Sign Up NOW For MNEA Mid-Missouri Legislative Forum

It’s never too early to start mobilizing your membership to “save the date” and to make plans to come to one of Missouri NEA’s regional legislative forums, MNEA’s new format for legislative receptions, or Capitol Action Days in the spring. Check the schedule below for the 2017 MNEA Legislative activity in your area. Start making your list now of those members, administrators and school board members who would enjoy and benefit from a discussion regarding support for public education!

The legislative events will be held on the same days already selected in the MNEA calendar. Each of these free events will be a legislative panel or discussion forum and will not be based around a meal. As before, these events provide a chance for members to build relationships with area legislators and support their understanding of MNEA priorities and education issues. Regional planning committees are working with other local leaders to identify at least one member per legislator to attend the event, invite the legislator personally and follow up with further conversation.

Attend on a date that works for you, even if it’s outside your Governance District. 

MNEA Central Missouri Legislative Forum 2017

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JANUARY Thursday, Jan. 12 – Central Missouri Regional Legislative Forum RSVP NOW 

                                    Rock Bridge High School, 4303 S. Providence Rd, Columbia

Gov. -Elect Greitens' Transition Team Keep Activities A Secret

Missouri governor-elect's transition team agrees to secrecy

• THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JEFFERSON CITY — A newspaper reports that members of Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens' transition team have agreed to not publicly discuss their activities.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says documents obtained through the state's open-records law show members of the transition team are required to pledge in writing that they won't discuss the group's inner workings.

That "Code of Conduct and Confidentiality Agreement" notes that not complying with its 17 requirements may result in the offender's ouster from the transition team, and "other sanctions" deemed appropriate.

It's unclear how many people signed the pledge.

The Republican Greitens last month defeated Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster.

Since his election, the newspaper reports Greitens has answered few questions from reporters and has held only one press appearance in which he took no questions.

Gov.-Elect Greitens To Soon Make Budget Cuts After Jan. 9th

Missouri Gov.-elect Greitens to make budget cuts

• ASSOCIATED PRESS

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens will make budget cuts after he takes office.

Eric Greitens

Greitens' senior adviser, Austin Chambers, announced plans for budget cuts Thursday but declined to provide further details, including how much spending previously approved by lawmakers the next governor will restrict.

Greitens takes office Jan. 9. He will replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who was barred by term limits from seeking re-election.

Chambers says Greitens' top priorities will be jobs, ethics reform, public safety and education. He supports policies such as a right-to-work law to prohibit mandatory union fees and banning all lobbyist gifts to elected officials.

Chambers also said Greitens next week will announce his pick for chief operating officer, a new position he's creating. Chambers says the chief operating officer is a businessperson.

December 16th- An Icy Day That Will Live in Infamy For CPS

CPS superintendent sends letter of thanks after school buses delayed

• MISSOURIAN STAFF
 
• Dec 17, 2016
 

COLUMBIA — Icy and hazardous road conditions caused by freezing drizzle delayed school buses Friday afternoon, leaving some Columbia Public Schools students and faculty unable to go home several hours after the day ended.

Emergency services, police and officials from the Missouri Department of transportation urged people in mid-Missouri to stay off the roads and stay home. Nearly 400 accidents were reported in Boone County.

At about 8:30 p.m., buses had yet to pick up students from all four high schools and three elementary schools, district spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said in an email. An hour and a half later, all students had been picked up, but some buses were still inching along their routes.

One bus from Two Mile Prairie Elementary was still dropping off students after 11:30 p.m. 

On Saturday morning, District Superintendent Peter Stiepleman addressed the transportation issues in a letter to the community.

"Dear Parents/Guardians, Colleagues, Students, and Community:

At 1 a.m. this morning, Student Transportation of America gave us the all clear to signify that all of our children were home safely. I am writing this letter to thank you for your patience and to recognize that many people made yesterday go as well as it possibly could have gone.

Thank you to our CPS staff. They cleared parking lots and salted walkways, they read to kids, danced with kids, played games with kids and fed our kids. They sat with our children and listened to their worries. One colleague insisted on taking the bus with a medically fragile child so he could reassure the child’s parents that everything would be ok. Another colleague commandeered a small school bus from one of the high schools and drove to the spots where larger buses had been stranded so children could get home safely. Thank you to our community members who helped our buses out of difficult situations. There are so many examples to be shared. The stories are inspiring and a reminder that so many people contributed to last night’s successes.

