Napa Valley Educators Association Site Representative Council
January 28, 2019

3:30-5:00

Minutes
Executive Board Members Present:  
President - Gayle Young, Vice President - Mary Duenow, Secretary - Debbie Kmiec, Treasurer/Chief Negotiator - Ginger Dunne, Directors-at-Large -  Erin Reilly (High), Karen Fleming (Middle), Kristin Pruitt (Elementary),  Human Rights - Courtney Garcia, Communication - Mike Willmarth, Grievance - Patty Wyman

Site Reps Present:  
Alta Heights:  Ginger Dunne, American Canyon HS:  Elizabeth Hawkins, Fontaine Segerquist, Lilian Zmed, American Canyon MS:   Alex King, Mark Portwood, Bel Aire: Susan Loomis, Browns Valley:  Angela Oster, Canyon Oaks:  Amy Bardwell, Kirsten Fouquet, Donaldson Way:  Maureen McCullough, Willow:  Corey Morton, Harvest MS:  Karen Fleming, Manya Franco, Independent Studies:  Jessica Farrell, McPherson:  Laurie Gaynor, Mt. George:  Annie Tisher, Napa HS:  Troy Gittings, Sean Gregory, Steve Hatton, Melinda Miller, Napa Junction:  Kay Folks, NVLA:  Marliese Esquivel, Sara Miller, New Tech High:  Angeline Warnock,, Phillips:  Ann Brown, Redwood MS:  Lorna Dekker, Nancy Lussier, Shearer:  Pam Thornell, Silverado MS:  Jen Can, Anne Murphy, Patty Wyman, Snow:  Teri Isola,   Valley Oak:  Evrim Cakir, Vichy:  Debbie Cates, Vintage HS:  Michael Alger, Marc Caddell, West Park:  Laura Zinser, Yountville:  Debbie Simpkins
Executive Board Members Absent: High School Director-at-Large - Erin Reilly
Site Reps Absent:
American Canyon HS:  Scott Hayburn, Devin Reza,,  , Harvest MS: Sara Kvidahl-Schmitz, Napa HS:  Sharon D. Anderson,  Northwood:  Karen McKeown, Pueblo Vista:  Amelia Brown, River MS:  Louann Talbert,  Vintage:  Chris Auld, Andrew Barker, l, Kelli Watkins,
  • Welcome

  • Roasanna Mucetti  
    • shared as of 1/25/19 Wade Roach is no longer Asst Superintendent of Business Services.  We as a district are moving in a different direction and we need to make sure that leadership at the top is on board with the direction we are moving.  We wish Wade the best.
    • There will be an interim team to look at beginning to make the promises that the district has agreed to move forward with.  
    • Positions will be posted immediately;  Asst Sup of Business Services and Director Fisical Services Cheree Kahn who also left.
    •  Take this as an opportunity to look at the business and operation side and really analyze the finances and have strong leadership.  
    • With transition we are given the chance to have change and although change is hard we need to look at the best way to organize ourselves and be proficient.  Our goal is to educate our students and have the district run efficiently.
    • Suggestion made to get input from those teachers who are currently at sites where construction is taking place and to find out what is and what isn’t working.  
    • Business and operation side need to make sure there is really tight management and resources are being used to the best of our ability.
    • Dr. Mucetti is a hands on superintendent and she looks for solutions and solutions that move us forward.
    • As far as security is concerned there is a lot of pressure put on the system and meetings are being held to deal with short term solutions, what protocols need to be put in place and all of this needs to start at district office.  If the district office is very easy going and trusting then that message is sent down to our schools.
    • What this means for our district - we don’t have all of the reasons why this happened, there are going to be a lot of changes and changes for the better, better for our teachers.  We need to keep a balance on this it is a person, it is a change and we hope that it is not an ethical issue where we are going to be dragged through the media again as we have been in past years.
    • Question was asked if there is going to be an audit since there will be a change in management.  We are audited every year, to include programs and making sure we aren’t administration heavy. There will be an audit moneywise.
    • There is no reason to think that there is any financial issue at stake here.  It was a difference of philosophy and going forward
    • Our formula is not listed in the strategic plan, but it is in our contract
    • What is happening with HR - Dana Page is coming in to take over as an intern not a permanent person, Ashley Halliday will come in as a consultant to guide and help her.  Pat Andry Jennings is moving over to take over some of the responsabilites.

