October 2003

VOL. 14 NO. 3

In mid September all CCASAPE members received through the U.S. Mail, the proposed CCASAPE Constitution amendments along with a ballot that was to be returned to the CCASAPE office not later than September 26, 2003. Members were asked to vote on proposed changes to the CCASAPE Constitution that would establish changes in CCASAPE membership which were agreed to during contract negotiations between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees. As reported in previous Unifiers, through contract negotiations with the District, a new category of Clark County School District employees, professional-technical employees, was defined. It was agreed that professional-technical employees will be represented by the CCASAPE bargaining unit.

The professional-technical employees include many of the non-licensed administrators currently represented by CCASAPE and approximately 50 professional-technical employees currently represented by ESEA. All professional-technical employees and administrators will be represented by the same bargaining unit and will receive the same benefits. Placement in the professional-technical employee category will not result in the loss of any salary or benefits.

Since CCASAPE will represent administrators and the professional-technical employees, it was necessary for the existing CCASAPE Constitution to be amended prior to submitting the new Agreement and Constitution to the Nevada Employment Management Relations Board.

The changes to the CCASAPE Constitution specifically related to Article I (name of the organization), Article III (membership), and Article VIII (make-up of the Representative
Council). The changes in each of these areas were outlined in detail in the August Unifier, as well as, in the information accompanying the ballot which was mailed in September.

The CCASAPE office received 204 member ballots. The ballots were tabulated and resulted in the proposed changes being approved by the membership. The results were as follows:

• Article 1 (name change) 152 yes / 52 no
• Article III (definition of membership) 162 yes / 42 no
• Article VIII (Representative Council make-up) 160 yes / 44 no

The approval of these amendments allows the implementation of the new Agreement. The changes have been included in the CCASAPE Constitution. The Constitution can be viewed in its entirety on the CCASAPE web site at www.CCASAPE.net.

• You can add eligible dependents.
• You can drop covered dependents.
• You can join the CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan if you are currently an active administrative employee and receiving your health insurance from CCEA, ESEA, or from another provider.

The changes will be effective on January 1, 2004. The Benefits Office at 799-5418 will assist you with these changes. If you have questions or require additional information regarding your health benefits, please call the CCASAPE office at 796-9602.

Recently, there have been several newspaper articles and/or letters to the editor discussing the decision by CCEA to restrict health insurance coverage for retired teachers to the HMO plan only. Many of you have retired teacher friends that are now looking for health insurance benefits from other providers. These articles and the ensuing debate about retiree health care have no doubt been responsible for the several calls and inquiries to the CCASAPE staff regarding whether CCASAPE will withdraw its retirees from the CCASAPE / CCSD comprehensive health insurance plan. The answer to that question is NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! CCASAPE has an obligation to all of its members, active or retired, to negotiate, provide, and manage the best health benefits program that it possibly can. Common sense says that today’s active administrators are tomorrow’s retired administrators. It is CCASAPE’s intention that retirees and their dependents will ALWAYS be able to participate in the CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan.

Article 19 of the Negotiated Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees provides for the establishment of an Administrators' Advisory Council. The purpose of the advisory council is to:

• Provide advice to the superintendent and cabinet regarding procedures, practices and programs which will result in a better educational atmosphere in the CCSD;
• Improve the morale of all employees;
• Apprise the superintendent and staff of actual or potential problems involving the school district;
• Improve communications between the Association and the superintendent and staff; and
• Secure maximum productive and constructive involvement of all employees in their primary goal, which is the educational process of the CCSD.

During the three years that Mr. Garcia has been superintendent, regularly scheduled advisory meetings have been held. For the 2003-2004 school year, advisory meetings are scheduled for October 14, 2003; December 10, 2003; February 18, 2004; and April 20, 2004. CCASAPE representatives to the Administrators' Advisory Council include Executive Board members Jerry Boles, Joe Murphy, Mark Coleman, Bart Mangino, and Barbie Holmes. Also on the Administrators' Advisory Council are Sue Steaffens, President of the Clark County Association of Elementary School Principals, and Linda Archambault, President of the Clark County Association of Secondary School Principals. Jeff Hafen is the non-licensed representative to the Administrators’ Advisory Council and represents the professional-technical employees. CCASAPE staff, Allin Chandler and Stephen Augspurger, also participated in the meeting.