Thank you to the STA bus drivers and the mechanics working behind the scenes are being hailed as heroes. Student Transportation of America showed us all that our children matter and their safety is a priority.

Challenges with road closures, traffic gridlock and accidents around Columbia caused significant delays. Our community’s first responders and the joint communication dispatchers working to direct them demonstrated how the oaths they each take, to protect and serve, are not just words, but a solemn vow. Our first responders made it possible for city, county, and state salt trucks to get to some of the more challenging spots in our 300-square mile school district. Thank you.

Yesterday could have ended very differently. Everyone was caught off guard with how quickly road conditions changed – city, county and state. As we shared in a previous communication, the timing of the weather and the size of our district would not have allowed us to begin dismissal processes any earlier. We were advised to wait for regular dismissal in order to allow time for roads to be treated, for the ground temperature to rise, and for bus drivers to make it in safely to drive afternoon routes.

We should be proud of what we accomplished last night for our kids. Over the next few weeks, our team will come together to review our processes. Every event provides an opportunity to get better. Thank you for your continued support and positive correspondence. We are grateful for your trust.

We Are One,

Peter Stiepleman"

3 CPS Incumbents File To Keep Seats in April Election

Election 2017

Incumbents file for re-election to Columbia Board of Education

• By ROGER MCKINNEY 

Sessions

Cushing

Wade

Three incumbents on the Columbia Board of Education filed for re-election Tuesday to try and keep their seats come April.

Board members Paul Cushing, Helen Wade and Jonathan Sessions filed to be included on the April 4 ballot. The filing period for school board candidates opened Tuesday and ends Jan. 17.

Cushing, who was first elected in 2014, said he thinks serving a second term will allow him to be more effective.

“I do enjoy my time with the board and the work we’re doing,” Cushing said. “I want to serve my community. I think we’re making progress.”

Sessions, board vice president, was first elected in 2010 to fill the unexpired term of a board member who died while in office.

He is running for his third full term.

“I’m passionate about public education,” Sessions said. “I came onto the board at a time of change, and we created a very successful long-term plan to account for overcrowding and growth and eliminate trailers. We’re on a successful path, and I want to continue that work.”

Wade, who was first elected in 2011 and is seeking her third term, said she wants to participate in finding solutions to the district’s growth.

“I am proud of the track record of my last two terms and what we as a district have accomplished,” she said. “But our work isn’t finished, and I hope to continue to be a part of the bright future our district and community look forward to.”

Columbia school board candidates must file in person at the Columbia Public Schools administration building, 1818 W. Worley St., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Candidates cannot file during winter break, Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, or on Jan. 16, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Bad Legislation Has CPS Worried About New Anti-Bullying Policy

• • 
    

• • Columbia school board gives initial approval to anti-bullying policy with reservations

  • 
    
  By ROGER MCKINNEY 

The Columbia Board of Education on Monday gave initial approval to a change 

in the district’s anti-bullying policy in response to changes in state law.

The vote was 3-1 with board member Paul Cushing voting against the new 

policy and board President Jim Whitt abstaining. Members Helen Wade and 

Christine King were absent for the vote, though King was present for part 

of the meeting through a video conferencing system.

“I think we’re being bullied,” Cushing said. He elaborated Tuesday that he 

thought the state law dictates to districts the procedures they must follow, 

instead of allowing the district’s flexibility.

Whitt said Tuesday that he abstained because he knows the board eventual-

ly will have to approve a policy, but he has concerns about how bullying 

could be defined as a felony.

The policy requires employees to report to the principal within two days of 

witnessing an incident of bullying. Students who have experienced bullying 

or witnessed it also are encouraged to report it within two days.

The principal must complete an investigation within 10 days and decide 

whether bullying had occurred and what discipline is warranted. The principal 

also must make a written report of the investigation and send a copy to the dis-

trict’s anti-bullying coordinator.

Emily Omohundro, an attorney with Ed Counsel, said the law includes specific 

policies, procedures and training requirements.

The board’s conversation included discussion of a change in the state criminal 

code, effective Jan. 1, that creates the crime of class E felony harassment, which 

now is a class A misdemeanor. Board President Jim Whitt said the law could 

interfere with the district’s efforts to keep students out of the judicial system.

“I’m concerned we’re heading down a slippery slope,” Whitt said.

Omohundro said the change in the criminal code was not directly related to 

the anti-bullying legislation but that the crime of class E felony harassment is 

essentially bullying.

“When the criminal code was changed, I don’t think there was a lot of thought 

about how it would affect reporting under the Safe Schools Act,” Omohundro said.

