MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Philip Rumore, President, BTF

Date:          May 24, 2021

Subject:     BTF Election Results – Sick and Personal Day Accuracy – School/Site Safety – Virtual Graduation – APPR – Ransomware Attack – Negotiations – Student Support

BTF Election Results
As most know, the BTF Election Results have been posted on the BTF website (Click Here).

We must now come together to overcome the many challenges ahead and as always, overcome every one of them. Let there be no doubt.

Sick Day/ Personal Day Accuracy
As you know, we have been informed that for some teachers, the sick day/personal day accumulations on their paychecks is incorrect.

Please check. If there is a payroll problem, they will work with you to correct it, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

School/Site Safety
We cannot let our guard down in our commitment to ensure the safety of all during the pandemic.

Significant progress in vaccinations, screening and procedures has occurred.

However, we must continue to work to ensure continued safety in our schools/sites.

If you have concerns, please continue to notify your LRS (Click Here) and BTF, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Remember, if your concerns go unaddressed for what you consider a reasonable time, advise us again.

Virtual Graduation
As was announced at the Council of Delegates meeting, the Executive Committee has, as we did last year, approved our participation in virtual graduations (Click Here).

If you haven’t already received an invitation, call Tamara Walter from WUTV/WNYO at (716) 447-3221.

The station will bill the BTF for $1,500 toward the event. This covers the cost of 30 minutes. Some schools are using school funds to pay for a full hour.

It is interesting to hear that some schools are doing both virtual and in-person graduations, as they want to have a video copy of their graduation to keep as a remembrance.

APPR
As this is being written, the legislation we have all been working on, that eliminates the APPR for the 2020-2021 school year, is on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. The legislation eliminates the APPR for tenured/contact, probationary and temporary teachers.

Ransomware Attack
We have filed what is called a “Notice of Claim” with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

This is the preliminary step to taking further action against the District for not providing the detailed information we are seeking and not beginning separate negotiations on the impact of the ransomware attack on teachers.

We have also been in contact with NYSUT, our state affiliate, seeking stronger New York State legislation to protect public employees from such attacks.

One of our teachers sent us information on a website that contains very interesting information. We have forwarded information to this organization. (http://studentprivacymatters.org)

Negotiations
We are still waiting for the PERB mediator to provide us with possible dates to resume negotiations. The pandemic has caused a major backlog for PERB.

Support for Our Students
The Council of Delegates has unanimously approved the attached Resolution (Click Here).

It has been forwarded to the New York State Commissioner of Education, New York State Board of Regents, the Superintendent and Board of Education, NYSUT (our State affiliate), the National Education Association (NEA, one of our National affiliates), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT, our other National affiliate), the Governor, New York State Legislative Leaders and importantly, local parent leaders. It was also distributed to others and the media.

The Buffalo Public Schools 2021 survey for the American Rescue plan is now on the District’s website (Click Here). Please complete the survey using the information from the resolution to share your input on how the ARP grant should be used to benefit our students. Remember to add that the final plan must be approved by each school’s SBMT.

The survey will allow staff to see school-level data from the individual schools in addition to districtwide data.

While some have said we will not obtain the support for which we are calling, that has not and will not stop us from being on record for and working to secure the support our students need.

Not now. Not ever.

PR:su