2015 SCOPE Election Forms Available

Posted on April 12, 2015 by scope

Declaration of Candidacy forms and biography forms are now available for the positions of:

SCOPE President (2-year term)
SCOPE Secretary (2-year term)
OEA Representative Assembly for 2015-2016
NEA Representative Assembly for 2016

If you are unable to download the forms above, they can be obtained through your elected Site Representative or by contacting Della Morris, SCOPE Elections Chair, at della.morris@att.net or 330-323-8980.

All candidacy forms and biographical forms must be postmarked by April 30, 2015. Ballots will be sent back out to you on May 13th, 2015, and will be required to be returned by May 22, 2015. Ballots will be counted at the Perkins Restaurant (SR 250/I-71) in Ashland, Ohio, on May 28, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.

Please send your candidacy forms to:

SCOPE Elections Committee
P.O. Box 305
Hayesville, OH 44838

SCOPE Day Pre-Registration Due April 15, 2015

Posted on March 2, 2015 by scope

This year’s SCOPE Professional Development Day will take place on June 11th, 2015 at Marion Harding High School (1500 Harding Highway East, Marion OH 43302). Registration will begin at 8:00 AM. The opening session begins at 9:00 AM.

It is our goal to have all attendees pre-register by April 15th, 2015. This year there is a $10 conference fee for members ($25 for non-members) which will be reimbursable through the DAS tuition reimbursement fund (for all employees who have not exceeded their annual $3,500 limit). Lunch is included in the cost.

There will be computers and assistance on-hand for anyone wishing to submit their reimbursement on-site. CEU’s will be available for those that need to renew their license.

If you are not a SCOPE/OEA member, you can join and get the pre-registration fee rate!

Information about the agenda, speakers, etc. will be posted to the SCOPE web site as it becomes available.

Fill out the following information and get registered today! Send the form in by April 15th, and you will be entered into a door prize drawing for a $50.00 fuel card!

SCOPE Day 2015 Pre-Registration Form

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Marianne Huffman, SCOPE Treasurer.

Tax Information For Union Dues

Posted on February 21, 2015 by scope

Did you know that a portion of your union dues for 2014 may be tax-deductible? Take a look at this chart to see how much can be deducted, and under what conditions.

Union Dues Tax-Deductible

Disclaimer: This blog post does not constitute tax advice. SCOPE cannot provide tax advice to individuals or organizations. If you have additional tax-related questions, please consult a tax professional.

SCOPE Executive Board Meeting: February 12, 2015

Posted on February 3, 2015 by scope

SCOPE’s Executive Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. at the Central OEA Office (947 Goodale Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212).

If you would like to have an item added to the agenda, please contact Diane Prettyman, SCOPE Secretary, at 614-562-5119.

From the SCOPE President: Bargaining Update #1

Posted on December 16, 2014 by scope

Dear Members,

Season’s Greetings! I hope that this post finds you all well and looking forward to the New Year. My own personal feeling tells me that the year may be full of challenges and decisions that may be tough to make. As we prepare to go into bargaining, I want to begin by thanking those individuals who took the time to email this past summer and talk about issues they hope can be resolved at the bargaining table. The general membership meeting in Dayton was well attended by over 100 members. We took a lot of notes and we did a lot of listening.

SCOPE will send a letter of intent to bargain with the State in early 2015. Since the other union contracts expire before ours does, we will go in order and that means SCOPE will be last to bargain at the table. There is an advantage in that, as we will have full knowledge of what the State plans on providing in terms of economics and benefits.

We will be planning a number of town hall meetings around the state. These will be held after work hours or on the weekend. You may find yourself meeting with members who work in a difference agency and are part of your association. This will give us a chance to see other points of view, and find out what is important outside of our direct peer groups.

I was invited to meet with the other State unions in late November. We briefly discussed our concerns to one another. If you are new to state employment, often what OCSEA does concerning wages and benefits sets a pattern for all of the other unions. We have never received a lower or higher percentage of “cost of living” raise than our brothers and sisters in the other unions. It does set the foundation for our negotiations and we wish OCSEA success in the coming months.

I have asked the site representatives to start collecting e-mail addresses of members who want to receive negotiations updates via email. If you don’t have an e-mail account at home, buddy up with someone who can share with you the communications of the union.

Thank you for all you do and may the New Year bring you many blessings and joy.

In Solidarity,

Dominic Marsano, President
State Council of Professional Educators

SCOPE Executive Board Meeting: December 13, 2014

Posted on December 2, 2014 by scope

SCOPE’s Executive Board Meeting will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Central OEA Office (947 Goodale Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212).

If you would like to have an item added to the agenda, please contact Diane Prettyman, SCOPE Secretary, at 614-562-5119.

SCOPE Executive Board Meeting: October 9, 2014

Posted on October 6, 2014 by scope

SCOPE’s Executive Board Meeting will be held on October 9, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. at the Central OEA Office (947 Goodale Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212).

If you would like to have an item added to the agenda, please contact Diane Prettyman, SCOPE Secretary, at 614-562-5119.

SCOPE Election Results 2014

Posted on August 15, 2014 by scope

In May, ballots were counted for the 2014 SCOPE election. Here are the results:

SCOPE Vice President: Betsy Lavinder (88 votes)

SCOPE Treasurer: Marianne Huffman (89 votes)

Proposed Constitution & By-Laws Change: Yes (60 votes); No (36 votes)

OEA Delegates (7 slots available):

1. Tammy Koontz (63 votes)

2. Jack Rosenberry (63 votes)

3. Cindy Price (61 votes)

4. Todd Dygert (60 votes)

5. Bruce Moore (58 votes)

6. Gretchen Hull (56 votes)

7. Janet Carter (53 votes)

Chuck Steinbower–Alternate (52 votes)

David Keck–Alternate (1 vote)

Al Glitch–Alternate (1 vote)

William Robb–Alternate (1 vote)

Blair Copeland–Alternate (1 vote)

Yolanda Battle–Alternate (1 vote)

NEA Delegates (3 slots available):

1. Dominic Marsano (54 votes)

2. Tammy Koontz (42 votes)

3. Bruce Moore (40 votes)

Gretchen Hull–Alternate (36 votes)

Jack Rosenberry–Alternate (31 votes)

Cindy Price–Alternate (29 votes)

Todd Dygert–Alternate (24 votes)

Janet Carter–Alternate (20 votes)

David Keck–Alternate (1 vote)

Al Glitch–Alternate (1 vote)

Blair Copeland–Alternate (1 vote)

Executive Board:

OSSD (1 seat): Jen Bahary

OSSB (1 seat): Chris Ross

DYS (1 seat): Nola Derheimer

MISC (1 seat): Evan Struble

DRC (5 seats): Tammy Koontz, Jack Rosenberry, Bruce Moore, Todd Dygert, Diana Jackson

Congratulations to those elected or re-elected, and a hearty “thank you” to our SCOPE Elections Chair, Sally Kendall, and to all SCOPE members that voted!