Good morning. Nomination papers for 2017 BTU election were made available last Wednesday, January 11. Please call the BTU office with questions, and learn more about the election and the responsibilities of the officers by attending a seminar with Richard Stutman and others on Thursday, January 19, from 4:30-6 PM. Speakers will explain the responsibilities of all the elected union positions, and there will be an opportunity for questions. Refreshments will be served. See the full agenda. See all instructions for NOMINATION PAPERS.
Oftentimes the BTU office will get a call as to why there is no substitute coverage in a particular school. Some members report that their school administrator claims there is no money in the school budget, or that substitutes are hard to find, and so on. Please be advised that it is an obligation of the district to provide substitute teachers when required, regardless of the difficulty. The BTU-BPS contract language is unequivocal on this topic:
It is the policy of the Committee that substitutes shall be hired to cover classes of regularly assigned teachers when they are absent (Burgundy booklet, p 33, 8 c.).
There is no wiggle room in the preceding sentence. It doesn’t excuse a school’s failure to budget properly or the department’s inability to recruit substitutes adequately. Plain and simple, if a substitute is required for SEIMS, teacher absence and so on, the department has an obligation to fulfill its responsibility to hire one. If you are not getting the coverage in your building you need, please call your field representative. If you have covered classes, lost P&D time, and so on, please see the section below that details how to get compensated for that lost time. If we fail to pursue the compensation due, we provide no incentive for our schools to fulfill their responsibility to provide required substitute coverage.
Finally, we met last Friday in negotiations, and we meet again this morning. We will report to you next week about our progress. In the meantime, this Friday and all Fridays going forward until our contract is settled are BTU Contract Fairness Days. We ask that all members wear something in BTU blue and that you wear our BTU stickers as well. Then upload your photos for all to enjoy!
Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced yesterday that the city would be filing a comprehensive education finance reform package that will help our school system compete with other better-funded systems. See his press release.