The following topics were discussed at the October 14, 2003, meeting. Mr. Garcia's responses to those topics are summarized for your information.

1. Substitutes - CCASAPE's concern was the continued inability of Substitute Service to meet the needs of schools. This topic has been discussed frequently in the past. CCASAPE's belief is that the system is not user friendly, is too cumbersome, deletes current subs from the system, and is not responsive to schools.

Mr. Garcia agreed that this is an area where improvement must occur. Dr. Rice was present at the meeting and outlined the steps that have been taken to provide more subs. Dr. Rice will conduct an analysis of the current system and will identify areas where improvements can be made. The information will be provided at the December 10, 2003, Advisory meeting.

2. Assignment of Elementary Assistant Principals - CCASAPE expressed appreciation for the additional 17 AP positions which were added for the 2003-2004 school year. A long standing CCASAPE concern has been that elementary assistant principals are the only school based administrators that are assigned to the Instructional Unit. All other school administrators are assigned to a specific school location. Concern was also expressed regarding the additional need for elementary counselors and ECS positions.

Mr. Garcia agreed with CCASAPE that since all administrative assignments are approved by Executive Cabinet, it is time to assign elementary assistant principals to specific school locations. This decision will become effective immediately.

3. System for Completion of Maintenance Work Orders - CCASAPE's concern was that maintenance work orders are no longer being completed in a timely and efficient manner, that schools no longer know when maintenance requests are completed, and that the management of the work order process is not clear.

Mr. Garcia expressed optimism that with the recent appointment of a new Director of Maintenance and a new Associate Superintendent of the Facilities Division, a review of what is currently occurring will take place and that improvements will be forthcoming. Mr. Garcia stated that he would ask Mr. Paul Gerner, Associate Superintendent of the Facilities Division, to utilize the CCASAPE Facilities Committee to provide administrator input regarding facility issues.

4. Time Line for Filling Administrative Positions - CCASAPE has long been concerned that the District has been, at times, slow to fill certain administrative positions, which resulted in individual administrators being assigned to an "acting position" with responsibility pay for an extended period of time. Administrators have served in some of these acting positions for longer than two years. CCASAPE believes that this is not fair to the administrators serving in acting roles and sought through the 2001-2003 and the 2003-2007 negotiation sessions to get District agreement on a reasonable time line for filling administrative positions. The District was unwilling to commit to a specific time line for filling positions, but during this past negotiations, agreed to a memorandum of understanding that would require the District and CCASAPE to jointly monitor the time it takes to fill positions and the length of time that administrators serve in acting positions with responsibility pay and to utilize this information in future negotiations. CCASAPE brought to Mr. Garcia's attention that recently it was discovered that two administrators were working in acting positions; one for 22 months and the other for more than 9 months. CCASAPE expressed its concern with this process and pointed out that the current contract requires all acting positions to be approved by the appropriate deputy superintendent.

Mr. Garcia stated that the CCASAPE / CCSD Negotiated Agreement would be followed, that the appropriate deputy superintendents would approve all acting administrative positions, and that this topic would be discussed in cabinet.

5. No Child Left Behind - CCASAPE expressed general concerns with the No Child Left Behind legislation. Specific discussion centered around the concern that with the high stakes testing and consequences of No Child Left Behind, that consideration must be given to reviewing and changing the current model for the completion of student teaching. The current practice of turning over a class to a student teacher and having the student teacher work progressively more independent from the master teacher must be changed.
CCASAPE's belief is that the master teacher must remain in the classroom with the student teacher to ensure that appropriate instruction and attention to state and district curriculum standards is occurring at all times and that continuous feedback to the student teacher is provided.

Mr. Garcia agreed that revisions were necessary in this area. Dr. Rice was present at the meeting and is responsible for the assignment of student teachers. She will communicate with UNLV and other universities that provide student teachers to ensure that student teachers are continuously supervised and monitored by the master teacher.

