May 2003

VOL. 13 NO. 10

Each year CCASA provides two (2) scholarships in the amount of $1,000.00 each. Each applicant must be a senior enrolled in the Clark County School District and a legal dependent of an active CCASA member.

Applications were received from eleven outstanding students. The Scholarship Committee, composed of high school principals Richard Arguello, Sue Daellenbach, and Mark Coleman, selected Lauren Smallwood of Coronado High School and Amy Green also of Coronado High. These two outstanding recipients were selected on the basis of their grade point averages, test scores, recommendations, essays, and personal resumes. Lauren is the daughter of CCASA member Karen Smallwood. Amy is the daughter of CCASA member Mike O’Dowd.

Stephen Augspurger, CCASA Executive Director, presented the scholarship checks to the recipients at the May 8, 2003, meeting of the Board of School Trustees.

Congratulations are extended to all of the outstanding applicants, recipients, and their families.

Mike Kinnaird, Chairperson of the CCASA Nominations and Elections Committee, along with committee members Carol Lark and Kim Grytdahl are seeking candidates to run for the CCASA Executive Board and the Representative Council.

Members interested in serving on the Executive Board and/or Representative Council may contact one of the individuals on the Nominations and Elections Committee or the CCASA office at 796-9602.

This committee will propose a slate of candidates for nomination at the June 24, 2003, general membership meeting to be held at the Palace Station Hotel. Whenever possible there will be a minimum of two (2) candidates for each office to be filled. Additional nominations, with the consent of the person being nominated, may be made at the June 24 general membership meeting.

Executive Board offices to be filled during the election include President Elect (must be an active CCASA member who is a secondary school administrator), Secretary and Treasurer. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer are open to anyone who is an active CCASA member. Candidates receiving a majority of votes cast by mail ballot shall be elected to the office.

Four (4) Representative Council positions are elected each year. The four (4) at large positions are filled by the four (4) at large candidates receiving the greatest number of votes. These positions are for a two (2) year term.

CCASA encourages members to run for office. The Executive Board and Representative Council are the decision making bodies of CCASA.

The CCASA general membership meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 2003, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Palace Station Hotel. The business meeting will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.

During the CCASA meeting, members will:

1. Be provided a review of the highlights of 2002-2003;

2. Receive the proposed slate of candidates for the June election and be provided an opportunity to nominate additional candidates;

3. Receive a copy of the 2003-2004 CCASA budget; and

4. Have the opportunity to socialize with their current colleagues, as well as, those who have retired.

The Clark County Association of Secondary School Principals and the Clark County Association of Elementary School Principals will hold end-of-the-year business meetings at the same location beginning at 4:00 p.m.

CCASA invites and encourages all active, associate and affiliate members to attend this important meeting. Soft drinks, beer, wine, and appetizers will be served.

On May 8, 2003, the CCASA Representative Council held its regular monthly meeting. The major items discussed included the following:

1. A review of revenue, expenditures, and balances within the CCASA Association and Trust Fund Accounts;

2. A review of the status of:

A. Negotiations – CCASA Negotiation Team work sessions were held on February 11, March 11, and April 22. Formal meetings with the District were held on April 29 and May 6. Negotiation sessions are scheduled with the District every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Articles to be addressed during negotiations include:

• Article 4 - Grievance and Arbitration Procedure
• Article 5 - Mileage
• Article 9 - Personnel Files / Investigations
• Article 12 - Leave of Absence
• Article 15 - Work Day
• Article 16 - Work Year / At-Will Positions
• Article 20 - Salary Schedule / Secondary Activity Stipend Payment Procedure / Responsibility Pay
• Article 21 - Health Insurance Contribution
• Article 22 - PERS Contribution
• Article 27 - Unprofessional Conduct Definition and Conference Summary / Personnel Notification Email Procedure
• Article 28 - Employee Representation / Investigatory Conference Notification
• Reclassification
• Transfer
• Editorial Changes Throughout

Areas where tentative agreements have been reached will be communicated to the membership upon Board approval;

