Minnetonka Teachers Association

Governance Board Meeting, January 6, 2005
Minnetonka District Service Center

In Attendance:

Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, Mary Tingblad, Melanie Casiday, Linda Morantez, Margaret Ruffino, Pam Wertjes, Sara Macke, Rhonda Lundgren, Sandy Gosen, Jeri Goodspeed-Gross, Jean Peebles. 

Absent

Anita Britton, Doug Kennedy, Mike Cutshall, Miles Mortensen. There is still a vacancy on the Governance Board for a representative from Clear Springs.

Guests:

Denise Malarkey (Britton); Mary Benson, Teachers' Rights Co-Chair. 

Call to Order:

4:34 p.m., by President Ricke.

Approval of Minutes:

Motion by Peebles, seconded by Wertjes, to approve the minutes of December 1 and December 15, 2004. Motion carried.

Teachers' Rights Report:

President Ricke reported that contractually, a dual-licensed teachers cannot bump a teacher in another category. The November 1, 2004, seniority list will be used to determine seniority regarding unrequested leave. In May-June the tenured list will be updated and seniority will be in place for the newly tenured. Mary Benson reported that the Teachers' Rights Co-Chairs are getting many questions regarding contractual issues and seniority.

Treasurer's Report:

Treasurer Casiday distributed the MTA Checking Account Statement, December 13, 2004-January 4, 2005.

New Business:

Collective Bargaining Conference: Motion by Lundgren, seconded by Nelson, that President Joe Ricke, and Negotiators Anita Britton and Mike Cutshall should attend this conference, with fees paid using the conference budget. Motion carried. 

 

Metro Negotiators Meetings: Joe Ricke and Anita Britton will attend these monthly meetings. Other MTA members who are interested in negotiations should be part of the MTA Negotiations Council and can also attend. Anyone interested should contact President Ricke. 

 

Education Minnesota Representative Convention: The Education Minnesota Representative Convention will be March 18-19, 2005. The MTA is allowed to send seven members as delegates to the convention. The President, by virtue of office, will attend the Convention. Therefore, we will be electing six delegates to attend the convention with the President. The election will be on Wednesday, January 26, 2005. An e-mail was sent to all MTA members on January 4, 2005. Members interested in having their names on the ballot should e-mail Mary Tingblad by January 19, 2005, 4:00 p.m.  

President's Report: Cost Containment Meeting with Dr. Peterson: President Ricke and Vice President Nelson met with Dr. Peterson for an overview of the cost containment recommendations. Dr. Peterson heard input from many sources and then he made the recommendations. Ricke is considering sending a letter to the School Board and/or contacting individual School Board members. 

Calendar and Buy-Out Updates: The district is looking at offering an early retirement/leave of absence incentive that must be agreed upon with the MTA.

Open Forum: Cost Containment Feedback from Buildings: The comment heard most often is regarding the lack of administrator cuts. The middle schools and high school are hit the hardest by the proposed cuts. Many of the cuts will directly affect the students. The document mentions cuts not affecting class size, and many question how that will happen. Teachers are concerned about the loss of prep time and the expectations to do even more with less.

Dr. Peterson will be at the next Governance Board meeting to discuss class size, cost containment, and negotiations.

Secretary Tingblad will send out an e-mail to all MTA members regarding an MTA work session to draft a response document to the cost containment recommendations. Interested members can come to MM-West, room 138, 4:15 p.m. 

Vice President Nelson distributed the calendar survey results.

Motion by Lundgren, seconded by Ruffino, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Tingblad, MTA Secretary
1/18/05, Approved 2/2/05