Spring Branch Education Association

Spring Branch Education Association News

Left photo: Erin Dutka, brand new SBEA member ( left) with AR Carol Neal of Spring Shadows Elementary, Valerie Grega, SBEA Awards Chair, and AR Lorraine Klim-Drew, Memorial Drive Elementary. Right photo: George Helm, AR for Spring Woods Middle School ( left) and Mary Acosta, TSTA staff member.

May 17, 2004

SBEA annual End-of-the-Year Dinner
The SBEA Executive Board was joined by SBEA endorsed and newly elected SBISD School Board members David Converse and Mike Falick at the annual SBEA End of the Year Dinner at Carmelo's Restaurant. Both new School Board members addressed the group, and expressed their thanks for SBEA's endorsements.

Other guests included TSTA staff member Sharon Carmon and SBEA  Scholarship awardees Patricia Brady, Ralph Zema, and Joyce Roberta Miller-Alper. The Scholarship winners each received a check for $400 for summer professional development.

President-elect Edie Clark announced officers for 2004-2005: Vice President & Member Records- JR Miller-Alper; Secretary- Joanne Frimel; Treasurer- Sara Harmon; Member Rights- Merrie Robertson;Social Chair- George Helm; Elections- Derrick Covington; Red Apple Award & Scholarships- Valerie Grega; Legislative- Noel Flynn; DIT Representative- Kaye Williams ;and Membership- Dionne Dubose. SBEA Executive Board meetings for 2004-2005 will be on the 3rd Monday of each month beginning at 4 -5:30 PM at La Madeleine's Town & Country Village. Our first event will be preparation for New Employees Orientation on June 9th at 9:30 AM at Joanne Frimel's. August 18th will be our  Fall Kick-Off Happy Hour. More details to follow!

April 3, 2004

Tom De Lay Rally and Town Hall Meeting
NEA leaders from Alief, Katy, Stafford, and Spring Branch and TSTA staffer, Sam Blackman, marched with Federation leaders at the rally to protest Congressman Tom De Lay’s opposition to repealing the Social Security offsets- the GPO/WEP. SBEA Legislative Chair, and NEA Social Security Cadre member, JR Miller-Alper spoke on the megaphone at the rally. 400-500 people attended the rally and Town Hall Meeting held in Richmond. Although the press was barred from the meeting, the media did interview people outside at the rally. NEA Social Security packets were handed out to participants.

At the Town Hall Meeting, Congressman De Lay spoke for 45 minutes, accusing the teacher unions of giving out false information, patronized teachers as not understanding the issues, and implied that teachers had waited for years before getting involved in the issue. There were many good questions, lots of angry teachers, some shouts as it went on, and implications about the redistricting interference by Mr. De Lay, and that he might lose his seat in the November election, in which environmental attorney Richard Morrison is running as the Democratic candidate against Mr. De Lay. In the question and answer session that followed, JR made the following points: 1) teachers are informed on this issue 2) Social Security representative who was on the podium with Mr. De Lay spoke to teachers in JR’s District years ago on this subject 3) NEA and the Federation stand united in favoring repeal of the offsets 5) teachers are different than businesses since they can’t contribute into a 401 K 6) the WEP offset denies teachers their own earned money paid into Social Security 7) new guidelines must inform business people of penalties they face on entering the teaching profession 8) credit for the June 30th delay of the closing of the loophole belongs to Senator Hutchison, not Congressman De Lay.

When Mr. De Lay interrupted JR’s question, the audience cheered her on.  JR also asked Congressman De Lay why he wouldn’t let HR 594 (the NEA sponsored bill to repeal the offsets) come to the floor of the house for a vote and find out if congressmen withdraw their support. Congressman De Lay replied that our congressional supporters would withdraw their support if HR 594 comes up for a vote. He also stated that Representative Clay Shaw made all of the decisions about his committee, and that the committee agrees with Mr. De Lay that the Fairness Act would give educators an advantage over other employees. Perry McCall, SBEA member, also spoke on behalf of employees who were interested in being rehires.  MORE
 

March 20,2004

SBEA Members Elected Delegates to Democratic State Convention
SBEA President-Elect Edie Clark and Vice-President Elect JR Miller-Alper were elected delegates to the Fort Bend County District 17 Senatorial Democratic Convention. Debby Pepper, President of Alief Education Association was also a delegate. Edie, JR, and Debby were all elected to serve on the Platform and Resolutions Committee of the Convention, and JR was elected Platform Resolutions Committee Chair. We were able to introduce an education resolution calling for the 78th Legislature to provide a significant increase in state funding for education including a significant increase in salaries, state funding for a health insurance plan for educators comparable to the one available to state employees, protection of due process for education employees, and absolute opposition to vouchers or any plan that would reduce state support for public education. Edie and JR were elected as delegates to the State Democratic Convention. Debby Pepper was elected as an alternate delegate. MORE
 

March 29, 2004

Training for SBEA Association Representatives
SBEA members won cash and movie tickets as they learned about the benefits of TSTA/NEA membership, and how to be a better spokesperson for the association. TSTA staffers Sam Blackman, Sharon Carmon, Tim Bacon and Mary Acosta led the interactive sessions.
 

