MEMORANDUM
Memo To: All Buffalo Teachers
From: Philip Rumore, President, BTF
Date: June 22, 2023
Subject: Solidarity Day Reminder
As always, tomorrow, June 23, 2023, we will join together to demonstrate our indomitable solidarity and support for each other and our students by wearing something displaying our BTF logo.
In doing so, let us also demonstrate our support for Rich Nigro, our newly elected President, Melinda MacPherson-Sullivan, BTF Vice President, Mark Mecca, BTF Secretary and the newly elected members of the BTF Executive Committee.
With your continued solidarity and support, all obstacles and challenges will continue to be overcome and become victories.
Let there be no doubt.
Once again, I thank you for your support, caring and well wishes.
You are and will always be, my family.
- Phil
REMEMBER: WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU HOW YOU ARE ENJOYING YOUR “SUMMER VACATION”, REMIND THEM THAT THE CHILDREN ARE ON “SUMMER VACATION” - TEACHERS ARE LAID OFF. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE KNOW IT IS NOT A PAID VACATION FOR TEACHERS IN THE SUMMER, BUT RATHER TWO MONTHS WITHOUT PAY. LET US CONTINUE USING THE TERM SUMMER “LAY-OFF” AND MAYBE THEY WILL GET THE MESSAGE.
To Further Brighten Your Day
1. The fattest knight at King Arthurs round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. He was only a whiskey maker, but she loved him still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: You stay here; I'll go on a head.
13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: Keep off the Grass.
15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
17. A backward poet writes inverse.
18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.
21. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.
22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says Dam!
23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, I've lost my electron. The other says Are you sure? The first replies, Yes, I'm positive.
25. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
MEMORANDUM
Memo To: All Buffalo Teachers
From: Philip Rumore, President, BTF
Date: July 28, 2023
Subject: Payroll Update
Good morning,
I just met with the head of Payroll. Supplemental checks for the difference of what you should have been paid today will be directly deposited on Monday 07/31/2023 into accounts for teachers who currently have that payment method in place with the Payroll Department. For those teachers who receive paper checks, supplemental checks will be mailed to the home address you have on file with the BPS on Monday 07/31/2023.
Please know that your union will remain in contact with Payroll to address concerns as they arise. And moving forward, we will be working with Payroll to improve processes that will help mitigate some of these errors.
Yours in Solidarity,
Rich
MEMORANDUM
Memo To: All Buffalo Teachers
From: Rich Nigro, President, BTF
Date: December 6, 2023
Subject: Teaching Six Classes and Unassigned Preparation Periods
As the practice of assigning a 6th class to secondary academic teachers continues throughout Buffalo Public Schools, we want to provide guidance regarding scheduling and your contractual right to an unassigned preparation period and lunch time.
The assignment of a 6th class does not preclude a teacher from being entitled to an unassigned preparation period or lunch under Articles VIII A.(2) and X A. of the BTF contract. Once a 6th class is assigned, it is incumbent upon teachers to ensure that their schedules still have a preparation period. If a teacher’s only preparation period has been replaced with an additional class, we recommend you speak with your building delegate and administration to rectify the issue and return your unassigned preparation period.
As a reminder, teachers are only guaranteed one unassigned preparation period per school day. If a teacher previously had two preparation periods and one is now a 6th teaching assignment, Article X A. has not been violated.
We met with members of the BPS Human Resources Department and the BPS General Counsel to confirm that administrators would be advised on the requirement for unassigned preparation periods and duty-free teacher lunches. Following that meeting, the Chief of Human Resources, Tami Hollie-McGee, shared the newly-updated policies and procedures regarding this matter in the November 14, 2023 Administrative Weekly Bulletin. This notice to all administrators confirmed how 6th classes for secondary academic teachers will be assigned and guarantees that such assignments will not infringe on the unassigned preparation period or the teacher’s lunch. Click HERE to view it.
