The Advocate, February 7, 2018

• President's Message: A Reminder of What We're Fighting For
• Notice of Resignation or Retirement
• Heads Up -- Staffing for the 2018-2019 School Year to Start Soon
• Performance Evaluations for Probationary Teachers
• Correction on Retro Check Date!
• Correction: PERS Retroactive Contributions
• PAT PAC Endorsements for State Representative
• Reminder:  Cast your vote in the PAT Election
• Join the PAT Delegation at the OEA PAC Convention
• OEA Promising Practices Grant Winners
• Read Across America Grants Available Through PAT
• Let's Engage!
• Addressing Hate Speech in PPS
• Do You Have a Student Loan?
• "I Am 2018" Moment of Silence
• A Cross-Border Social Justice Conference: Reclaiming Common Ground

The night we reached our Tentative Agreement with the District we bargained until 4 AM.  I didn’t go to sleep that morning. Instead, I spent my day in a Kindergarten classroom at Woodlawn Elementary with first-year teacher and proud PAT member, Brittney Whitman.

Do you plan to resign or retire from PPS this Spring or at the end of this school year? If so, it pays to let your supervisor know as soon as possible. An educator who gives written notice of resignation or retirement no later than February 15^th will receive a “notice stipend” of $1250. If the professional educator gives written notice no later than March 15^th, the stipend is $700. 

The notice must be in writing, to the principal or supervising administrator, and payment will be made in the educator’s final paycheck. The stipend does not apply if the resignation is made in lieu of termination, non-renewal or non-extension of contract. Please note—the new contract language moves these dates up one month earlier, to coordinate with an earlier staffing process. However, for this year 2017-18, we agreed to keep the February 15^th and March 15^th dates, to maximize participation. 

The District is now required to post the vacancies for the internal transfer process no later than March 1^st of each school year. Within the next week, administrators will be receiving information about their available FTE for next school year. PAT and PPS will meet this week to review the procedures and timelines for the general staffing process, as well as the middle school reconfigurations and changes at Rigler and Scott. We will continue to provide you with additional information and concrete dates as soon as the specific phases of the process are finalized.

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. 

We are sorry for any confusion we created on the date for retro checks, but the contract language says the check must be issued within five weeks of ratification by the Board of Education. We expect retro checks to be issued around March 15^th (not February 15^th).

PERS contributions for retired members/inactive PERS members will not be able to be made for our retroactive salary increases. 

We originally thought that we had found a way to do this legally.  Unfortunately, we have discovered that PERS will not accept these contributions after PERS members are retired.  The retro check issued around March 15^th for salary and other retroactive compensation will not include employer or employee PERS deductions if the employee is no longer active in the PERS system. 

This does not impact members who are still contributing to the PERS system.

The PAT PAC (Portland Association of Teachers Political Action Committee) is pleased to announce the following endorsements for the Oregon House of Representatives:

• Mitch Greenlick HD 33
• Jennifer Williamson HD 36
• Karin Power HD 41
• Rob Nosse HD 42
• Tawna Sanchez HD 43
• Tina Kotek HD 44
• Barbara Smith Warner HD 45
• Alissa Keny-Guyer HD 46

The PAT PAC Board is elected by PAT PAC contributors. It makes endorsement decisions based on responses to in-person interviews, as well as a candidate’s record. The board considers candidates’ positions on public education, their commitment to union values, and their electability. The PAT PAC Board is still in the process of making recommendations for local races on the May ballot, and will announce more recommendations in the coming weeks.

Vote for PAT Officers, Executive Board Members, and PAT delegates to the OEA and NEA Representative Assemblies using our electronic voting process.  On January 24, a link was sent to your PPS email address directing you to the Voters’ Pamphlet (which includes the Candidates’ Statements) and Ballots.  The link also included videos of the speeches made by PAT Officer and Executive Board candidates at the January Representative Assembly.

Please remember not to vote during work time.  BALLOTS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 5:00 p.m. on February 9, 2018, to be counted.  

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.