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Back to School Survey We need to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey regarding the start of school: Student Debt Clinic *Do you or a family member have student loan debt? *Are you struggling to make monthly payments or worrying about student loans following you throughout your life? MORE
We want to welcome back all employees of Jefferson Parish! It felt like the summer would never come, and now we are preparing for a new school year! We hope you spent some quality time with family and friends for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation after the most difficult year in living history.   We have been hard at work over the summer, negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement that is guaranteed for the next 3 years, with language that has been added for the first time in six years. We are also excited to present several new and returning JFT member committees. ​ MORE
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​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! ​ MORE

On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, JFT members met via Zoom to consider updates (the first in six years) to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, negotiated by JFT's bargaining team and the district. After discussion of the changes and a long question and answer period, members voted to ratify the agreement.

Next, the agreement must be approved by the Jefferson Parish School Board. Both JFT and the Board must approve the agreement before it can go into effect. The School Board has scheduled a Special Meeting to consider and vote on the updated agreement. Please join us at the Board meeting to show

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Collective Bargaining Update

 
A big thank you to those who provided input on the collective bargaining survey, sent prior to the start of negotiations. Your responses were critical in directing the bargaining conversation.
 
As reported in the last update, the issues ranked in order of importance were: Evaluations, Class Size, Curriculum, Testing, Lesson Plans, Professional Development, and Duty.
 
Negotiations have been productive, with each party listening in good faith. Talks are, ongoing, therefore, it is necessary to extend the current agreement until negotiations are complete. A special session board meeting will be held on June 29, 2021 at 9am to vote on extending the collective bargaining agreement until Friday, July 30, 2021. Following that extension, we are looking forward to continuing negotiations around the priorities that have been set by you, the members of JFT.
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JFT General Membership Meeting

The last General Membership Meeting of this school year will take place on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at 5PM via Zoom.
 
Click here to register for the meeting. Please complete your registration before 8 A.M. on Monday, May 24th.
 
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Does this language sound familiar? It should. This is language taken from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), between the Jefferson Parish School Board and the Jefferson Federation of Teachers. On the surface, this appears harmless, but in actuality it is a method to circumvent and eventually discontinue the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is not good faith bargaining.

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Know your Contract!

Article VIII of the Collective Bargaining Agreement states: “Teachers shall be reimbursed $100.00 per semester for teaching materials/registration fees for pre-approved conferences/workshops, including sales tax. A teacher who does not expend his allocation or any part thereof for the 1st semester shall be permitted to spend it during the 2nd semester. Reimbursement shall occur promptly but no later than 20 workdays following submission, provided...
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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 
 
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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
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