“The administration is distraught and dismayed by this legislation,” Superin-

tendent Peter Stiepleman said, referring to both law changes. “Our school 

district has a really incredible relationship with law enforcement and the” 

Missouri Department of Social Services “Children’s Division.”

Stiepleman said under the change in criminal code, making someone unhappy 

can be defined as a felony. The change in the bullying law also represents an 

unfunded mandate because of added administrative costs to follow proce-

dures, including potentially hiring an anti-bullying coordinator to review all

 the investigation forms.

“For us, it’s really troubling,” Stiepleman said. “This is not a good piece of legislation.”

He said the district will follow the law and that principals will receive informa-

tion about training that will be required.

Martha Brownlee-Duffeck, a member of Race Matters, Friends and a clinical 

psychologist, asked what could be done to mitigate the potential misapplication 

of the law.

“The time frames are extremely short, so there’s great pressure to get things 

resolved,” she said. She also said she agreed with Whitt’s description.

“I think that labeling children as felons is a very slippery slope indeed,” she said.

Kory Kaufman, with the Columbia Missouri National Education Association 

and a Rock Bridge High School science teacher, said the law might be flawed but 

that an update to the bullying policy is needed. A focus of the change in state law 

was inclusion of cyber-bullying.

“I’ve witnessed bullying first-hand,” Kaufman said. “I believe it’s epidemic. 

Cyberbullying is out of control.”

He said the most frequent targets of cyberbullying were lesbian, gay, bisexual 

and transgender students.

Before the vote, Cushing asked what would happen if the board did not 

approve the policy. Omohundro said the district likely would become a 

test case in the courts. CPS Chief Financial Officer Linda Quinley also said 

it would increase the district’s liability exposure.

Another school board vote is required to approve the policy.

CPS Hopes To Work With MO Legislators On Funding

Columbia Board of Education focuses on funding in legislative priorities

• By ROGER MCKINNEY 
• The Columbia Board of Education on Monday established its legislative priorities for the upcoming session, focusing on school funding.
  The list of priorities, which was not approved but accepted by consensus, includes support for full funding of the foundation formula with no further downward changes to adequacy targets. The legislature last year approved a reduction in the state adequacy target, which the state uses to determine per-pupil funding for public schools. The board also prioritized funding summer school, something for which the state does not provide money.
  The board also supports full state funding of school transportation and allowing school districts to coordinate with their communities to combine some bus systems, which currently is forbidden under state law. Another priority would be to change state law from requiring a four-sevenths majority approval for bond issues to a simple majority approval.
  The board opposes any legislation that diverts or reduces revenue from public schools, including through tuition tax credits and vouchers. The board also listed its opposition to redirecting resources from public schools to “unproven, for-profit charter schools until the charter reforms passed in 2012 are implemented and proven effective.”
  Board member Paul Cushing said charter schools are not “unproven” but instead have been proved to be ineffective.
  During discussion of a bullying policy change related to a revision in state law, board member Darin Preis also recommended board policy include a rollback of the bullying law so that it does not conflict with criminal laws, which other board members agreed to by consensus.
  State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, said it was going to be a tough budget year.
  “We’re going to do whatever we can to adequately fund schools,” Basye said. He said diverting public money to private schools and charter schools also would be a tough sell for those in the legislature advocating for it.
  In other business Monday, the board gave initial approval to a policy to establish damages be assessed to teachers who take another job after signing a contract with the district and approved a resolution repealing hourly rates set for parent educators in the Parents as Teachers program.

New Elementary School Boundaries Are to be Set Soon

Columbia Public Schools to seek public comment on attendance area proposals

Comment opens later this month.

• By ROGER MCKINNEY 

The public can comment online starting Dec. 20 on proposed attendance 

area boundary changes developed for Gentry and Jefferson middle schools 

and a new elementary school in east Columbia.

Separate committees made up of teachers, school officials, parents and 

community members came up with tentative versions of the proposals 

Thursday: one scenario for the elementary school and two for the middle 

schools.

The middle school adjustment is designed to relieve crowding at Gentry 

Middle School. 

Enrollment in late September was 868, but the school’s capacity, includ-

ing 13 classroom trailers, is 871.

The adjustments will affect Gentry and Jefferson, which are feeder 

schools for Rock Bridge High School. Jefferson had 597 students in late

 September. Officials have said 659 was the building’s capacity, but 

Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said after 

reviewing the building and classroom space with the architect, 

enrollment there can go as high as 725.

