Some of the many benefits of a local professional organization:
- Honest and open representation.
- More transparent communication with the community, school board and administration
- A more locally responsible model
- We can develop a consistent and secure relationship with legal counsel
- We will be accompanied by an attorney during negotiations and other legal issues
- We will have a strong teacher association.
Common fears:
-Will I have liability insurance?Yes. The school district covers teachers up to one million dollars per occurrence and five million aggregate. OEA's liability insurance only kicks in after the school insurance is exhausted. A teacher liability endorsement can be added to a home owners' policy for approximately $12 annually(providing additional coverage of $300,000).
What if I need representation due to a disciplinary action? Officers will be elected per building and can provide initial problem-solving support. If needed, representation by an attorney is readily available and is included in the dues.
What will happen if we lose our association? We are not losing our association. We are changing who will represent us as an association. We will now be represented by an attorney, John Concannon, who is highly experienced in negotiations and school law.
Action Plan:
- Sent petition with 99 signatures to the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) on March 19th
- Provide 21 days for OEA or our employer to contest (April 7)
- Conduct a conference call with SERB, the school board attorney, the OEA attorney and Anne Kuhn
- Give an announcement of the election 10 days prior to the vote
- Secret ballot voting from home mail during a two week voting period
- Results are tallied by SERB in one week
- Constitution and by-laws must be written within 60 days of the vote, if successful
We do want to thank the members of our IHEA negotiating team and the communications committee for their hard work, time and dedication to the teachers of Indian Hill Schools.
