Upcoming November Events
Dear Members,
News
Delta Dental Open Enrollment
“Health & Welfare- Open Enrollment”
Hurricane Ida Assistance
There are two different ways that you may be able to receive assistance for Hurrican Ida relief.
LFT and AFT partnered together to give out hardship grants. You can apply for the grant by clicking here.
Union Plus has came up with an option for a $500 disaster relief grant. See if you qualify by clicking here.
BESE Meeting August 16-Social Studies Standards and LEAP Scores
Today the BESE board met to hear an update on the revision of the Social Studies standards and the LEAP scores. Two speakers provided presentations to accompany their updates, but these weren't visible in the live video.
Social Studies standards:
Real Estate Hotline
In order to help our members add value to their union membership, it is a goal of our administration to negotiate local benefits for those who pay dues. The previous Executive Council voted to begin a partnership with two local realtors backed by Coldwell Banker. The idea was to offer real estate workshops to our members as an added benefit. Unfortunately, COVID sidelined that project.
Back to School Letter to Employees
Dear St. Tammany Parish Teachers and School Employees,
The Summer Newsletter
BACK TO SCHOOL
It’s hard to believe that summer is already ending. Many districts had expanded summer school options for students who struggled through the pandemic-year. This left many educators with even less time to recuperate from an especially exhausting year. But as always, the prospect of a new school year brings excitement and opportunity.
LFT staff are preparing to greet new and returning educators at orientations and back to school events all over the state. If you are already a member of the Federation, make sure to check in with your Local representatives at these events so that you can get all the most up-to-date information about your membership and back-to-school goodies. If you aren’t already a member of the Federation, you’re missing out. Make sure to look for us at your orientation to learn more about all that membership has to offer!
The March Newsletter
PAY RAISES
On March 10th the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) passed their proposal for the minimum foundation program (MFP) – the funding formula for Louisiana’s K-12 schools.
During the meeting, the Board decided to heed the recommendation from the MFP task force: passing a proposal that calls for an $80 million dollar increase in the MFP. The task force had decided on a 1.375% increase (or $40 million) put into Level 1 of the MFP for general classroom funding and another 1.375% increase, put into level 3, for raises. That comes out to $400 increase for teachers and $200 for school employees, spread out over the entire year - a meager raise. LFT was one of only two organizations in the state to oppose this proposal, and has consistently pushed for a larger pay increase.
In an unprecedented turn of events, the letter that BESE sent to the legislature, which outlines their MFP proposal, made a slight, but important, deviation from the task forces' recommendation. Instead of putting $40 million into level three where it would necessarily go towards raises and and the supplementary retirement benefits, BESE directed that funding to level 4, which is the portion of the MFP that goes towards supplementary allocations for specific programs such as career training experiences, dual enrollment and enrichment courses, assistance with high cost special education services, and recruitment and employment of international associate teachers.
LFT has consistently called on the BESE and the legislature to match the pay increase seen in 2019: $1,000 increase for teachers and $500 for support personnel, at a minimum. This plan requires a $101 million increase to level 3 of the MFP, which is the portion of the school funding formula that provides for employee salaries.
As the MFP proceeds to the legislature for approval, LFT will continue to work towards a larger raise for teachers and school employees during this
Nominations and Elections Committee accepting nominations
The St. Tammany Federation of Teachers & School Employees will hold a membership meeting on Tuesday, March 23rd at 6:00 pm in order to accept nominations for Executive Board officers. You must register for the meeting by March 21st at 5:00 pm. You will receive your individualized login information on Monday, March 22nd. The meeting is ONLY open to STFTSE members. If you have any questions, please call the office 985-641-6477.
The February Newsletter
School Funding Next Year
On Friday, the Governor’s team presented his Executive Budget to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. This spending proposal will be the baseline for budget negotiations throughout the legislative session and is expected to change before being finalized by both chambers in the final days of the session.
Being an educator is harder than ever. This year, teacher morale has plummeted