  • American Fidelity Presentation
    • Cedric Miller shared what we need to do with the Affordable Care Act and what our responsibilities are.
    • 2 part process streamlining benefits enrollment to include benefits and CALPERS
    • If you want to make changes it is a tedious process with a lot of paperwork, thus we as individual will be making the changes on line
    • 1st piece with communication (letter) sent to all employees, with dependent review, 2/25/19 American Fidelity will meet with all employees for a dependent review
    • CALPERS is requiring the district has on file marriage certificates and birth certificates to verify if dependents are eligible to receive benefits.  Ineligible dependents costs money and causes our benefit costs to go up
    • There will be roving subs to cover our classes so we can provide info to American Fidelity.  American Fidelity is paying for the subs and they also pay for the services that they are performing.  What happens if we run out of subs? American Fidelity is very flexible and will work it out
    • Need copy of first page of tax return (either 2017 or 2018 tax return) to prove how we are filing and who you are actually married to since marriage certificates don’t have a divorce date.  
    • If you opt out of CALPERS medical still need to provide proof  to show you have insurance. If you have a dependant child or spouse and they have their own coverage you will need proof of other coverage.
    • Who is keeping copies?  District is keeping copies American Fidelity isn’t they are just collecting the documents for the district
    • Copies of birth certificates & marriage certificates are sufficient won't need to go out and get official copies
    • If you have dependents on dental and vision Cedric will get clarification if you need copies of above mentioned documents.
    • It is a pain now, but during the fall if you want to enroll on line versus meeting with a rep etc. you can go on-line and do it yourself.  Reps will still be coming out to the sites to meet with individuals
    • This includes all employees including classified, etc.
    • Letter is going out this week (Feb 1) there will be a follow up email, messaging, hard copy and plenty of reminders
    • Gayle will send out Cedric’s contact information for all to have in case we have additional questions and site reps are encouraged to contact him directly if we have disgruntled employees

  • Review of Agenda


  • NVEA Budget Update
    • Received scholarship info from ACHS and NHS waiting for VHS, NTHS and Valley Oak

  • NVEA Elections
    • Three year terms are up and all positions are open and is a 3 year term July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022
    • Nominations from 1/28/19 through 2/14/19, any NVEA member can become a candidate
    • Voting at sites from March 18 through March 29, 2019
    • Bylaws have job descriptions for each position

  • State Budget Update
    • School services meeting at State says  there is a COLA that is rolled in with amount of money that we get per student

  • Negotiations Update  
    • Committees
      • Assignment Impact -
        • ECHO transition making sure we are cognicent of all resources.  
        • If teachers are being asked to do extra things then there needs to be money provided especially if we are asked to work after school
        • No information about the new art grant and the impact

      • Counselors
        • Talked about additional time for counselors  (they have a 7hr workday) Should be compensated for the additional time when having to work 0 period to late flight.
        • Conversation with counselors and social workers regarding responsibility so that everyone is on the same page.  There is a lot of miscommunication happening

      • SPED
        • Review of the workng teacher file and how information is passed on (condition of file ie; too many copies of same IEP, no organization, etc.)  We will have a district wide model on how files should be kept so services, BIPS etc. don’t get lost in all the paperwork. Files will be cleaned up and cleaned out annually.
        • Information sheets given to gen ed teachers as a resource (disabilities how to help students with specific disability, list of acronyms)
        • Gathering what teachers need help with (appraisals - what a good filled out appraisal versus a poor filled out appraisal looks like, accommodations vs. modifications, etc.)

      • PBIS
        • Ongoing conversation, Steve Perry has returned to fill part of Laura Mooiman’s position.  
        • Conversation with Steve and Mike Mansuy on how to deal with those tier 3 kids who are taking away from the learning of the other 32 students in the class.
        • There are no easy fixes and Steve is one who doesn’t make promises.
        • PBIS world was mentioned as a good resource for certain behaviors.
        • Any questions or concerns regarding any committee please email

      • Professional Growth (Eval)
        • Evaluations is really a growth mindset, but  because of it being a growth mindset, the district needs to look at rebranding/renaming
        • Teachers need to be able to pick something that is of interest or where or what they want to improve on
        • Teachers will have a choice of two things to do and our contract has language about an alternative evaluation which is still being worked on.
        • Every person who is evaluated after10 years teaching in the district have the option of a 5 year evaluation.

  • MOUs
    • Early tell MOU for first 15 people who informed the district that they are retiring at the end of the 2019 school year
    • Partial leave for family time from your contract you will be able to do that for up to 4 years (is a short term bandaid fix)
    • Looking at the whole family leave through our contract and what is coming down from the state
    • Visually impaired program - district is helping with funding of some of the fees for one of our current teachers obtaining their visually impaired certificate

  • Next Member Engagement Event - March 8 St Clair Brown Winery (corner of Action and Vallejo) Info will be coming out with an RSVP, guys are also invited

  • State Council Update
    • UTLA got class size reduction down from 47, they are looking at getting a credentialed nurse at every school site (200 nurses), looking for librarians (certificated or library techs not specified), getting a 6% raise over 2 years
    • NEA Tony Thurmond was present at state council and sees teachers as the people he is going to go to for information as far as what educaiton should look like.  If we have stuff that we want conveyed to Tony Thurmond let Gayle know and she will get the information to him.

  • Site Concerns
    • Please email to Gayle.  She meets with HR every thursday and she can address concerns with HR etc.  Request was made that Gayle send a confirmation email so we know that action was dealt with

  • Adjournment - meeting adjourned at 5:05pm