JFT Update
March 7, 2022
General Membership Meeting:
JFT will hold a General Membership Tuesday, March 21st at 6 PM at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Building 3515 N. Interstate 10 Service Rd W, Metairie 70002.
Cynthia Posey, Political and Legislative Director, will present her 2023 Legislative Update. The Regular Legislative Session begins on April 10th and ends on June 8th. It is a fiscal session. Teacher and support staff pay raises will be part of the 2023 session. LFT and JFT will be asking for members to participate through click and sends and possibly a day of action at the Capitol. Please keep an eye out for urgent action alerts from LFT and participate whenever you can!
Nominations for president will also take place at the General Membership Meeting. Ms. Kesler Camese-Jones retired in December 2022. Nominations will occur for the remainder of her term, which runs through May 2024.
Support Staff Appreciation Week 
The week of March 20th is Support Staff Appreciation Week. JFT wants to thank all of our support staff for their dedication to their students, their school, and to their profession. Look for an appreciation gift headed your way!
LFT Survey
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and School Employees is rolling out a campaign in the lead up to this year’s legislative session: Six Weeks Six Surveys. Each week, we will send you a survey focused on a particular topic that we know to be important to many of Louisiana’s teachers and school employees. Each survey should take less than 10-minutes to complete.
Your responses to these surveys will be anonymous. We will use the results to inform our legislative agenda and policy positions throughout the legislative session, as well as our political endorsements in the fall. This week, the survey topic is compensation.
Last year, Louisiana passed a $1,500 raise for teachers and $750 for school support staff. It was an historic raise by Louisiana standards, but still significantly lower than increases passed in neighboring states. At the same time, LDOE passed a bill that forces teachers to pay a fee for a duplicate background check and the Office of Group Benefits increased premium costs, again.
Meanwhile, other Southern states are taking action to ensure they have qualified teachers and support staff in their schools. This year, Arkansas is proposing a $10,000 raise, which would bring the minimum teacher pay to $50,000/year. Florida is proposing record spending for education, including raising the starting pay for teachers to $65,000/year. Texas has proposed a $15,000 pay raise for teachers and a 25% increase for support staff. Last year, Alabama passed a raise nearly $2,000 larger than what was passed in Louisiana and Mississippi approved an increase averaging over $5,000.
Low pay is not the only thing driving teachers and school employees away from our classrooms, but it is an important factor. We want to hear about your experience. How have recent increases to insurance costs impacted your take home pay? How has inflation and increased costs of living impacted your ability to stay in this job? Click here to take the survey.
JFT Scholarship
JFT offers two (2) college or university scholarships. Each scholarship will be in the amount of $500 per year over a period of four years, for a total scholarship of $2,000 each. Children of JFT members, who are graduating high school seniors, are eligible to apply for the scholarships.
Scholarship applications can be found at: http://jft.la.aft.org/sites/default/files/jft_scholarship_form_2023.pdf
Deadline for submitting applications is April 3, 2023.
MGT Consulting Townhall Meeting
Meyers Engineering, along with MGT Consulting, is holding special townhall meetings to gather input from the community and stakeholders about developing the JP Schools Facility Optimization Plan. These meetings are an opportunity for you to voice your input. There will be meetings held in each district. For more information, click here.
Teacher Leader Program
The Teacher Leader Program is a nationwide program sponsored by AFT and partners with JFT. The program is designed to assist educators in advocating for policy changes that will positively impact their students and their school communities. This year our seven participants include individuals from all positions across the district.
Help out our fellow members and their research by taking the surveys below:
You are invited to the TLP Research Showcase: Saturday, April 15, from 10-12:30 PM at the JFT Office. For more info on the Teacher Leaders Program, and/or potentially applying for next year, please email tlp.rosamund.looney@gmail.com.
To RSVP, please click here or email: tlp.rosamund.looney@gmail.com
Transfer Window
What types of employees are eligible for the Voluntary Transfer Process (VTP)?
The Voluntary Transfer Process is for certificated Teachers, Deans, Assistant Principals, Counselors, and Paraprofessionals.
Who is eligible for transfer?
Certificated Teachers, Deans, Assistant Principals, Counselors, and Para-professionals are eligible for transfer if they:
- Have a minimum of 2 years of experience in JPS at their current school
- Hold a valid Louisiana teacher certificate in the requested subject-area vacancy (teachers and administrators only)
- Are currently NOT on any level of an Intensive Assistance Plan (IAP)
Note: Support employees such as Secretaries, General Clerks, Plant Managers, Custodians, Account Clerks, and Crossing Guards may transfer at any time, as vacancies become available.
How do I participate in the Voluntary Transfer Process?
Eligible employees who desire to participate in the VTP are required to complete an Internal Application /Transfer Form online during the application window (March 1- May 26, 2023).
- The window for transfer opens on March 1, 2023. Employees begin the process by completing a Transfer Request online at (www.applitrack.com/jppss/onlineapp). The application window closes on May 26, 2023.
- Once on the application site, scroll down to Internal Applicant, click on “Submit an internal application/transfer form”
- Click “Start” to begin the application process. When you get to the Vacancy Desired Page, click on 2022-2023 Employee Transfer Request or 2022-2023 Paraprofessional Transfer Request.
- Complete the remainder of the application and then click submit. Your request will not be processed until you click submit.
What happens after I complete my internal application/transfer form?
- Human Resources will begin reviewing requests on March 1, 2023, and notify you via email if your request has been approved or denied. Your approval email is required for you to transfer. If approved, you should go back into your application and on the Vacancy Desired Page, click on the desired positions for which you qualify. You must then submit your application. Your application will then be forwarded to the principal(s). NOTE: Your application will not be forwarded if you do not click submit.
- Principals will review applications and schedule interviews accordingly. Once a Principal has selected an applicant for a position, the Principal will make a job offer. If the applicant accepts the job offer, the Principal and applicant will complete a Mutual Consent Form (original signatures required). The Principal will then submit the Mutual Consent Form to Human Resources to process the transfer. Human Resources will notify the Principal who is losing an employee (due to transfer) of his/her new vacancy.
- In the event more than one Principal makes a job offer to an applicant, the applicant’s choice will prevail.
- The posting of vacancies will be on-going during the transfer process. As transferring employees reach mutual consent for the 2022-2023 school year, the positions they are leaving will be posted as vacancies.
- Applicants and Principals are encouraged to monitor the website frequently/daily during the transfer process. Applicants should apply for desired positions as they become available. As positions are filled, new vacancies are created, thus monitoring the site daily is essential. As new vacancies are posted online, you will need to repeat the process to apply for new positions as they become available.
What happens after the Voluntary Transfer Process?
- Once a Mutual Consent has been signed by the Principal and employee, the Mutual Consent CANNOT be rescinded. The VTP will then be closed to the employee for the 2022-2023 school year. The employee is not eligible for another transfer for a period of two years. ALL EMPLOYEES WHO APPLY FOR TRANSFER MUST REACH MUTUAL CONSENT BY THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON May 27, 2023.
No principal may discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, genetics, marital status, sexual orientation, religion or veteran status or any other legally protected activities or characteristics in the transfer process.
All transfers will be reviewed by the Human Resources department to ensure continued compliance with the Dandridge final settlement agreement. Any employee who reaches mutual consent but has a pending discipline case, the mutual consent will be held until the discipline case is resolved. All transfers will require clearance from Human Resources and the final approval of the Superintendent.
Please forward all questions via email to jppsshumanresources@jpschools.org.