Welcome to the 2011/12 school year, I hope everyone had the opportunity to spend some quality time with family and friends this summer!
I would like to welcome Superintendent Dr. Jeff Rose to the Beaverton family. His dedication to education and focus on integrity and transparency is very apparent and highly valued in our district.
Now is the time to join a committee, come to meetings and have your voice heard. Participating in what is happening is the only way to help facilitate change. Information will be posted in the OSEA Online folder in your FirstClass email and on our website osea.aft.org/48.
Many of you have contacted me with questions regarding the new contract. Please know that we are in the process of working out some formatting/proofing issues, which is the final step before sending it out to print. The contract language improved on several fronts, an important addition was the Personal Business Day Donation program. A huge thank you goes out to the 2010/11 Negotiations team including Shelly Critchlow who championed this program. I have to admit that we had a couple of missteps in the process. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the newly formed P.B.D.D. committee we’re on the verge of full implementation. This committee is comprised of Scott George, Jan Sakala and Dianna Hess. This was dropped in their laps shortly after our first general meeting and they’ve been able to put together a quality procedure/guideline process.
Our first general meeting was very productive, with many issues being brought forward. The local option levy was a large focus in our executive board session. The Beaverton School Board will ask voters to consider a five-year Local Option Levy on the Nov. 8, 2011 ballot. The financial impact of an increasing budget shortfall compounded with the current financial climate, leaves the Beaverton School District in a very precarious position. The district has reduced its budget by over $100 million dollars in the last four years. State funding for education continues to decline and we’re all asked to do more with less. The impact of these cuts is evident throughout the district. That is precisely why your executive board voted to support this levy. Your executive board has requested assistance from the OSEA Government Relations Office to make our efforts in support of the Local Option Levy be successful.
I look forward to working hand in hand with our BEA brothers and sisters phone banking and canvassing in support of the levy. We must all be aware of the causality of inaction in these trying times. Information regarding phone banking schedule and canvassing will be posted on our website and in the OSEA Online Folder in the coming days.
We’ve received many complaints from our members regarding the custodial restructuring and its implementation. Keep in mind that this is a new program being brought online in the district and its bound to have knot or two. Most complaints I’ve personally received have centered around cleaning routes and scheduling. Please share and document these concerns with the district supervisors, we have to all work together to keep our buildings clean and safe for students, staff and the public.