6. Staffing - CCASAPE expressed concern that the current staffing ratio of 32 to 1 is not appropriate if schools are to meet all of the requirements as specified by No Child Left Behind and Nevada school accountability legislation. The current staffing ratio does not make schools a priority. The loss of advanced placement and extended day instructional periods, and the difficulties associated with providing advanced placement offerings for additional students by the District were discussed. Additionally, the identification of several middle schools as "schools of choice" resulted in significant numbers of students being transferred to these schools after count day without the benefit of any additional staffing or financial resources. The 4.5% dropout factor currently being applied to all high school staffing allocations was also presented as a continuing concern.

Mr. Garcia indicated that staffing will always be a concern because the District will never have the financial resources to do all that is required for students. He stated that the District will be looking for other alternative ways to deliver instructional services. He indicated there will be an expanded emphasis on distance learning, particularly as it relates to advanced placement students and that the District will no longer be able to continue to offer small advanced placement classes. Mr. Garcia also indicated that the middle schools which have been designated as "schools of choice" will receive staffing and resource assistance to meet the needs of students who recently transferred to those schools after count day.

7. Administrative Selection Process - CCASAPE informed the superintendent that it was currently completing an analysis of administrative transfers and promotions to determine regional influence. CCASAPE expressed concern that there is a strong regional influence on transfer and promotion. Additional concerns expressed included that some administrators are appointed that have significantly less experience than more seasoned administrators, that some administrators are promoted in spite of performance or behavior issues, and that supervisors are not always honest with their feedback to subordinates regarding promotional possibilities.

Mr. Garcia concurred with CCASAPE's assessment and stated that he too was concerned with the manner in which appointments were made. He expressed concern that many appointees lack experience. Additionally, he expressed his concern that out-of-district applicants are not being regularly considered for administrative positions. Mr. Garcia stated that he has serious concerns with the current process, that all qualified people must be considered, and that if it is not resolved, that he will hire the principals.

8. Support Staff Surplus Procedures - CCASAPE expressed concern that the current support staff surplus procedures outlined in Article 25 of the ESEA contract works to the detriment of schools. While the current process is contractual, it results in the surplus procedure beginning in April and extending through October each year. This process results in school vacancies being frozen too early and for too long. CCASAPE recommended significant changes be negotiated to make the process more responsive to schools. These changes should include reducing the length of time of the surplus procedure, establishing a transfer season similar to that of teachers, and freezing only those positions where there is a support staff employee that needs to be placed.

Mr. Garcia indicated that during the past negotiations between ESEA and the District that it was agreed that support staff employees would be able to transfer to a new position only one time during the year. He did concur that the surplus procedure was in need of revision and that this area will be addressed in contract negotiations between
the District and ESEA. Mr. Garcia asked Dr. Rice to take this issue to the contract management committee that has been established with ESEA for discussion.

9. Region Effectiveness - CCASAPE requested that the superintendent develop a survey to determine the effectiveness of the region organization.

Mr. Garcia concurred and indicated that he looks forward to receiving data regarding the regions. Additionally, he indicated that the student, parent and staff surveys will no longer be individualized by the regions, but will be developed by central administration for use in all regions.

10. Staff Development - CCASAPE expressed concern that it is not clear if staff development is established on a district wide basis, is region directed, or school initiated. There is frequently poor communication regarding who goes where and when. Too many staff members are pulled out of schools, and there appears to be a lack of overall coordination.

Mr. Garcia indicated that discussion would occur in cabinet and that specific staff development plans will be communicated.

11. Administrator Dress - The topic of administrator dress has been an ongoing topic with the superintendent for the past year. CCASAPE’s concern centers on the inconsistent implementation of Mr. Garcia’s direction that Fridays are “spirit days” and as such, District employees are encouraged, by the superintendent, to dress in school colors, school shirts, etc. Unfortunately, in one region, in spite of the Superintendent’s direction, a decision was made to allow limited “spirit day” dress on Fridays, and to require administrators to dress professionally when representing the school with the public. CCASAPE is concerned that the superintendent’s directions have not been followed and that current practice in the region is not consistent with the rest of the District. It has caused school based administrators in the region to be “caught in the middle.”

