The BFT continues to address the stressful working conditions our educators are experiencing on a daily basis. The lack of substitute and licensed teachers has put a significant strain on all public schools. The Human Resources Department continues to recruit and hire as many substitute teachers as possible.

As of January 3, 2022, the district has agreed to compensate licensed staff that are pulled from their regular assignment to cover a classroom without a substitute teacher. The licensed staff member will receive the substitute rate of pay for the time covered. This is different than covering for prep time which is paid pro-rata. This change will most likely effect preschool, elementary and special education programs. Also, this includes all TOSAs that are being utilized as a substitutes.

Please fill out a time sheet documenting whose class you covered and for how long. The time sheet goes to the principal of your site or the supervisor of the program. If your principal has any questions, please refer them to Mary Burroughs.

Share this information with your colleagues! Not everyone will read the BFT newsletter.

Check out the great TRA website to start preparing. The suggestion is to start your planning 10 years prior to retirement. https://minnesotatra.org/nearing-retirement/

If you have questions on how our contract relates to your retirement, please contact Jeremy Kersten, our own BFT member that is very knowledgeable in this area. Jeremy is a great place to start if you want some direction on how to move forward and get the process started.

If you are considering retirement at the end of the year, please take advantage of the retirement notification incentive that you are entitled to. You must notify Human Resources by FEBRUARY 15, 2022 to be eligible for the $2000 incentive.

The district and the union continue to meet as we try to come to a tentative agreement for the 2021-2023 contract. We have shared our member survey results and data from surrounding districts. Even though we have had two full day sessions, we could not come to an agreement. We return to the bargaining table on January 18 and 25. As you can guess, finding time to meet is difficult given the sub shortage. Your building stewards were given an update at our December Stewards meeting. They have an understanding of what issues are holding up a settlement. Personal days, District-Approved Leave, sick days and salary adjustments for our community education colleagues are some hurdles, along with salary scale improvements. Both sides are showing up in good faith and working hard to come to an agreement.

In November 2021, OSHA, a federal agency dedicated to worker safety, issued an Emergency Temporary Standard on vaccines that will affect most educators in the state. The rule, which Minnesota OSHA has adopted and will begin enforcing on Jan. 10, requires public and private employers with 100 or more full- or part-time employees to adopt a policy requiring that all employees be fully vaccinated or provide weekly negative COVID-19 tests and wear a mask in all indoor work settings.

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a legal challenge to this rule Jan. 7 and could temporarily block it from moving forward in the coming weeks, but many school districts are moving ahead with policies to bring them into compliance by Jan. 10.

We understand that some educators who have chosen not to get vaccinated are concerned about this rule, and that they are asking for support from their union. Our legal department has been following lawsuits over vaccine mandates and has concluded that employers have the legal authority to implement a mandatory vaccination policy that includes an alternative of testing and masking.

If you can't or choose not to be vaccinated and would like help navigating your rights, please reach out to me at bftpresident@gmail.com or the Human Resources Department. Our communication will be confidential.

If you are already enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan, you don't need to do anything else based on this update. You should be all set.

If you are not enrolled in an IDR plan, you can enroll in one now to make sure your future payments are eligible for forgiveness. You can apply online via your account on studentaid.gov.

Please direct any questions to our Degrees, Not Debt program at DND@edmn.org.