The monthly meeting of the HEA Faculty Council was held on Monday, November 19, 2001 at the Hackensack Middle School. The meeting was called to order by President Robert Kern Curtis at 3:32 p.m.

The minutes of the October 22, 2001 Faculty Council meeting were approved. A motion to accept the minutes was made by Vida Story. The motion passed.

Officers' Report.

Treasurer's Report. Mark Porto
The treasurer reported that all bills from the Opening Day Luncheon have been received . A motion to accept the budget report was made by Vida Story. The motion passed.

Corresponding Secretary's Report. Beverly Nelson
A notice was received from BCEA's Human Relations /Minority Involvement Committee requesting input from members on nominations for NEA's 2002 Human Rights Award. Nomination forms can be obtained from the BCEA office and must be returned by November 30. 2001

Recording Secretary's Report. Betty Meeks-Manning. No report.

BCEA Report. Elaine Williamson
Elaine Williamson was appointed BCEA representative.

Vice President's Report. Georgiana Brown.
The vice president advised all building representatives to have a T.A.L.C. meeting before the end of the semester and submit the report to her as soon as possible.

President's Report. Dr. Robert Kern Curtis
NJEA Teachers' Convention. President Curtis attended the dinner for all Association presidents in the state of New Jersey. There was a discussion concerning the problems and practices encountered by the local associations.
Meetings. President Curtis reminded members that when there is an early dismissal, if the departure time does not exceed the length of a normal school day, the meeting is not considered as a faculty meeting. If the meeting ends after normal school hours, the time will be considered as one of the two monthly faculty meetings.
Grievance Report. The Grievance filed on behalf of a high school teacher has been settled.

School Reports.

High School. There were comments and questions concerning the students' attendance policy and the policy for first period lateness.
There was concern about the lack of substitutes when Inclusion teachers are absent.

Middle School. There was a discussion concerning block scheduling. Teachers find the schedule to be very challenging for the current seventh graders.
Classroom teachers, assigned to work with Inclusion teachers, do not have the flexibility to make changes in their schedule in order to work with other teachers effectively.

5ive6ix School. There will be joint teacher-administrator meetings between the two schools.

Parker. Petition. A petition, protesting the raising of the Association dues, was signed by thirteen members of Parker School and submitted to the HEA Faculty Council. The members' position is that the Opening Day Luncheon should be eliminated or held at another location with lower prices.
Absentee List. The principal placed her letter of response, concerning the public posting of the list of absent teachers and the reasons for their absences, in the mailboxes of all teachers at Parker.
BCEA Reception. There were complaints concerning the menu at the BCEA Reception at the NJEA Teachers' Convention. The president suggested that members should voice their complaints to BCEA.

Jackson Avenue. No report.

Hillers. There is great concern about the lack of substitutes for teacher assistants and for the school nurse, when these faculty members are absent.

Fairmount. There is concern about the lack of substitutes.

Committee Reports.

Membership Committee. Susan Young, No report.

Elections Committee. Denise Corso.
President Curtis presented the report. The 5ive6ix School needs one teacher assistant. Nora Maher was nominated and elected building representative for the 5ive6ix School. Lynrick Rhymer was nominated and elected building representative for the Middle School.

Social Committee. Maria Matera.
President Curtis presented the report. A workshop/meeting is in the planning for all building representatives. The workshop will deal with member rights. The meeting is scheduled tentatively for mid-January.

Negotiations Committee. Lynn Berhalter
There was a discussion concerning the listing of Veterans Day as one of the school holidays. This issue was referred to the Calendar Committee.

Legislative Committee. Vida Story
There was a discussion of the School Modernization Bill. The Chairperson asked members to attend the next legislative meeting.

Teacher Education. Nikki VanEss
Three In-Service courses are now in progress. The Chair is requesting that any member interested in teaching a course submit the title and pertinent information concerning the course to her by January 2002.

T.A.L.C. Georgiana Brown.
This report was included in the vice president's report.

Old Business. Amendment to By-Laws. A motion to accept the amendment to the By-Laws was made by Vida Story. The motion passed. The Faculty Council adopted the Amendment to the By-Laws, which will increase the dues as stated in the October 2001 Faculty Council minutes.
There was a discussion concerning extra compensation for the position of student council advisor at the 5ive6ix School.

New Business. Payment for workshops. There was a discussion concerning payment for workshops attended by teachers.
Professional days. There was a discussion concerning the lack of funds available for Professional Days.
Incentives. There was a proposal made in reference to incentives for teachers who have perfect attendance. It was suggested that a cash bonus be given for teachers with perfect attendance and that negotiation for sick days be included in the discussion of the next contract. The issue concerning the negotiation of sick days was referred to the Negotiations Committee.
Summers' proposal. A proposal submitted by Joe Summers was discussed. The proposal stated that the HEA should supply all members with T-shirts inscribed with a logo representative of Hackensack teachers.

With no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Betty Meeks-Manning

Recording Secretary