Most of us recognize the term "stimulus package" as the federal money used to help the state backfill the loss in tax revenues because of the recession. The money comes from federal legislation called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The state legislature was able to mitigate the double digit revenue deficits in the budget with millions of federal dollars. The budget cuts went from double digit to around 5% for this fiscal year. Ogden School District is using some of the funds (about $1.2 million) to help move us out of District corrective action with the state and federal government. Ogden teachers will return back to school August 17-20 for professional development and implementation of our district and school plans of improvement. The mornings will be professional development under the direction of the principal and the afternoons will be used for "implementation" of the plans. Another 2 days are imbedded in the contract year for a total of 6 "ARRA" days. These days are optional and we are still negotiating the rate of pay. August 21 is the first (not optional) contract day. We look forward to the new school year.
The OEA Negotiations Team will resume meeting with the District Team on Monday. More info to come. Today's Deseret News has a short article on Jordan and Ogden Negotiations. Go to www.desnews.com and look for the Amy Stewart article, "Teachers Unions Grow Closer to Resolution. Rick
