HACKENSACK EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
Faculty Council Meeting
November 18, 2002

The November 18, 2002 HEA Faculty Council Meeting was called to order in the Middle School Faculty Dining Room at 3:32 p.m. by President Robert Curtis.

A motion to accept the October 28, 2002 minutes was made by Vida Story and approved.

OFFICERS' REPORTS

Treasurer. The Treasurer's Report was presented. A motion to accept the report was made by Vida Story and approved.

Corresponding Secretary. The Corresponding Secretary had no report.

Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary had no report.

BCEA Representative. The BCEA representative reported that Ridgewood settled their contract the day before the BCEA meeting; their main issue was health benefits. The mentoring program will be funded by the State next year. It is important that vocational courses receive parental support. A copy of the BCEA President's Fall 2002 article was distributed; a response from the Governor is anticipated. Subcontracting discussions are taking place.

Vice President. The Vice President requested that TALC reports be sent to her.

President. President Curtis attended the NJEA convention in Atlantic City and stated that several Presidents were acknowledged at the Presidents' dinner. Some problems have been reasonably settled, while one grievance will be heard November 19.


SCHOOL REPORTS

Fairmount. There is concern with the lack of substitutes for teacher assistants. President Curtis reported that a group of teacher-assistant substitutes was approved at the last board meeting.

Hillers. There is concern about the lack of Kindergarten-assistant substitutes; there are safety and supervision concerns with these kindergarteners. A TALC meeting is scheduled for this week. The block schedule is not compatible with specials and teacher-assistant schedules.

Jackson Avenue. As no representatives were present, there was no report.

Parker. They are working on having a TALC meeting.

5ive6ix School. They hope to have a TALC meeting before the holidays.

Middle School. The concerns are the same as at the previous meeting. TALC is trying to arrange a meeting.

High School. The bi-lingual special education students are not being adequately serviced. There are serious concerns about the canceled resource room program. The special education classes are out of compliance with State guidelines. Some homerooms did not receive copies of the new attendance policy that was to be brought home, signed by parents, and returned; several faculty members did not even see this attendance policy. There was concern that class-related assemblies were scheduled with one day's notice. There was concern about the unscheduled attendance-related assemblies that were held November 11 and 12 during Periods 2 and 3. The TALC committee will have a meeting among themselves; the most common complaints were overcrowded classes, an insufficient number of books, and unavailablity of funds.


COMMITTEE REPORTS

Membership. The Membership chair stated there are 453 staff members. The chair requested staff lists from each school to identity job positions; only Fairmount and the Middle School have complied so far. There are some staff who are not being charged a representative fee and some members not being charged dues.

Election. One Faculty Council representative is still needed from the 5ive6ix School and from the High School.

Social. President Curtis thanked Maria Matera for the excellent job she did with the NJEA Convention arrangements.

Negotiations. The Negotiations chair sent a letter to Dr. Montesano stating they are ready to being negotiations. Mr. Capone sent a scattergram to President Curtis which he in turn sent to Negotiations committee members.

Legislative. There was a concerted effort to support Mr. Lautenberg in the November 5 election. A poster for HELP (stress-related), which was available at the NJEA convention, will be sent to each school. The pension bills are secure. The health benefits for retired teachers are not as secure. It is important to write letters about pending bills in the legislature. The state aid flat line is a problem for the next budget. Health benefits costs will increase 25% in January.

Professional Rights and Responsibilities. This was included with the President's report.

Teacher Education. Three courses are currently being offered; five or six courses are scheduled for the spring semester.

T.A.L.C. The TALC chair will try to schedule a January meeting with Dr. Montesano and present all the schools' concerns.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION. There were no recommendations.

OLD BUSINESS. There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS. It was stated at the NJEA convention that Hackensack is fifth in the county for beginning teacher salaries. It was questioned who will be appointed to replace Assistant Superintendent Peter Capone on the Negotiations team. It was questioned whether teacher assistants have to return the two nights of conference week, December 2-6. It was advised to read the contract and follow past practice, which may vary from school to school.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. There were no announcements.

ADJOURNMENT. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. on motion by Vida Story.

Respectfully submitted,



Valerie Gancarz
Recording Secretary