If you are an academic teacher in grades 7 through 12 who has been assigned a 6th class and you do not have at least one unassigned preparation period or a lunch period, please reach out to your building delegates and, if necessary, your LRS at the BTF office.
MEMORANDUM
Memo To: All Buffalo Teachers
From: Rich Nigro, President, BTF
Date: October 30, 2023
Subject: School Violence
In recent weeks, there has been a marked increase in reports from teachers of violence in our schools. Incidents range from raucous crowds of students during dismissals from lunch and school; outbreaks of fights throughout the day both inside and outside school; and, most disturbingly, assaults against teachers and other staff.
At her invitation, Vice President MacPherson-Sullivan and I met with Superintendent Williams last week to discuss the frequency of and responses to these incidents. Dr. Williams shared our concerns and is committed to working with the BTF on developing solutions, stating she would like to meet with the BTF monthly.
This week, we will email you the first in a series of brief teacher surveys intended to collect your first-hand account of violent incidents and, more importantly, ideas and suggestions for improving things based on your professional experience as an educator. Further, the BTF Health & Safety Committee (composed of teachers) will be extending invitations to representatives from BCSA, BEST, Substitutes United, and Parent Organizations. Your survey responses will drive the group’s conversation as they scrutinize such things as:
- Where the problem areas are
- How administrators respond to preemptive information they receive before a fight occurs
- Expected procedures for responding to violence
- Conditions needed to reduce violence in our schools
Some members have reported being discouraged from recording violent occurrences in Infinite Campus. If we hope to improve the situation, we must look at it honestly and objectively. That begins with documentation. Therefore, when there is an act of violence, it is the BTF’s position that teachers should record such instances in the Infinite Campus Student Behavior tab under the appropriate student profile. We spoke with an ASL who confirmed that this is the District’s position as well. Thus, please document accordingly and retain a printed or digital copy for your records.
Teachers cannot be expected to teach while simultaneously responding to student fights. Students cannot be expected to learn while instruction is interrupted by violent outbursts. And no one should be made to fear for his or her safety while at school. We at BTF headquarters take the safety of our teacher members and the students you teach very seriously. As we take these first steps toward improving school safety, we look forward to broadening collaboration with other community, law enforcement, and District stakeholders.
MEMORANDUM
Memo To: All Buffalo Teachers
From: Rich Nigro, President, BTF
Date: November 29, 2023
Subject: Class Overage Payments
How are class size overage determined in an Integrated Co-Teaching classroom? The question of how Article IX (Class Size) of the BTF contract applies to Integrated Co-Teaching Classrooms has been a dispute between the District and the Federation for many years and has led to dozens of outstanding grievance arbitration matters. Thankfully, this question has finally been answered.
In his recent award in PERB Case No. A2019-324, Arbitrator Richard N. Chapman brought clarity to this question, resolving many outstanding grievance arbitration matters between the District and the Federation. Specifically, Arbitrator Chapman awarded the following:
- Integrated Co-Teaching Classrooms in the Buffalo Public Schools are composed of both students without disabilities and students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) requiring an Integrated Co-Teaching classroom. These classes are taught by both a General Education Teacher and a Special Education Teacher.
- A class size overage exists for the General Education Teacher in the Integrated Co-Teaching Classroom when the combined total number of students without disabilities and students with an IEP requiring an Integrated Co-Teaching Classroom exceeds the maximum class size set forth in Article IX of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- The maximum number of students with an IEP requiring an Integrated Co-Teaching Classroom on the roster for Integrated Co-Teaching is twelve (12) students.
- A class size overage exists for the Special Education Teacher in the Integrated Co-Teaching Classroom when the number of students with an IEP requiring Integrated Co-Teaching on the roster is in excess of twelve (12) students.
- Class size overage payments pursuant to this agreement will be calculated according to Appendix G of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Our Labor Relations Specialists are working with the District to identify all the outstanding grievance matters on this subject, and ensure that the affected teachers in those grievance matters are compensated appropriately according to Arbitrator Chapman’s award.