B. Administrators’ Advisory Council Meeting Agenda items for the April 23, 2003, meeting with Mr. Garcia were reviewed. Items included CCSD budget cuts, reduction in force procedures, teacher and administrator evaluation, use of substitutes and region student discipline procedures;

C. Legislative Update – An overview of CCASA’s legislative activities was provided. The CCASA bill analysis is updated daily and is posted on the CCASA web site at www.CCASA.net;

D. Lawsuit – The status of the lawsuit filed against CCASA by a former administrator was outlined; and

E. Administrator Retirements – A status report regarding retiring administrators was provided. Since January 1, 2003, and extending through September 5, 2003, forty-three administrators have signed paperwork with the District to retire, resign, or request a leave of absence. This number will continue to grow through the next several months.

3. New Business:

A. Projected USL / Retiree Medical Payouts The Representative Council approved the payouts as listed;

B. Proposed 2003-2004 CCASA Budget – The proposed budget was approved and will be distributed at the general membership meeting scheduled for June 24, 2003, at the Palace Station and through the June / July UNIFIER;

C. CCASA Scholarships – Amy Green, daughter of elementary principal, Mike O’Dowd, and Lauren Smallwood, daughter of elementary principal, Karen Smallwood, have been selected as recipients;

D. June CCASA Meeting – The June Representative Council Meeting scheduled for June 5 was rescheduled for June 12;

E. Office Telephone Service – The history of service and problems with MPower was outlined. The CCASA office telephone provider will be changed to Sprint; and

F. CCASA Policy #9 – Sick Leave Pool Request – The Representative Council approved a request of sick leave pool days for an administrator that has no other leave available. The Representative Council also modified the Sick Leave Pool Request Policy stipulating that an administrator shall be eligible to apply for no more than five (5) sick leave pool days for each year of employment as an administrator in the Clark County School District. This change places into policy the current practice of approving requests for sick leave pool days. Previous recipients have been awarded days based on their years of service as an administrator.

4. Committee Reports

A. CCAESP – Del Bean, CCAESP President, reported on recent meetings with Dr. Orci and Dr. Rulffes. Del announced that the District had included 17 new elementary assistant principals in the CCSD budget for next year, but that the status was uncertain pending funding from the Legislature;

B. CCASSP – Doug Gougar reported that Linda Archambault will be the President of CCASSP for the 2003-2004 school year; and

C. Legal – Jerry Boles, Committee Chairperson, reported that there was no activity related to the Legal Committee.

Executive Director’s Report – Stephen provided a review of the various CCASA activities and the types of assistance provided to CCASA members.

The current Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees establishes a pool of sick leave days available to administrators who have no other available leave. The pool of days is created by administrators who voluntarily designate a half day or a full day of vacation for which they would otherwise be compensated under Article 18-4.

It is our belief that this pool of days will grow each year until it contains a hundred or more days. A form letter is provided in this edition of the Unifier for your use if you would like to designate a half day or a full day to the sick leave pool. Administrators must have in excess of 85 vacation days on June 30 to be eligible to donate days to the sick leave pool.

YOUR GENEROSITY TODAY WILL BE A CRITICAL PIECE IN THE WELFARE OF A CCASA MEMBER IN THE FUTURE.

Unifier Insert: Sick Leave Pool Form (click here to download the PDF version)

With approximately two weeks remaining in the legislative session, the activities related to education issues have been considerably less than we had expected. Similarly the activities related to the tax issue have included considerable posturing but little definitive direction.

All bills with the exception of those dealing with funding were required to be out of the second house on May 16th. The Legislature is required to end its regular session on June 2, 2003. It is appearing increasingly more likely that a special session may be necessary.

Since the publishing of the last Unifier, the following actions have occurred with bills that we previously reported:

As you know, the Clark County School District requires that all professional organizations communicate with their members through the U.S. Postal Service rather than the CCSD mail. In order for CCASA to ensure that you receive its communications, it is critical that we be notified when you have a change of address. If you have moved recently, please call Debbie or Sadie in the CCASA office (796-9602) and provide your new address. The District should also be notified since we purchase labels from the District for our large group mailings.