Minnetonka Teachers Association Members of Education Minnesota, NEA, AFT, Minnesota Local #7173
Governance Board Meeting District Service Center September 7, 2005
In Attendance:	Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, Mary Tingblad, Melanie Casiday, Susan Weber, Margaret Ruffino, Pam Wertjes, Heather Stowman, Debra Drexler, Anita Britton, Rhonda Lundgren, Sandy Gosen, Jeri Goodspeed-Gross, Doug Kennedy, Ramona Anderson, Rachel Consdorf.
Absent:	There is a vacancy on the Governance Board for a fourth MHS representative.
Guests:	Mary Benson, Teachers’ Rights Co-Chair.
Call to Order:	4:35 p.m., by President Ricke.
Approval of Minutes:	President Ricke requested that the approval of the Governance Board meeting minutes of June 1, June 8, June 28, and August 24, 2005, be tabled. Later this week he will send out an e-mail with voting buttons to the Governance Board members asking for the approval of minutes.
NEA-RA and Summer Leadership:	NEA-RA Report: Joe Ricke, Jan Nelson, and Mary Tingblad were MTA delegates to the NEA-RA in Los Angeles, CA, this summer. Delegates voted to allow New York NEA to make the changes needed should they merge NEA and AFT members. The MTA delegates will include articles regarding their NEA-RA experiences in the September issue of the MTA newsletter. Summer Leadership Report: Joe Ricke, Jan Nelson, Mary Tingblad, and Melanie Casiday attended the Education Minnesota Summer Leadership Seminar at the College of St. Benedict this summer. Classes/meetings attended included sessions for Treasurers, Presidents, Q-Comp Information, Stress Management, Membership, Newsletter Editors, and others. Tingblad noted that the seminar has used the MTA newsletter as an outstanding example in the sessions for newsletter editors.
Teachers' Rights Report:	The first Teachers’ Rights meeting will be on September 28, 2005. Scenic Heights and MHS need Teachers’ Rights Building Representatives. The Teachers’ Rights Co-Chairs and President Ricke will continue to meet monthly with Dr. Peterson.
Treasurer's Report:	Treasurer Casiday distributed the MTA Checking Account Statement dated September 6, 2005. She announced that she is resigning as the MTA Treasurer and Minnewashta Building Representative, but she will continue on until the replacements for these positions are elected. President Ricke asked that any Governance Board Building Representative interested in being the Treasurer talk with him regarding the position. Secretary Tingblad will send out election notices to MTA members at Minnewashta and MHS after Casiday notifies her building members of her decision.
New Business:	First Week of School/6-Period Day: President Ricke reported that the School Board would like feedback on the change to the 6-Period Day. Governance Board members shared concerns already experienced, and will ask members to also share their concerns. After feedback is gathered from staff, President Ricke will share feedback with principals, the School Board and Dr. Peterson. This will also be discussed at Meet and Confer. Later in the fall, we could also do a Zoomerang survey. Negotiations: The Negotiators’ original goal was to have closure this week. They are not feeling confident that this will occur yet this week. They are finalizing compensation, workday/work year, and transfer issues. MAPPS: Minnetonka’s Q-Comp proposal, “Minnetonka Alternative Professional Pay System” could make more money available to anyone within our bargaining unit. MAPPS must be approved by the Governance Board and voted on by the membership before it can go to the School Board and on to the state. The statute states that it must be approved by 70% of our membership. The Negotiators would like to present the contract and MAPPS to the membership at the same time. Members will have to vote on each separately. The Building Representatives should schedule MTA meetings in each building next week. Negotiator Britton will send out the original document and updated talking points to the Building Representatives so they can share this information at their meetings. Education Minnesota Calendars: The calendar posters will be sent out later this fall. Building Representatives should distribute the pocket calendars and other information already received from Education Minnesota. Constitution/Bylaws Review Team: We need to make changes to the MTA Constitution and Bylaws to match requirements and wording provided by Education Minnesota. President Ricke has requested that the officers work together on amendment proposals that will be brought to the Governance Board. School Board Candidates: President Ricke will invite all candidates to speak at an upcoming governance Board meeting. MTA members will also be invited to hear the candidates. Membership Lists: The new Membership Chair is Jeri Goodspeed-Gross. She will send information and lists to the Building Representatives next week. Anticipating votes on the contract and MAPPS, it is very important that the Building Representatives verify every member’s information quickly. Most of the new teachers signed up for membership at the New Teacher Luncheon in August.
Old Business:	Relicensure Chair Update: The new Relicensure Chair is Julia Antonsen. Members should read the e-mail “MyLearningPlan Changes/Issues” from Bev Ginther sent on September 2, 2005. Flowers/Cards for Governance Board Members: No policy has been established for this. It is understood that no MTA budget dollars will be used for flowers/cards for Governance Board members.
President’s Report:	Arbitration/Grievances Updates: We are still waiting for the decision from the arbitrator regarding the MTA President’s release time. Briefs are written by the district lawyer and the Education Minnesota lawyer for the grievances regarding IB overloads and teachers transferred not according to seniority. School Board Meeting: “Tonka Cares” is a parent organization that is concerned about drug-use by Minnetonka students. They have scheduled community events to deal with this. Enrollment is up in every grade. Mike Lovett reported that MM-East and MM-West have the same number of students. Build representatives question this and will check on the actual numbers. 51 new teachers have been hired. Motion by Tingblad, seconded by Gosen, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Mary Tingblad, MTA Secretary 9/10/05, Approved 9/27/05