Mr. Garcia agreed with CCASAPE’s concern and indicated that administrators in all regions will be able to participate in “spirit day” dress on Fridays.

CCASAPE expressed an additional concern regarding the importance of region administrators being able to engage in “spirit day” dress without any form of retaliation.

Mr. Garcia concurred that there will be no retaliation of any form directed at those administrators who elect to participate in “spirit day” dress.

12. School Police - CCASAPE expressed concern that the hiring and placement process for the additional middle school police officers is too slow. Additionally, concern was expressed regarding the slow response time for police officers to arrive on campus after receiving calls from elementary and middle schools for assistance. CCASAPE suggested that the School Police / Administrator Working Relationship Committee be reactivated to assist with identification and resolution of issues.

Mr. Garcia stated that he would discuss the concerns with the School Police Chief and that the School Police / Administrator Working Relationship Committee will be reinstated. Mr. Garcia added that a hate crime video will be shown to all District employees in the near future.

On October 9, 2003, the CCASAPE Representative Council held its regular monthly meeting. The major items discussed included the following:

1. The revenue, expenditures, and balances within the CCASAPE Association and Trust Fund Accounts;

2. A review of the status of:

A. CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance / Health Insurance Survey – Contracts with Delta Dental and Cigna Life will expire on January 1, 2004. An overview of negotiations with the various providers was provided. The medical contract with Sierra Health will end on January 1, 2005. To prepare for negotiations with Sierra and other medical providers, a member health insurance survey will be mailed to administrators and retirees on or about November 1, 2003;

B. Reclassification – The schedule for general membership meetings was reviewed. CCASAPE and the District will reconvene the Reclassification Committee to review the input received from individuals and the general membership meetings;

C. 401A Retirement Plan – The plan will allow eligible administrators to shelter up to $40,000 of vacation pay at the time of retirement or resignation from the District. Additionally, the plan will allow administrators appointed since 1986 to avoid paying Medicare tax on their vacation payoff. The RFP has been submitted to potential vendors for the 401A plan and was provided to members of the Representative Council. CCASAPE will participate in plan design, vendor selection, and has reserved the right to make the final decision on whether this plan will be made available to all eligible administrators in the District;

D. CCASAPE Constitution Amendments – Election results were reviewed; and

E. Assembly Bill 286 – An update on the status of this bill, passed by the Nevada Legislature, was provided. To date, the requested attorney general’s opinion has not been provided;

3. New Business:

A. Retirement Advantage – It was approved by the Representative Council that CCASAPE will no longer maintain a business relationship with Retirement Advantage regarding trusts and wills;

B. CCASAPE Retreat – It was approved that the retreat be scheduled at the CasaBlanca Hotel in Mesquite for February 5 and 6; and

C. Administrators’ Advisory Council Meeting Agenda items for the October 14, 2003, meeting were finalized;

4. Committee Reports:

A. CCAESP – Sue Steaffens, President, reported that the focus this year will be on placing an elementary assistant principal in every elementary school and securing additional elementary counselor and ECS positions;

B. CCASSP – Linda Archambault, President, announced the fall social at the Desert Pines Golf Course for Wednesday, October 22, 2003, at 4:00 pm. Additionally, a technology in-service will be sponsored by CCASSP on the third Wednesday in November at Cadwallader Middle School; and

C. Legal Committee – Jerry Boles reported that there was no activity.

5. Executive Director’s Report – Stephen provided a review of the accountant’s report, the membership report, and the various CCASAPE activities and the types of assistance provided to CCASAPE members.

Please be reminded that any administrator or professional-technical employee planning to retire on or before December 31, 2003, must schedule a meeting with the CCASAPE staff and complete the forms to participate in the retiree unused sick leave payout, retiree health insurance payout, and retiree life insurance / retiree long term care programs. THESE FORMS MUST BE COMPLETED AND FILED WITH THE CCASAPE OFFICE PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1, 2003, IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JANUARY 2004 PAYOUT. Please call the CCASAPE office at 796-9602 if you have any questions.