The President’s Corner
August 2011
Kenneth B. Haines
hainesk@pgcea.org

Summer break has ended, and it is my hope that your batteries are recharged and that you are ready for the marathon-a-day that a normal school year has become!

As you enter your classrooms this year, the new president of PGCEA will, for the first time in a quarter century, occupy an office instead of decorating a classroom to prepare for new students this August. Fortunately, many of my former students still stay in touch to update me about their lives.

Je dois dire que la conversation française me manque énormément! (I must say that I miss French conversation quite a bit!)

Last March, the membership granted me the honor and privilege of being spokesperson for the Association for two years. This is a daunting responsibility that is both humbling and exhilarating and, as you may guess, involves no small expenditure of energy.

You will find my contact information above.

It is my intent to visit schools frequently. Having taught in high schools my entire career, I feel the need to become more familiar with elementary & middle schools. Whenever my travels bring me into smaller schools, the students’ higher energy level mesmerizes.

Permit me to express my deep appreciation to all educators for your steadfastness in these trying times.

As we begin the school year, remember that we must stand together to be strong. This means that every worksite in the Prince George’s County Public Schools needs to elect one (1) Faculty Representative and one (1) Alternate for every twenty-five (25) members of PGCEA at your worksite. The results of those elections need to be forwarded to the PGCEA Center by September 15, 2011.

The Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) should be elected in the same timeframe. There should be a minimum of five (5) members of the FAC, and larger schools may elect one (1) member for each ten (10) members of PGCEA. Under the President’s Corner tab at the PGCEA website, you will find one document outlining the importance of the FAC, another offering guidance on holding elections and the form for reporting the results of building elections to PGCEA.

The Representative Council meets once monthly at the PGCEA Center generally the fourth Monday of each month. Once we have your contact information, we will send duly-elected representatives monthly reminders, minutes of the last meeting, and an agenda for the next meeting.

Members will have probably seen their first paycheck before reading this. Please note that your contribution to the State Retirement System has increased from five percent (5%) to seven percent (7%) with no increase in benefit for current employees.

New hires this year will now need to meet the “Rule-of-Ninety” – which means: years of service plus your age will need to reach ninety to achieve full retirement. For those just coming out of college, that means working more than thirty years with a lower multiplier at retirement! Furthermore, the extra two percent deducted from your paycheck is not being placed in the Retirement System, but in the General Fund. This fall, the special session in Annapolis may have on the agenda passing all or some part of the state’s contribution to the Retirement System back onto local jurisdictions.

In the last three years, the Prince George’s County Public Schools have cut well over $300 million from the operating budget and eliminated 3,000 positions. We can ill afford another expense to be drawn from our operating budget. It will be up to us to remind our legislators that adequately and equitably funding the public schools is a mandate of Article VIII of Maryland’s Constitution (reference the URL below!) This year, keep your ears to the ground and increase your activism in the Association!

Once again, on behalf of all the leadership here at PGCEA, have a great year expanding horizons for all your students!

Reference URL: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/08art8.html