. Our policy makers need to hear from teachers.

All OEA PAC contributors are invited to the OEA PAC Convention, the evening of Friday, March 9^th, and all day Saturday, March 10^th, at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland. Registration is free, and to participate you must be an OEA PAC contributor.

Please register here.

OEA PAC works to elect pro-public education candidates to public office.  Join us for the 2018 OEA-PAC convention and help decide Oregon's future leaders and the direction of public education.  

Meet the candidates for federal and state offices, including the governor, and discuss your priority issues with them.

If you are not yet an OEA PAC contributor, you can become one now by filling out this form and returning it to the PAT office.