Tuscola Paraprofessionals Union

01/11/2024

Make sure to get a copy of The Couny Chronicle. TESPA’s response to Tuscola CUSD Board’s statement.
“Since Mr. Spillman stated that this decision came from every Board member, we requested to speak to the Board in closed session at the Board meeting. The Board denied our request to speak to them professionally and in private. We chose to speak publicly since neither the Board's negotiation committee, nor the Board members were willing to listen. In fact, the Board had a prepared statement ready immediately after we spoke at the Board meeting. The Board took no time to listen, reflect on, and discuss what we had to say.”

12/21/2023

Twas the week before winter break,
when all through the school,
Tuscola CUSD 301 admin were not keeping their cool.
“Respect the school paras? Well, that’s not OUR onus!
Let’s make a cut to their healthcare! Take away their bonus!”
But the paras responded, “You’ve sure got some nerve.
We’ll fight till we get the respect we deserve.”

Tuscola CUSD 301, don’t be a Grinch!!! Solidarity with Tuscola Paraprofessionals Union (TESPA).

12/20/2023

“It's hard to call this a negotiation though, at our last meeting (Nov 30th), we were met with crossed arms, no note taking, and the meeting amounting to 18 minutes because the board told us their answer was no."
Make sure to grab a copy of this week’s County Chronicle!

12/18/2023

Please come on out to the board meeting at the East Praire Auditorium tonight at 7:00. The Paras will be speaking about how the over $1000.00 cut in insurance benefits and taking away our Christmas bonus is affecting us this Christmas season. Wear red in support!

12/15/2023

Check out some of our Northward Paras going above and beyond to make sure our Tuscola students have a memorable holiday season!

11/13/2023

How fun on Friday to see Mrs. Hemingway honored in this way! ❤️❤️ All the paras at Northward now have a “Pam Hemingway” fannie pack! She’s had one for years and Mr. Wallace thought we all needed one….as we take care of students at recess and lunch with our band aids, Kleenex and Tiger Cards, we’ll always remember Mrs. Hemingway’s love and care for her students 💛 🐯 🖤 🐯 💛

03/01/2023

A great big THANK YOU to Downtown Design for the t-shirt fundraiser they did for TESPA! We appreciate your support!
And thank you to everyone who bought t-shirts! We will proudly wear them 💛🖤💛
Thanks also goes out to Liz Koehn for heading this up! Your hard work is appreciated ❤️

12/16/2022

Merry Christmas from the Paras! We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your families!

12/07/2022

The TESPA negotiation team met with the Tuscola school board and Mr. Alexander for a mediation meeting last night that lasted five hours. Upcoming steps will be discussed over the next week.

We would like to thank our parents, community members and teammates for their support and encouragement through this process.

12/04/2022

TESPA welcomes "thoughts, prayers, and best wishes" for a productive meeting as we look forward to our mediation session with the Board on December 6. We feel confident that both parties can come to a compromise.

12/01/2022

🚨 Tuscola School District 301 has lost more than 40% of its paraprofessionals to
neighboring districts and businesses like McDonalds, Loves and Old Navy that pay more.

🚨 TESPA represents paraprofessionals or paras, who work with the most vulnerable students (those with IEPs, behavioral challenges and autism).

🚨 TESPA and the Tuscola BOE's latest contract proposals are just 14 CENTS an hour apart.

Fair contract NOW!

Please COMMENT & SHARE this post to support members of the Tuscola Paraprofessionals Union (TESPA)!

🚨 Tuscola School District 301 has lost more than 40% of its paraprofessionals to
neighboring districts and businesses like McDonalds, Loves and Old Navy that pay more.

🚨 TESPA represents paraprofessionals or paras, who work with the most vulnerable students (those with IEPs, behavioral challenges and autism).

🚨 TESPA and the Tuscola BOE's latest contract proposals are just 14 CENTS an hour apart.

Fair contract NOW!

11/30/2022

https://tespa22.itemorder.com/shop/home/

T-shirts are now available online!