Professional Development Funds 23.1.1 Two Professional Development Funds, a Professional Development Support Fund and an Education Leave Fund, shall be established to support professional development activities as defined in 23.2. On April 1st of each year, the College will allocate an amount equal to no less than 0.9% of total faculty salary (exclusive of severance payments) to the Professional Development Support Fund, and an amount equal to no less than 0.6% of total faculty salary to the Educational Leave Fund. Any unused balances in these funds shall carry over to the next budget year.
23.1.2 The College agrees to provide the Association with the authority to administer the program on behalf of the College for those activities approved by the College in accordance with 23.2, 23.4 and 23.5.
23.1.3 Nothing in this Agreement prevents the College from funding professional development activities in addition to those activities supported through the Professional Development Funds (23.1.1) in accordance with the procedures described in this Article.
Professional Development Committee There shall be a Professional Development Committee composed of two (2) members of the Association one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate and two (2) representatives of the Hospital one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and one human resources representative.
Union Negotiating Committee Leave of absence shall be granted to not more than seven (7) employee representatives selected to negotiate the renewal of the Collective Agreement for necessary time off including travel time, direct negotiating time, and necessary preparation time. The Union shall reimburse the College for all pay during such leave except for the days scheduled by the parties for direct negotiations and up to a maximum of ten (10) days if required, for meetings of the Union Negotiating Committee to prepare for and to complete bargaining.
Local Professional Development Committee A. There shall be a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) to oversee, review, and approve individual professional development plans (IPDP) for course work, continuing education units and/or other equivalent activities.
1. The LPDC shall be responsible to recommend for the Superintendent’s approval, all in-service activities and workshops offered in the district during the school year for staff professional development.
2. Recommendations for District Workshops and In-Service activities should be submitted to the LPDC for approval and recommendation no later than the last school day of the year prior to the year it will be implemented.
3. The LPDC chair shall review and approve all “Professional Growth Reimbursement Application” forms.
B. The LPDC shall consist of three (3) teachers appointed by the Association President and two (2) members appointed by the Superintendent. One of the Superintendent's appointees will be a Principal employed by the district.
C. Appointments shall be for two (2) years with half of the committee members being appointed every other year.
1. Appointments shall be made on or before May 1.
2. The Appointments shall be made by each party outlined above, notifying the other of those appointed.
3. In the event of a vacancy, the committee members shall be replaced in accordance with "B." above.
4. The Association shall name a fourth teacher member and the Superintendent shall name a third administrative member to serve as alternates and attend trainings. These two (2) people shall act as substitutes when a committee member is absent.
D. This committee shall meet monthly.
1. The committee may also be convened by the request of two sitting members.
2. A quorum shall consist of five (5) members. When administrative licenses/certificates are reviewed, two (2) sitting teacher members will abstain and the decision will be decided by three (3) members.
3. If the committee determines it is needed, they will be provided two (2) professional release days to meet during regular school hours. Substitutes will be provided for the committee members on these release days.
4. Committee members shall be provided an additional annual stipend of $1,000 for meetings beyond the normal work day or year. This stipend shall be paid in two (2) semi-annual payments. Any member who fails to serve the full year shall have the above compensation prorated on a monthly basis for each month served.
5. Decisions of the LPDC will be made by consensus of the committee members present.
6. The committee minutes shall be prepared and maintained in compliance with the laws governing the operation of committees of public bodies.
Project Steering Committee 1. For a sound implementation and management of the project, a steering committee shall be set up in line with provisions of the programme manual.
2. The steering committee is the decision-making body of the project and it shall be composed by representatives of the LP and all PPs duly authorised to represent the respective LP and PP institutions. It shall be chaired by the LP and it shall meet on a regular basis. Associated partners shall be invited to take part in the steering committee in an advisory capacity. External key stakeholders may also be invited to take part to one or more meetings in an observer/advisory capacity.
3. The steering committee shall at least:
a. be responsible for monitoring and validating the implementation of the project and the achievement of the planned results as in the approved application form;
b. perform the financial monitoring of the project implementation and to decide on any budget modifications as in § 11 of this agreement;
c. monitor and manage deviations of the project implementation;
d. decide on project modifications (e.g. partnership, budget, activities, and duration) if needed;
e. be responsible for the settlement of any disputes within the partnership (as stipulated in § 22 of this agreement).
4. Further aspects, including the creation of sub-groups or task forces, may be set out in the rules of procedure of the steering committee.
