July 25 Board Meeting, Remarks

Hickory Hills Safety Concerns

The board discussed safety concerns around Hickory Hills school, noting that new retail outlets are in the works across the street. A lease-purchase financing option is being considered to expedite the necessary funding for construction of a new school.

Sick Leave/Personal Day Change

This change does not effect the number of sick days or personal days for employees. Personal days had been included with sick leave in the old operating system. Under the new MUNIS operating system, personal days are now in a separate category.

Aramark

The board approved a five-year contract with Aramark to manage food and custodian services.

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Compensation

As most of you know, the new budget gives employees a 2.5% pay increase. SNEA had recommended 5%.

July 25, 2006
Remarks to board by Ray Smith
President, Springfield NEA

I am Ray Smith, and I am proud to represent the teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses and support employees associated with Springfield NEA. I’ve lived in Springfield most of my life and consider it a great town to raise a family and work. Like many of my fellow teachers and R-12 employees, I’m glad to be a part of a great public school system whose leadership is not merely satisfied with maintaining the status quo but seeks to constantly improve the quality of education for the children of our community.

Springfield schools continue to perform well and earn recognition for student achievement. In a recent board meeting, we saw a power point presentation that displayed bar charts and graphs comparing our student assessment scores to Rockwood, a comparably-sized district in suburban St. Louis. Student achievement scores compared admirably to the Rockwood benchmark, and the district has every reason to be proud.

But a closer look at comparisons with Springfield and a benchmark system like Rockwood reveal some disturbing trends. For instance, Rockwood’s free and reduced lunch rate over the past five years has remained at a steady 12.5%, even dipping to 12.2% in 2002. Springfield’s free and reduced lunch rate, on the other hand, has dramatically increased from 35.6% in 2001 to 40.7% in 2005. In the last two years, the rate has leaped ahead by 3%. Of course, statistics don’t tell the whole story, but ask any veteran teacher in Springfield, and they will tell you that the student demographics are changing rapidly, which makes it all the more critical that the district recruit and retain quality professionals in the classrooms.

Recruiting and retaining quality employees becomes more difficult with salaries that hover just below the state average - a state average that has fallen to 45th in the nation. Also, consider that Springfield, the third largest district in Missouri, ranks in the lowest 12th percentile for teacher salaries among the largest twenty-five districts in the state. Twelfth percentile. Without doing a lot of math, it is clear that Springfield teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation.

Consider that the average worker moving from the Rockwood area would expect to take an 8-10% pay cut if he or she relocated to Springfield. That’s Springfield, a low wage town. We’ve heard for years that the cost of living here makes it more palatable, but everything I’ve been able to find shows our cost of living saves us only 2-3%, and the gap is closing. Now consider a teacher moving to Springfield from Rockwood. He or she would have to endure a whopping 20% pay cut - more than $8,000. Would anyone even consider such a move?

One of my daughter’s friends recently graduated from MSU with a degree in secondary education, and she was very excited to sign a contract with Springfield soon after graduation. She took a little vacation up to Illinois to celebrate with a friend, but when she found out what the teachers were making in that Chicago suburb, she scheduled an interview, was hired and immediately cancelled her contract with Springfield. It is very short-sighted to believe, in our increasingly mobile society, that Springfield only competes with surrounding districts for teaching talent.

I know this year’s budget is already a done deal . . . but I would strongly suggest that the district make it a priority to address the critical issue of employee compensation in the coming year. Our organization would be eager to work with the district to develop a multi-year compensation plan that would enable Springfield to recruit and retain quality educators and support staff. We can work together to make Springfield a model district that the rest of the state can hold up as their benchmark.

Thank you for your time.

Central Teacher Speaks at Immigration Hearing

Hispanic Students Caught in Immigration Debate

On July 6, Central Spanish teacher Ali Traub testified and fielded questions from members of the Missouri House Special Committee on Immigration Reform, chaired by Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar). The public forum was held at the Billingsly Student Center at Missouri Southern University. Other representatives attending the hearing were Jerry Nolte (R-Gladstone) and Jerry Dusenberg (R-Blue Springs). Julie McNit sat on the panel as an analyst.

Representative Nolte has co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit undocumented immigrant students from enrolling in any public college or university. Traub argued that the bill would be detrimental to public education and deprive many hard-working, deserving students of a college education.

"Many of these students have had to overcome great hardships to be successful in the classroom, and they deserve a chance to continue their education," Traub told the panel. "Please remember when we say No Child Left Behind, that includes the children who are caught up in the immigration debate."

Traub has been instrumental in establishing several successful programs at Central. The Latino Bulldog club helps student adjust to their new life in the United States, The AYUDA program provides after-school tutoring, and the Hispanic ACT Super Saturday allows students to practice taking the ACT.

Pastoral Letter Supporting Public Education

In light of recent email campaigns and other efforts by right wing groups to smear public education and the NEA, it was heartening to come across a letter of support for public schools from the Executive Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rev. Robert Parham called on Baptists to "speak positively about public education and to take proactive initiatives that advance a constructive future for America's public schools." He further recognized that all organizations, churches, corporation, public schools need reformation at one time or another, and that "reforms to public education should be a constant goal of our nation".

Here are more excerpts from Parham's letter, which circulated at the NEA convention:

"We decry the anti-public school statements that identify public schools as 'the enemies of God', that label the school system as 'a dark and decaying government school system' and that claim public schools are converting Christian children 'to an anti-Christian worldview.' We urge a halt to the demonization of public schools . . ."

"We call on Baptists to recommit themselves to separation of church and state, which will keep public schools free from coercive pressure to promote sectarian faith, such as state-written school prayers and the teaching of neo-creationism (intelligent design) . . ."

"We call on Baptists to recommit themselves to a just society. A just society will ensure that every American child has an opportunity for a good education and that public schools have the resources necessary to provide such an opportunity, achieving the highest standards possible."

Rev. Parham also called for people to "speak up for the role public education plays in a democracy, especially the unity it creates in the midst of diversity so necessary in our society". He then encouraged the reader to share his letter with others, which I have just done with you.

NEA Convention Report

Six delegates from Springfield attended the week-long annual NEA convention in Orlando, Florida. (left to right) Melissa Albright (Wilson Creek), Ray Smith, Denise Slagle (Fremont), Phil Grafft, Brent Fullington (Cherokee) and Patti Pogue (Study) were among the 9,000 teachers and support professionals staying in seventeen hotels surrounding the huge Orange County Convention Center complex. Our local and state organizations were well represented, participating in innumerable floor votes, discussions, caucuses and other public meetings.

Melissa Albright was elected vice-president of the Cancer Survivor Caucus and also was voted onto the MNEA 2007 convention committee. She will be helping to organize the Missouri delegation for next year's convention in Philadelphia.

"Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right for Every Child" was presented as the single external message for NEA members to focus on for the upcoming year. The keynote address by NEA president Reg Weaver was one of the highlights for delegates. Weaver's address centered on the message above but also addressed accountability issues:

“NEA members have a responsibility to educate the community about education,” Weaver said. “We have a responsibility to inform them of the role of school boards, state legislators, mayors, the U.S. Congress and why it is important that they make it their personal responsibility to hold each of these individuals as accountable as they do us.”

This was the largest delegation that Springfield has sent to an NEA convention, and we're hoping SNEA will again be well represented at the Philadelphia conference in 2007. The national NEA conference is a unique experience in the democratic process and provides an invaluable opportunity to meet teachers and support staff from all over the country and gain a larger perspective on public education's role in our society.