“We can make 725 work,” he said. “Enrollments and classroom spaces 

at secondary” schools “are different than elementary” schools.

Committee member Kim Fallis, whose daughter is an eighth-grader at 

Gentry, said the committee members tried to keep the middle school 

students with their peers from elementary schools. She said the comm-

ittee also did not want to create a crowding problem at Jefferson.

“The ultimate goal is to resolve the crowding problem for Gentry 

until a new middle school can be built,” Fallis said.

That’s a few years out, at the earliest. Voters in April approved a 

bond issue that includes money to buy land and design a new middle 

school in south Columbia. A bond issue to build the school is two years 

away, with construction two years after that, if voters were to approve it.

An elementary committee worked out a tentative scenario for the 

new elementary school in the Vineyards subdivision in east Columbia. 

When it opens in August, the school will replace Cedar Ridge Elemen-

tary School.The committee made adjustments to the attendance 

areas for Cedar Ridge, Benton, Lee Expressive Arts, New Haven, Rock 

Bridge and Shepard Boulevard elementary schools. Both committees 

worked with Preston Smith, a consultant from Blue Springs. “We don’t 

want to open any of these new schools at capacity, because they’re in 

areas that are going to grow,” said Ben Tilley, CPS assistant superintendent 

for elementary education.

Borders were adjusted to try to equalize the percentage of students receiv-

ing free or reduced-price meals. Terra Merriweather-Schultz, a Benton 

parent, said Benton always has had a high percentage of students qualify-

ing for free and reduced-price meals, but all children receive the same educa-

tion. “They’re kids, and they can adjust,” she said.

The tentative elementary scenario includes extending the southern 

boundary of Lee to Grindstone Parkway. The new school will include some 

of the territory now in the New Haven attendance area. Some of the Rock 

Bridge Elementary School area also was moved to New Haven.

The committees will continue to review the scenarios in shared documents 

online before they are posted to the CPS website Dec. 20. The public will be 

able to offer comments about the scenarios until Jan. 12, when the committees 

would meet again. If the committees make any changes on Jan. 12, the public 

will have another chance to weigh in from Jan. 13 to Feb. 2. There also might 

be public forums at the schools between Jan. 13 and Feb. 2.

The Columbia Board of Education is scheduled to take action on the recommen-

dations at its Feb. 13 meeting.

Stiepleman said the process has been condensed.

“The kids need to know where they’re going to school next year,” he said.

Lack of Trust With MU Still Plagues CGW

Survey: University of Missouri graduate assistants distrust pay, insurance promises

RUDI KELLER 

Graduate assistants at the University of Missouri are worried promised raises will not be paid and promised health insurance benefits won’t be provided, according to a survey conducted by the group seeking union recognition on campus.

The Coalition of Graduate Workers, which is suing the UM System for a declaration that they are employees with the right to form a union, on Thursday released the results of a survey that drew 246 responses. The survey was promoted on social media, through union email lists and through the MU Directors of Graduate Studies to reach as many of the approximately 2,600 graduate assistants as possible.

“We used the same survey methodology that the university uses when they send out surveys,” said Joseph Moore, spokesman for the union. “I don’t necessarily think it is the case that” only “people who are dissatisfied will respond to the survey.”

The lawsuit seeking recognition as employees is pending in Boone County Circuit Court. On Nov. 21, attorneys for the union and the university agreed to submit a joint statement of facts in the case within 120 days, then file arguments on the law and await Judge Jeff Harris’ ruling.

The best way for the university to reassure graduate assistants that it will keep its promises would be to drop opposition to the lawsuit and recognize the union, Moore said.

“Put it into a legally binding contract,” he said. “That would go a long way toward reassuring graduate assistants about these issues.”

Unrest among graduate assistants began in the summer of 2015 when the university notified them it would no longer provide stipends to purchase individual health insurance plans. The university cited IRS rules that imposed penalties for employers who provide subsidies for individual plans. The decision was quickly reversed and new rules written since that time will allow educational institutions to continue the practice unchanged.

The reversal did not quiet the graduate assistants, who continued to organize because of uncertainty about the health insurance, upset over low pay and the possible loss of housing and daycare when University Village closed after a fatal walkway collapse.

Interim Chancellor Hank Foley addressed the pay issue in January, promising to increase the minimum stipend to $15,000 for doctoral assistants with a half-time appointment this year. A second increase, to $18,000, is promised for the 2017-18 school year. The assistants teach classes and conduct research for the university.

