Volume 16, Issue 9
May, 2008
McAllen AFT MAKING A DIFFERENCE
1500 DOVE, MCALLEN, TX, 78504 682-1143
EYES ON THE BOARD
FINALLY A CLINIC FOR ALL!
On May 12, 2008 the MISD Board of Education approved rankings for a Employer Direct Medical PPO and authorized to negotiate an agreement with the highest ranked providers.
Mr. Vela, board member, said “If they don’t use it, we can cancel the clinic.”
It is the job of the McAllen AFT to get the “Devil in the Details” worked out and all staff on board. The discussion of the board involved whether employees could keep their medical doctor—the answer was yes. The clinic operation times have not been worked out, but one of the top (three) 3 vendors said day, night, and Saturday and Sunday appointments. We have long proposed that people will use the clinic and not be absent from work—thus reducing absences and substitute costs.
The three (3) top vendors are McAllen Hospital Group/Adult Medicine & Urgent Care Clinic, RGV Preventative Care, Inc. DBA Preventative Care Institute, Valley Urgent Care, LLC DBA Urgent Care 4 U Clinic.
Some of you have ask for Gastric By Pass Surgery as part of your McAllen ISD Health Insurance (as offered by PSJA health insurance).
It is our understanding that this surgery at PSJA requires that you be morbidly obese, follow a two-year plan of monitored dieting while an employee of PSJA, heavy psychology counseling, and extensive testing before you are even considered for the surgery. In other words, you can’t just move to work in PSJA and get the surgery right away. McAllen’s health plan still considers this surgery experimental.
The board authorized to negotiate an amendment to the agreement for professional services with Jacobs Facilities, Inc. Thus, Jacobs can stay on and finish the Central Kitchen and Plant Operations Buildings by February or March for 2009.
Fossum Middle School will be finished in July, and the fifth (5) elementary school will be finished in August.
The Jacobs Monthly Report reported that interest earned on the 2005 Bond is a “great” $10,100,000. Part of $10 million will have to go to the Central Kitchen and Plants Operations Buildings—costs came in much higher than anticipated. Hurricane Katrina’s costs have finally caught up to the 2005 McAllen Bond Projects.
OPEN FORUM PRESENTATION
MAY 12, 2008
Good evening. My name is Ruth Skow, and I am representing McAllen AFT (American Federation of Teachers).
I am here tonight to ask you the following questions:
- Are you going to allow administration to continue on a path of destruction for high school students? Are you going to allow administration to increase the class schedule to eight (8) classes and degrade the quality of instruction that students had been receiving?
- Are you going to reduce high school teachers salaries by $5,000-$7,000.
- Are you going to reduce middle school teachers salaries by $5,000-$7,000.
- Are you going to reduce elementary school teacher salaries by $5,000-$7,000.
- Are you going to reduce all other staff salaries also?
- Are you going to reduce salaries of administrators by the same amounts as staff?
- Are you going to listen to petitions from staff and have a health clinic for no co pay and generic drugs free?
- Are you going to listen to petitions from staff and name the 5th Elementary for Dr. Ricardo Chapa?
- Are you going to continue letting administration write TINA’s (Teachers in Need of Assistance) as pay backs for veteran teachers who ask questions concerning High School Redesign, salary cuts, and the 8 period day?
- How are you going to face the taxpayers of McAllen, Texas when they discover you have wasted years of teacher training monies? A ten-year teacher may have had $50,000 in training. If you lose 500 teachers this year, that means $2,500,000 of the taxpayers’ money has been wasted.
REORGANIZATION OF MISD BOARD
Mr. Moore expressed that it had been an honor to service as MISD Board President for the past two (2) years.
The MISD Board was reorganized at 4 p.m. and Mark Kent was elected President; Myrna Garcia, VP; Conrado Alvarado, Secretary; Danny Vela, Asst. Secretary; Javier Farias, Parliamentarian.
McAllen ISD Board members can participate in the new clinic.
The new clinic success will depend on volume discounts—people need to use.
Negotiations for the clinic will come back to the board for approval.
The clinic will have No Copay. There is no location for clinic until vendor chosen.
The summer break for administration will begin on June 26, and they will come back on July 16, 2008.
A few of those administrators retiring are Christie Balli, Ann Kelly, and Glenda McClendon.