February 2004

PTA Legislator’s  Forum
Members  Louise Valverde, Carolyn Morris, Mary Hall, JR Miller Alper, and Edie Clark represented SBEA at a Legislator’s Forum, the topic of which was school funding. Duncan  Klussman, Spring Branch Assistant Superintedent, discussed SBISD’s projected $7,717,995 deficit. Revenue for the district is forcast to be $221,305,454. Expenditures will total $229,023,449. Because of Robin Hood recapture, the District will have to repay $11,951,944 back to the State, reducing the state allocation to only $670,932 while unfunded mandates , required spending for special education, bilingual education, gifted and talented, career and technology, and compensatory education will necessitate expenditures of $21,775,625.  The difference in net state funding and required spending for unfunded mandates totals $21,104,693. Other speakers included Rob  Mosbacher, Chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership, David Thompson, Partner in Bracewell & Patterson, and the Fast Growth Schools Coalition, and State legislators Senator John Whitmire, Representatives Joe Nixon, Dwayne Bohac, Jessica Farrar, and Talmadge Heflin.  Representative Beverly Wooley was unable to attend.
 

December 2003

TSTA Legislative Cadre
Edie Clark and Joyce Roberta Miller-Alper represented SBEA at TSTA’s Legislative Cadre 3, in preparation for the expected spring special session on school funding and education reform. A highlight of the conference was our keynote speaker, State Comptroller  Carol Keeton Strayhorn, who gave a rousing speech about education issues expected to be on the agenda  before the legislature. Comptroller Strayhorn was very clear about the need for a larger state contribution to education in Texas, and outlined her plan to generate more revenue to replace Robinhood.
 

TSTA/TFT Joint Issues Conference
Edie Clark , Joanne Frimel, Rachel Harden, Darrel Pickard, and JR Miller-Alper represented SBEA at a conference which was a cooperative effort of TSTA and the Texas Federation of Teachers. The workshops were outstanding, and ranged from how to stay in the classroom and out of the courtroom to how to adapt to life changes.
 

November 2003

Town Hall Meeting – Representative Dwayne Bohac
Edie Clark and Joyce Roberta Miller Alper attended this civic meeting in which Representative Bohac,  gave an update on his efforts in the Texas Legislature, where he represents a large portion of the Spring Branch area.
 

April 2003

SBEA /HFT Social Security Forum
Over 400 educators from around the Houston area attended a Social Security Forum jointly sponsored by SBEA and the Houston Federation of Teachers, coordinated by SBEA President, Joyce Roberta Miller-Alper, who is a member of the NEA Social Security Cadre. JR was also the moderator of the forum. The forum was made possible by a grant from NEA. Speakers included Jack Kelly from TSTA , John O’Sullivan of the Texas Federation of Teachers, and Gayle Fallon, President of  the Houston Federation of Teachers. Teachers learned about the GPO and the WEP, and wrote several hundred postcards to their U.S. senators and congressmen urging them to support the NEA sponsored bills to repeal the offsets. MORE
 

March 2003

Save a Kid, Not a Buck! …SBEA Lobbies the State Legislature
Spring Branch Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Katz joined SBEA members Edie Clark, Joyce Roberta Miller- Alper, Mary Hall, George Helm, Joanne Frimel, Jeanne Fuchs, Joyce Johnson, Dr. John Baker, Debby Summerlin, Derick Covington, Peg Millar, Carolyn Morris, Linda Sawyer, Kathy Tyson, and Louise Valverde and  a busload of educators from around the Houston area to make our case for public schools with our state legislators in the 78th Legislative Session. Dr. Katz joined Debby Summerlin’s group to meet with a top aide to Governor Rick Perry. Other members split up in small groups to meet with legislators, including Representative Scott Hochberg, Representative Dwane Bohac, Representative Joe Nixon, Representative Beverly Wooley, Representative Talmadge Heflin, Senator John Whitmire, Senator Kyle Janek, and others. Spring Branch Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Katz joined SBEA members Edie Clark, Joyce Roberta Miller- Alper, Mary Hall, George Helm, Joanne Frimel, Jeanne Fuchs, Joyce Johnson, Dr. John Baker, Debby Summerlin, Derick Covington, Peg Millar, Carolyn Morris, Linda Sawyer, Kathy Tyson, and Louise Valverde and  a busload of educators from around theHouston area to make our case for public schools with our state legislators in the 78th Legislative Session. Dr. Katz joined Debby Summerlin’s group to meet with a top aide to Governor Rick Perry. Other members split up in small groups to meet with legislators, including Representative Scott Hochberg, Representative Dwane Bohac, Representative Joe Nixon, Representative Beverly Wooley, Representative Talmadge Heflin, Senator John Whitmire, Senator Kyle Janek, and others. Our message was that Texas public schools need more state funding, and that teachers support state standards that have created a positive learning environment for children, such as class size limits, planning periods for teachers, and the state salary schedule.
 

Read Across America
SBISD Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Katz joined SBEA President JR Miller-Alper and her high school students from the School of Choice in reading to pre-schoolers at the Bear Boulevard School. The children laughed at the antics of “the cat in the hat” ( JR) who visited each classroom as the high school students read aloud to the younger children.

SBEA also presented the SBISD Board with Cat in the Hat mugs, and Dr. Katz was presented a Dr. Seuss lunch kit in keeping with our theme of “The Katz in the Hat”.