Among those taking the survey, fewer than one-fifth expect the promise of stipend increases to be kept. Most said they did not believe health insurance will be comparable or better next year.

Those impressions are wrong, Foley wrote Thursday in an email to his staff.

“We have given our assurances that we will stand by our promises to them,” he wrote. “The actions we have taken have come in a time of great budget challenge, and as such they demonstrate how deep our commitment to them is.”

Other issues being raised by the survey are or should be addressed, Foley wrote.

“We will continue to work on sustainable solutions for their healthcare, both mental and physical, for fair workloads in their departments and for more housing options,” Foley wrote. “I have asked the Faculty Senate to review graduate student treatment and workloads across the campus and look forward to their findings.”

Despite the assurances, Foley said he did not expect the union to be satisfied.

“I do not expect the demands to stop, or for the rhetoric from CGW to improve much” because they are seeking union recognition, Foley wrote.

Incoming UM System President Mun Choi, who will take over March 1, comes from the University of Connecticut, where both faculty and graduate assistants have unions, Moore said. Choi has not committed to supporting unionization at MU.

“If it can be done at a university like Connecticut, why can’t it be done at the University of Missouri?” Moore said.

Stephen Webber Moves Forward With New Position

State Rep. Stephen Webber elected to lead Missouri Democratic Party

Party leadership turns millennial By ROGER MCKINNEY 

JEFFERSON CITY — One month after losing a bid for state Senate, outgoing state Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, was elected the new chairman of the Missouri Democratic State Committee.

In a meeting Saturday at Lincoln University, there were two nominations for state party chairman to replace Roy Temple of Kansas City, who did not seek re-election. Aside from Webber, the other nominee was Winston Apple of Independence, an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor. Webber won the election by a vote of 60-6 with two abstentions.

Webber said nothing went right for Missouri Democrats in last month’s election but urged perseverance. Webber himself lost his bid for Missouri’s 19th Senate District to state Rep. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.

“You can’t give up,” he said. “The people still need us to fight for them.”

He said as chairman, he would work to increase the rural vote and ensure the Democratic Party continues to be a loud voice for progressive issues in Missouri.
After the meeting, Webber said he wanted the chairman position because “there’s a lot of things worth fighting for,” including public education and the rights of working people.

“I think people are appalled at the direction” President-elect “Donald Trump wants to take our country,” he said.

St. Louis-area committee member Dennis Lavallee remarked on the youth of Webber, new vice chairwoman Genevieve Williams and new members to the Democratic National Committee introduced at the meeting. Webber is 33, and Williams and other members also are millennials.

“We have a new generation of leadership, and I think that says a lot for the Missouri Democratic Party,” Lavallee said.

Williams, of Neosho, also reflected on the phenomenon, noting she used to be the only person younger than 35 when she started going to party meetings.

“It’s not just our ages, it’s more saying, ‘we’re moving into the future,’ ” she said. Williams said the young generation also acknowledges the foundation left by past generations. “The world didn’t begin when we stepped in the room.”

Williams, who nominated Webber, said she’s excited about the change in leadership. “I think he’s going to take the party in a good direction,” she said of Webber. “He’s hitting all the right notes.”

Williams said state Democrats need something to look forward to after what she called a “horrific” election.

Darren Hellwege, of Columbia, 19th Senate District committeeman, said Webber would be a terrific chairman. He said Webber would work with the district committeewoman Cydney Mayfield of Cooper county, who is chairwoman of the Rural Caucus, noting Webber lost his Senate bid because of rural support for Rowden.

“We need to be speaking to people in Hallsville and Centralia and Pilot Grove,” Hellwege said.

He said there also is a rift between Hillary Clinton supporters and Bernie Sanders supporters in the party, a remnant of the presidential primary campaign.

“We’re trying real hard to get past that,” Hellwege said. “We need to recognize that Bernie is not just another candidate who lost, but we can bring his ideas and we can come together and make the party so much better.”

Temple, the outgoing chairman, also reflected on the election losses and the next steps, calling the election “devastating.”

“The results were heartbreaking, and the consequences will be felt for months and years to come,” he said. But, he said, there’s no “forever” in politics.
“To use the term ‘forever’ in politics should be done at your own peril,” he said. Using several examples of past upsets, Temple said, “The defeats we suffered last November will only be permanent if we let them be permanent. We’re not going to let them be permanent.”

Temple said Democrats still have one important role in relation to Republicans.
“We’ve got to hold Republicans accountable for the harm they will do,” he said.