Minnetonka Teachers Association

Governance Board Reorganization Meeting, May 4, 2005

In Attendance:

Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, Mary Tingblad, Melanie Casiday, Margaret Ruffino, Pam Wertjes, Debra Drexler, Anita Britton, Rhonda Lundgren,  Sandy Gosen, Jeri Goodspeed-Gross, Doug Kennedy, Jean Peebles, Ramona Anderson, Rachel Consdorf.

Absent: 

Susan Weber, Sara Macke.

Guests:

Linda Morantez, Miles Mortensen (2004-2005 Governance Board members); Mary Benson and Anita Otten (Teachers’ Rights Co-Chairs); Education Minnesota Field Staff Representative.

Call to Order:

4:37 p.m., by President Ricke. 

Welcome to our new Governance Board  Building Representatives: Susan Weber (DEC), Debra Drexler (Clear Springs), Ramona Anderson (MHS), and Rachel Consdorf (MHS).

Approval of Minutes:

Motion by Ruffino, seconded by Peebles to approve the minutes of April 20, 2005. Motion carried. 

Teachers' Rights Report:

The Teachers' Rights Co-Chairs have been very busy, but due to data privacy, they cannot talk about specifics.

The Budget Committee must begin its work this month. The 2005-2006 MTA Budget must be approved in June. Treasurer Casiday and Secretary Tingblad will serve on the committee. Any other Governance Board members interested in joining this committee should e-mail Treasure Casiday. The first meeting will be on May 12, 2005.

Every Local with FairShare non-members are required to do formal audits by a certified auditor. This will double our yearly audit budget line item. We will get more information on this new requirement.

New Business:

The Membership Chair position is open for next year. Anyone interested in this position should contact President Ricke as soon as possible. May Kay Burmesch is willing to train her replacement.

Appointments of other positions are deferred until the next Governance Board meeting. These positions include: Teachers' Rights Co-Chairs, Meet and Confer Representatives, Election Committee, Budget Committee, Newsletter Editor, and Webmaster. 

St. Benedict in August: Education Minnesota's Leadership Conference will take place at the College of St. Benedict, August 1-3, 2005. There are general sessions and break-out sessions for officers, negotiators, and any members interested in developing and exploring leadership.  President Ricke has asked that the four officers attend the conference this summer.

MCA's Consistency Between Schools: Some elementary schools have experienced extreme schedule changes on the MCA testing dates. Governance Board members should e-mail Melanie Casiday about how their days were scheduled for the MCA tests. 

MTA Scholarships: President Ricke will contact the MHS Counselors regarding the two $1,000 scholarships to be given out this year. The Governance Board is interested in emphasizing the selection of students interested in careers in an educational setting, such as teaching, social work, counseling, nursing.

May 9 Plans: The official plans for the workshop day were not communicated until they were asked for today. This will be addressed at Meet and Confer.

Administrative Surveys: Some Governance Board members reported hearing about their principal's survey results, but most have not heard anything. Survey results will be addressed at Meet and Confer.

Postings and Placements: The third round of openings has been posted. By June 1, 2005, all teaching staff will know their assignments, except for Music and Physical Education, which will know by July 1, 2005.

The Summer School posting contains incorrect information. This will be addressed at Contract Administration.

Old Business:

Negotiations Update: President Ricke and the Negotiators believe that Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) will not work if the Superintendent is not at the bargaining table. The bargaining process is most productive with the major decision makers at the negotiating table. Motion by Goodspeed-Gross, seconded by Gosen, that President Ricke send an e-mail to the School Board and Dr. Peterson, stating that the MTA will pursue IBB with the condition that the Superintendent be at the negotiating table. Motion carried. 

Elementary Report Card Update: The Teachers' Rights Co-Chairs have talked with Dr. Peterson regarding the report card change. He said that he will talk with the principals. The Building Representatives from the elementary schools should e-mail President Ricke regarding grades 4, 5, and 6 feedback on the new report card.

Teacher Celebration: The committee has reserved The Marsh on June 3, 2005, 4:00-8:00 p.m. President Ricke will talk with the district regarding co-sponsoring with the MTA this Teacher Celebration event at the Marsh. 

President’s Report:

.4 Release Time for President: The arbitration date has still not been set. A date in October was offered, but they are now working for a date in summer.

Alternative Compensation Committee: President Ricke will bring more information to the next meeting. He will ask Judy Schaubach to attend our June meeting.

School Board Meeting: Graduation credit requirements were discussed and elective representatives lobbied for their areas. The School Board did not have discussions as had been anticipated. An unannounced special session was held last Wednesday with study groups presenting findings on alternatives for school curriculum.

Open Forum:

STEP Classes: The Middle School STEP class assignments process was stopped in January, so Dr. Peterson and Claudia Risnes could look at the process and make changes. On Monday, the High Potential teachers shared the new plan to assign more students, maybe increasing the class size in STEP classes.

Motion by Nelson, seconded by Peebles, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Tingblad, MTA Secretary
5/12/05, Approved 5/18/05