From Alan:
March 4, 2007From The Board:
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing for several reasons. There have been many reactions and much “chatter” on the SLP List Serve about the unfortunate turn of events with regard to the SLP Salary Supplement. Several RISHA Executive Board Members and DeAnne Owre (ASHA Vice President for Governmental and Social Policies) met to formulate a response to Governor Carcieri’s cutting the money from the budget that was allocated for the salary supplement. This letter is available for you to view on the website. Letters to the Governor and your local Senators and Representatives were also written and are available for you to download and send to each of them. DeAnne has also contacted ASHA and those letters will be available for ASHA members to download as well.
Secondly, I have been advised that another effective way to address this issue is to call the Governor’s office directly to express your opinions.
Thirdly, I have consulted a lawyer about this issue to investigate any recourse that the school SLP’s may have. He suggested that they contact the House and Senate finance committees to request that the money be restored to the budget. He also spoke of the possibility of filing a class action suit on behalf of the school-based SLP’s. There would be some amount of money that each SLP would have to contribute and there would always be the possibility that they could lose the case….something to think about!
In other news, the Executive Board has authorized RISHA’s own list serve that would be accessed by a password for RISHA members only. We have added a “RISHA News” tab on our homepage. Soon it will take you to a blogspot to read current news. In the near future, members will be able to access the membership which will also be password protected. In addition, the Executive Board has authorized RISHA to use “PayPal” when members renew their membership online and it will also be available to pay for conferences as well.
I will keep you informed of any turn of events as they arise.
Sincerely,
Alan Gravell
February 28, 2007
Hon. Governor Donald L. Carcieri
Office of the Governor
State House, Room 222
Providence, RI 02903
Dear Governor Carcieri:
This letter is being sent to you pursuant to your recent budgetary adjustments which eliminated the salary stipend for school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
As you know, an amount of $265,000 was included in the 2007 annual budget to provide salary supplements of $1,750 for each qualified SLP (§ 16-25.3-2). The purpose of the bill was to provide recognition for the high national standards required by ASHA for school-based SLPs. ASHA certification assures that the most highly qualified professionals provide speech-language intervention to students in Rhode Island schools. This certification includes an average of 65 graduate credits, a competitive national examination, a clinical fellowship year, and required ongoing professional development.
Classroom teachers have a similar national certification which is also based on providing highly qualified service. Throughout Rhode Island, salary supplements in the range of $2000 to $6000 annually are granted to teachers holding the Master Teacher Award. To this date, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) does not provide awards to speech-language pathologists.
The salary supplement addressed in the 2007 budget was a means of providing recognition, attracting the most highly qualified professionals, and giving incentive for non-certified individuals to obtain and maintain this status.
Some of our communities have dispersed funds in accordance with the 2007 budget. Individuals in other communities have been anticipating these funds. Even in an agreement as simple as a game of checkers, no one expects to change the rules after the game begins. You eliminated not only the financial reward but also the recognition built into the law. Furthermore, the incentive to meet the higher professional standards has been dashed.
We encourage you to reexamine and reconsider your action, and we are available and eager to meet with you in this regard.
Yours truly,
Alan W. Gravell, M.S., CCC-SLP
RISHA President
DeAnne Owre, M.S., CCC-SLP
ASHA Vice President for
Governmental and Social Policies
Marcia Ide McOsker, M.S., CCC-SLP
RISHA Past President RISHA
Thomas M. Landry, M.S., CCC-SLP
Governmental Affairs Chair
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