Scope - September, 2007

Volume 1, Issue 1

September , 2007

Union Study: HeatInsideSchool Buses Hits 116°

AFT school bus drivers in Louisiana conducted a study this month to gauge the dangerously hot conditions in their buses. Over a three-day period starting Aug. 14, the first day of school, the Caddo Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel in Shreveport, La., measured the temperature and humidity ranges inside their buses three times a day.

What they found: Each day, temperatures in the buses spiked well over 100 degrees in the afternoon. The top reading was 116 degrees. Heat that oppressive causes headaches, nausea and light-headedness.

The Caddo study attracted media coverage and the local union presented its findings to the school board, which plans to take up the issue in September. Caddo federation president Jackie Lansdale, speaking at a news conference, said the union wants the district to push back the start  of school to a reasonable date. In neighboring Bossier Parish, home of the Bossier Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel, also an AFT affiliate, the school year started even earlier, on Aug. 8.

The main reason school officials keep setting the calendar earlier, Lansdale explains, is to get a jump on instructional time before high-stakes testing in March.  "We're forced to do this for the convenience of the bureaucrats," she says. "We're putting their convenience over the safety of the children we're transporting. If you did this to a dog, you'd be cited for cruelty."

The district is slowly replacing its fleet with air-conditioned buses, but so far, only about one in five school buses have air conditioning.

Besides restricting how early in the summer school can reopen, Lansdale sees other possible remedies, including using temporary air conditioners in the buses; training drivers how to recognize and tend to children's heat-related distress; and letting drivers cool off inside schools instead of sweltering in idling buses.

Failing all that, she says that when temperatures near 100 degrees are forecast for the next day, the district should plan for a noon dismissal to avoid the worst of the heat, just as school systems up north accommodate for snow. "

It's time for the tail to quit wagging the dog on this one, “Lansdale says. "It just doesn't make sense."

Louisiana Federation of Teachers

What is a PSRP?

A PSRP is a Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel.

Who we are?

The AFT also represents school support staff in K-12 districts, colleges and universities.

PSRP jobs include office employees, custodians, maintenance workers, bus drivers, instructional paraprofessionals, food service workers, school nurses and health aides, technicians, groundskeepers, secretaries, bookkeepers, mechanics, special education assistants and hundreds of other job titles. In some parts of the country we’re called classified school employees; in others we’re called school support staff.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS : The movement has benefits . . .

·          Liability and Legal Assistance

·          $12,000 Term Life   ( First Year is Free!) AD&D Insurance $25,000  normal death and $50,000 if an accident (Free)

·          Education Financing and Loan Assistance

·          Mortgage Assistance

·          Home and Auto Insurance

·          Medical Savings

·          Pet Care Veterinary Savings and Pet Insurance

·          Super Summer Savings

·          Theme Parks

·          Hotel Discounts

·          Car Rentals

·          Bonus: Premier Auto Club

·          Credit Counseling

·          Online Books

For more information, contact Barbara Lightheart at belightheart@texasaft.org or call 1-800-222-3827 ext. 3215.

RECEIPE OF THE MONTH : Pineapple Glazed Chicken

Items needed : 4  Butterfly Chicken Breast, 1 can of  pineapple heavy syrup,  1 box  of bread stuffing, 8 wooden picks.

Season chicken breast as desired, cook chicken in the oven for 30 min. at 425 degrees.  While chicken is cooking , prepare the bread stuffing and pour syrup in a small bowl.  After the chicken is about 80 % cooked, remove from oven ,  place stuffing on the middle of the chicken, fold both ends up and squire with wooden picks.  Then with a pastry brush cover entire chicken with syrup, then place back in oven for additional 20 min., remove and coat again with syrup.  Serve with rice and vegetables.