School board authorizes teacher election for Nov. 10
Oct. 6 , 2009
The Springfield school board Oct. 6 authorized administration to conduct an election for district teachers to choose representation for purposes of collective bargaining. The election will be held Nov. 10, 2009.
All full-time and part-time teachers, counselors and librarians (teachers unit) who are .5 FTE or greater on the district’s salary schedule are eligible to vote in the election. All district administrators, managers, supervisors and all other district employees are excluded.
The teachers unit will decide among the following options: exclusive representation by one organization (SNEA or SMSTA), multiple representation by both approved organizations or no representation at all. Voting will take place at all five district high schools from 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2009 with employees to be assigned a designated voting location.
The board also authorized the lease purchase financing for a new administrative center. The principal amount of the lease participation certificates is estimated at $4,960,000 and the sale will produce approximately $4,775,000. The lease financing will be in effect for 20 years with a 7-year call option. Originally, the annual payment for the lease purchase agreement was estimated to be $370,000, but that payment will be reduced to $357,841 annually because of the Build America Bonds program. That program, part of the federal stimulus package, allows state and local governments to issue taxable bonds for capital projects and to receive a new direct federal subsidy payment from the Treasury Department for a portion of their borrowing costs.
Administration presented the board with several action items which will be voted on at the Oct. 20 regular session. Those items include:
- Purchase of safety cameras for all 145 district school buses.
- Renewal of the district’s custodial services management contract with ARAMARK Facility Services.
- Renewal of the district’s contract with St. John’s Health System to serve as the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) for the district’s health plan.
The board also conducted a preliminary discussion of its strategic priorities for the district, and will decide on a list of topics at the Oct. 20 regular session. Board members also discussed the process for selecting and implementing SPS Choice programs.
The meeting agenda is available online at this link.
Watch the Oct. 6, 2009 board meeting here.