The BTU office hours for the rest of the summer are 8 am to 4 pm, and as always, find contact information for officers and staff on our website.
A few announcements:
The negotiating season is almost upon us, and we are seeking members for a newly-constituted Collective Bargaining Committee that will be appointed and approved by the membership at the regularly-scheduled September 9 membership meeting.
So what does the Collective Bargaining Committee do? See this article in the upcoming Union Teacher, and if interested, please apply. All BTU members are welcomed to apply.
Opening of School Year 2015-2016
The first official day of work is Wednesday, September 2. This is the day for room set up and so on. BTU members can work this day for six hours and get credit for one day’s work OR can opt to work the six hours during the time period from August 15 to September 2. BTU members who wish to complete this time during the August 15 to September 2 time period need only submit a statement attesting to time worked to the building administrator.
Thursday, September 3 is the second day of work. The first 30 minutes on this day belongs to the BTU, and building representatives will engage our members in a discussion of the basics of what people need to know at the start of the school year. We also ask that all members extend a welcome to our new members on this day.
The rest of the second day belongs to time set aside for PD.
What if you cannot attend school on Thursday, September 3?Pursuant to the newly-negotiated agreement that changes the start date of the beginning of the upcoming school year, please note that if you had made plans prior to May 13, 2015 (vacation, travel, and so on) and are NOT available for work on September 3, then you are able to make up that day’s work prior to October 30, 2015 without loss of compensation. Simply submit some evidence of your prior plans to your school administrator. If you have any questions, please email Caren, Michael, or Josefina.
There remain approximately 195 BTU teacher members without positions. These are people, by and large, who were in schools last year that have been closed, been declared “Turnarounds,” and/or find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own making. We do not have up-to-date information right now on their evaluation status, but in last year’s group of 72 excessed-but-not-yet-placed teachers, 83% were either exemplary or proficient. We expect the same demographic in our excessed teacher population this school year.