Professional Development Fund Article 20
Professional Development Days Upon request, each Employee shall be granted at least three (3) professional development days annually for professional development, at the Basic Rate of Pay. An Employee shall be advised, prior to taking any professional development days of any transportation, registration fees, subsistence and other expenses that will be paid by the Employer. Such hours not used in each fiscal year shall not be carried forward into subsequent years. Applications for such paid professional development opportunities shall be made in writing, to the Employer as early as possible.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT A. The Board of Education agrees to pay the actual tuition costs of courses taken by a teacher at accredited colleges or universities up to three courses per two (2) year fiscal periods from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008 and July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010 respectively, except as follows:
1. No teacher may be reimbursed for courses taken during the first year of teaching in Vineland.
2. Teachers taking courses in the second and third years of employment in Vineland will not receive remuneration until tenure has been secured. The remuneration will then be retroactive and will be paid to the teacher in a lump sum within sixty (60) days after the teacher has secured tenure.
3. All courses must be pre-approved by the Superintendent or his designee subject to the following requirements:
(a) A teacher must provide official documentation that he/she has obtained a grade of B or better;
(b) Reimbursement shall be paid only for courses directly related to teacher’s teaching field which increase the teacher’s content knowledge and are related to the teacher’s current certification, as determined by the Superintendent or his/her designee in his/her sole discretion; no reimbursement shall be paid for courses leading to a post graduate or professional degree in a field other than education or teaching. Further, effective September 1, 2010, all newly hired teachers shall not be eligible for reimbursement until they are tenured, and they shall not be eligible for retroactive reimbursement upon gaining tenure for courses taken prior to being tenured.
(c) The maximum total payments to be made by the Board shall not exceed $130,000.00. Courses shall be applied for no earlier than the following dates: Summer Session - April 1 Fall/Winter Session - June 1 Spring Session - October 1 Courses must, as set forth hereinabove in this sub-article 18.A.3, be pre-approved by the Superintendent or his designee, prior to the teacher commencing the course(s); and
(d) Teacher taking courses shall sign a contract requiring them to reimburse the Board for all tuition paid for a course if the teacher shall voluntarily leave the employ of the Board within one (1) full school/academic year of completion of said course, except that reimbursement shall not be required when the teacher shall voluntarily leave the employ of the Board due to a significant, documented life change.
4. Tuition reimbursement costs shall be a sum not to exceed the actual cost of college credits charged in an accredited public State college/University of the State of New Jersey.
B. When the Superintendent initiates in-service training courses, workshops, conferences and programs designed to improve the quality of instruction, the cooperation of the Vineland Education Association will be solicited. Notwithstanding the above, the initiation of in-service training courses, workshops, conferences and programs shall be determined solely at the discretion of the Board.
C. One professional leave day may be granted to a teacher upon request, according to the following guidelines:
1. The professional day may be for attendance at a workshop, seminar or visit to another school for the expressed purpose of self professional improvement for the job.
2. The request shall arrive in the office of the Superintendent of Schools at least ten (10) working days prior to the date requested and shall be reviewed by the immediate supervisor prior to submission. The Board reserves the right to deny a professional leave day before or immediately following a holiday or on a day which by its nature suggests a hardship for providing a substitute.
3. No more than two teachers from any one elementary school or from any one department in the secondary schools may be granted a professional leave for a given day.
4. The teacher may be required to submit a report to the Superintendent of Schools, Assistant Superintendent, supervisor (s), principal and staff regarding the activity of the professional day.
5. Costs incurred by the teacher for the professional day authorized under this Section shall be the teacher’s responsibility.
6. A maximum of 90 professional leave days may be authorized for the school year which shall be apportioned as follows: elementary, 35; grades seven and eight, 20; and high school, 35.
D. If the Board initiates a teacher’s attendance at a professional workshop, seminar or visit, the expenses shall be the responsibility of the Board. Further, this day shall not be subtracted from the 90 professional leave days granted to teachers of the Association.
E. The Board agrees to pay the full cost of courses taken by secretaries related to skills and knowledge improvement when such courses are required and approved by the Board.
F. The Board and the Association agree that it is important to communicate when developing and implementing current and future learning technologies, including but not limited to distance and on-line learning.
Local Negotiating Committee (a) A negotiating committee of four (4) employee representatives appointed by the union including the bargaining unit president.
(b) The Employer shall pay representatives of the Negotiating Committee their respective salaries for all time lost from regularly scheduled hours negotiating the Collective Agreement and renewals thereof, up to and including conciliation and mediation. It is agreed that the employer is not responsible for accommodation, parking, transportation and food costs associated with the employee’s participation in bargaining. Mileage allowance provisions will remain status quo at all LHINs.
Deadlock Unless otherwise expressly set forth herein, in the event the Members are unable to reach agreement on or make a decision with respect to any matter on which the Members are entitled to vote, the matter shall be subject to the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure described in Article 13 hereof.
