The meeting was called to order by President Barbara English at 3:30 p.m..

Roll Call

Officers
President	Barbara English	Present
Vice-President	Deb Carty	Present
Treasurer	Jo Bononno	Present
Recording Secretary	Charles Nowalk	Present
Corresponding Secretary	Marilyn Shober	Absent

Guests: Joan Ricker, chairperson of Scholarship & T-shirt committees and Mary Ann Sanguinito (ECLC).

Treasurer's Report: Jo presented the treasurer's report for October. Motion to accept the treasurer's report was made by Chuck and seconded by Matty. Passed unanimously.

Secretary's Report: Motion to accept the minutes of the October 9, 2007 meeting was made by Nadine and seconded by Matty. Passed unanimously.

Committee Reports:

1. Membership:
   1. Chuck passed out revised membership rosters to the school reps.
   2. Barb noted that all eligible people but two (2) custodians are now Association members.
2. Ed Council:
   1. Next meeting is Dec. 12, 6 p.m., at Flynn's.
3. Health & Safety:
   1. Marilyn will send out notices for the next meeting.
4. WCEA:
   1. Rep Council is Nov. 14.
5. Social:
1. Deb reported that the Deli Trip is Nov. 18.
6. Scholarship:
   1. Barb noted that over $1,500 was donated to the Scholarship fund in this year's Philanthropic drive.
   2. Motion to increase the amount of money available to buy t-shirts for new members to $300 was made by Nadine and seconded by Linda M.. Passed unanimously.
   3. It was agreed to move the date to order the new PEA shirts to Nov. 30. Click here to see the new collared shirts on the PEA website.
7. Grievance:
   1. Chuck read an e-mail from Kevin Mahony, chair of the Grievance Committee, that noted the grievances currently in the works.
   2. The first grievance deals with the extra half hour the high school spent on Oct. 2 for a SHARP presentation. It has gone through stage three and should be moving to stage 4 (i.e. moving on to the board.)
   3. The next grievance was filed on behalf of the security guards who were not paid overtime for days worked in August which is before their contractually agreed-upon starting date for a new school year. This grievance is also at stage four.
   4. The last grievance was filed on behalf of an employee at the Early Childhood Center who is seeking compensation equal to what s/he would be making in her/his original position. This grievance is also at stage four
8. Negotiations:
   1. Barb reported that there is still no 'hard' copy of the teachers' contract.
   2. The security & para-professional groups have scheduled negotiation meetings on Nov. 27 & Nov. 15, respectively.
   3. The board has indicated that they would like to settle all contracts by Jan. 1, 2008.
   4. Custodians/maintenance personnel & secretaries are beginning their negotiations. Their contracts are up June 30, 2008. The board would like to begin these negotiations after Jan. 1, 2008.
9. Legislative:
   1. Chuck noted that today is 'Election Day' in New Jersey. All seats in Trenton in the house and senate are up for a vote today.
10. Constitution:
    1. Nadine, chairperson of the Constitution Committee, read the report from the committee. Click here to read the report.
    2. Motion was made by Nancy and seconded by Linda M. to postpone acting upon the Constitution Committee's report until the next Executive Committee meeting so as to give everyone time to read the report in its entirety. Passed unanimously.
11. Finance:
    1. Melissa Fey, chairperson, noted that over $3,000 was donated to the PEA/John Pokrivchak Philanthropic Fund by our members this year!
    The committee will suggest some new guidelines for collecting, turning in, and counting such large sums of money in the future.
12. PD:
    1. Chuck reported that - nothing - has happened (still) for a long time.

Building concerns:

1. The board office noted that a new roof has finally been finished. Please e-mail Carol Bloch with dates for PD meetings so that she can keep our PD credits current.
2. Green St. had concerns about the scheduling of parent conferences.
3. The high school had queries/concerns about the new Employee handbook which appeared out of nowhere within the past week or two and required teachers' signature that they had 'read and understood' the document. Barb met with Gordon & Jackie about the handbook and received advice from NJEA about it also. The handbook is an immediate consequence of the recent Middle States report. The teachers' contracts supersedes anything that is in the handbook. The handbook is a recapitulation of current board policies. Guidance, CST, and social workers have different evaluation instruments than the professional development pathway noted in the handbook. Concerns about the AESOP on-line sub calling program and the dress codes are still not resolved by the handbook. Barb recommends that all teachers sign the document and stated that "(a)s President, nothing in here will harm us and our contract will protect us." As a final note, Barb suggested that people who are still concerned over what signing the document might mean cross out the phrase 'and understand' and then sign the document.
4. The high school also had concerns over its newly implemented data analysis project. The final concern was over the faculty meeting held today. It lasted till 3:24 and the implementation of the new state-mandated SEI appears to change the 'terms and conditions' of employment.
5. Security guards noted that they appreciate our wearing blue on Fridays to show our support for them - especially since they cannot wear their blue PEA t-shirts.
6. Special services noted that the roof has finally been fixed.
7. Freeman noted that the principal was asking paraprofessionals for personal information and that they are sharing a social worker with the ECLC.
8. The ECLC wished to know if there was a seniority aide list. Also, two teachers were subpoenaed for court. Questions about compensation for lunch time and planning periods were addressed.
9. Andover-Morris asked about the money from their snack/soda machine. Barb informed everyone that the central office accounts for the money and unless the schools ask for their money, it will sit in an account at the central office.
10. The middle school informed us that a student was medivaced to a hospital this morning with MRSA. Custodians were in the middle school last evening spraying and cleaning in an effort to kill any germs that might have been spread around the school. A number of articles have appeared in the local newspapers over the past few weeks about MRSA. Click here to peruse these articles. Concerns about administrators and supervisors entering classrooms and taking notes about the Ed Solutions program has raised concerns and fears among some of our members.

Old Business:

1. Open enrollment in the Prudential Disability Insurance program is 60 days from when the Prudential representative appeared in your building. Contact the Prudential Disability representative directly.
2. Don't forget about our Sick Leave Bank. If you can afford to donate a personal day (or two), please click here to download the donation form.

New Business:

1. None.

Motion to adjourn was made at 5:20 p.m. by Chuck and seconded by Jo. Passed unanimously.

Next meeting December 11, 2007, @ PMS in library.

Respectfully submitted,

Chuck Nowalk, Secretary