Mike Matthews for DSEA Executive Board

Last week, the DSEA Executive Board endorsed Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long in the three-way Democratic Primary for governor by a vote of 18 yes, 5 no, and 1 abstention. In my role as Executive Board member from New Castle County, I asked a number of questions during our last few Board meetings, seeking clarity on some alarming campaign finance news over the last year where $200,000 of Lt. Gov. Hall-Long's campaign monies were called into question in a series of articles by WHYY's Cris Barrish.

Barrish's reporting has been exhaustive. And truly concerning through a fiscal transparency lens. I will not get into all of the details of those articles here...they are linked in the comments. However, I have not been satisfied with Lt. Gov. Hall-Long's offering up amended campaign finance reports as "proof" that there was no wrongdoing.

Delaware has extremely lax campaign finance laws that require little to no accounting or oversight on the transactions that are entered into the reports. So, quite frankly, making $200,000 worth of amendments to YEARS of campaign finance reports should not be taken as gospel that everything is h***y dory. I asked DSEA leadership to ask the Hall-Long campaign for receipts such as credit card statements or canceled checks to verify the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in amended transactions; these receipts were not provided.

I will not go into further details via a Facebook post. All I will say is I was prepared to make a motion of "no endorsement," but an endorsement for Lt. Gov. Hall-Long had already been made and there was no reason to believe a majority of members of the Board would have supported my substitute motion.

The reason I'm posting this is because I support democracy. As a member of the DSEA Executive Board, I will support the endorsement in my Board capacity, but I cannot in my individual capacity. I have been approached by many members over the last few months about this gubernatorial campaign. Many of our members are supporting Lt. Gov. Hall-Long. Other members are supporting Matt Meyer, Collin O'Mara, or the GOP candidates. And that's OK. There have been many times my own preferences haven't aligned with our union and we move on.

The difference here is that DSEA is, I believe, the gold standard for union endorsements in Delaware. However, I'm definitely biased. I do not believe that Lt. Gov. Hall-Long's campaign satisfactorily responded to either the Barrish articles or requests to provide more detailed information on the transactions of her amended finance reports. If even a scintilla of the Barrish reporting is true, then I do not believe Lt. Gov. Hall-Long holds the integrity needed to be our next governor.

Yes, that's a truly difficult thing for me to say, as I have long respected Lt. Gov. Hall-Long's advocacy work in Delaware and I believe she still has many great things to do for our state. For me, transparency and integrity are key characteristics in any of our elected officials and I believe that is missing from the campaign of our now-endorsed candidate.

This will be my final public posting on this endorsement. If DSEA MEMBERS from New Castle County would like to chat with me in my role as their representative to the Board, then I would love to do so. If you are not pleased with this vote (or any vote by our Board!) then it's imperative you use the tools of democracy to contact your county's Board members and ask them any questions you may have. And then, when elections for either leadership or Board seats come up, vote...vote...vote!

And one more thing: If you want to do something, contact your Representative and Senator about Rep. Eric Morrison's EXCELLENT HB 292, which would require the Department of Elections to review EVERY political committee's contribution and expense reports. This would go a long way towards building trust and transparency in our state's campaign finance system. Link in the comments.

Have a great summer, everyone!

Delaware gov. candidate Bethany Hall Long has taken $25,000 in donations that exceed legal limit A review by WHYY News found that more than 30 donors, including unregistered PACS, have given Bethany Hall-Long more than the $1,200 allowed by law.

In recent weeks, there have been a number of concerns raised over the state’s plan to turn retirees’ Medicare over to a private entity known as Medicare Advantage, which would be run through Highmark. I have heard from dozens of retirees and current educator members within DSEA. I asked folks for their questions in a thread on my DSEA page last week and I went to yesterday’s DSEA Executive Board with those questions. I believe it’s critical that all elected representatives avail themselves to our constituents on a regular basis and report back to them on matters impacting their jobs and salary and benefits.

Our meeting yesterday included Cerron Cade, who is the Director of the Office of Management Budget, the state office that oversees a number of critical state functions, including preparation of a budget and adaptation and implementation of fiscal and management policies and procedures (Thanks to OMB’s handy-dandy “About Us” page for that info!). Director Cade gave a presentation on what the switch to Medicare Advantage would entail and how it would ultimately benefit, in his mind, current retirees and those to come.

After finishing his presentation, Director Cade took questions from DSEA’s Executive Board members. Let me first say that Director Cade was engaging and willing to answer all questions. While I didn’t necessarily agree with his presentation and interpretation of what this move will mean for Delaware’s retirees, I appreciate when people show up and are willing to engage in discussion and debate.

I asked several questions related to the provider networks and requirements for prior authorizations. Regarding prior authorizations, Director Cade shared his confidence that the prior authorization process would not result in a large number of denials of service to retirees requiring procedures.He shared that the only procedures that should be denied are those truly lacking in what the industry calls “medical necessity.” He gave several examples over the course of the meeting about a doctor requesting surgery for a patient that could get the same results by going to physical therapy instead.

On the topics of providers, this was a little hairier. In his presentation and in his responses, he made clear that retirees can still see any provider they want, even if they’re no longer in the Medicare Advantage network. Here’s where communication matters, and I respectfully challenged Director Cade on this point. While retirees may be able to go to an out-of-network doctor, they will likely have to pay out-of-pocket costs that are far higher because the providers refuse to negotiate reimbursement rates that are too low for them to remain in the network. It’s kind of like “Yeah, you can still go to your doctor, but will have to pay out-of-pocket for any expenses above the usual and customary rates as established by Medicare Advantage.” So, to my mind and in effect, this is not a positive for retirees. How will a reduced number of providers really serve retirees?

Now…Director Cade did share a positive piece of information related to this. He shared that as of recently, 93% of Original Medicare providers here in Delaware have agreed to join the Medicare Advantage network. And, he believes that as we got closer to the start date of January 1 (NOTE: This has now been pushed back a year) that the gap between 93% and 100% would have closed. I have known Cerron for a long time, so I trust him when he says 93% of Medicare providers have signed up, which I do believe is a substantial number.

New information (to me) was addressed during this meeting. One of the reasons the SEBC decided to move to Medicare Advantage was the number of state retirees who didn’t work a full 30 years, so they need to pay a premium, whereas 30-year employees (I like to call them “lifers” ha!) don’t have to pay a premium. The SEBC saw Medicare Advantage as one way to level the playing field for the retirees who maybe worked 10 or 15 years so that they wouldn’t have to pay those premiums. On that charge, I like the state’s thinking. However, “lifers” get into state employment knowing the salaries they make will likely be less than those in the private sector. They take the job and stick with it knowing full well they will receive a quality pension and healthcare for life for limited cost on their own. I view this move as breaking the social contract with the people who’ve invested their lives in the state and who deserve better than this plan.

Where the conversation took a turn is that is the Medicare Advantage deal is called off (it has been for a year, per an SEBC vote yesterday), then the state will likely have to pick up the costs of $7 million per month (or $84 million per year). It was highly suggested that this now unexpected cost for the state budget COULD impact spending elsewhere. Where could those spending cuts come from? Who knows? Could they touch salary increases? Could they cut positions in our schools? This is why I left yesterday’s meeting so exhausted. There are no easy answers.

I still believe the state failed to do an adequate job at providing notice to stakeholders that this was coming. I’ve always believed that communicating with intentionality is key when large-scale changes that could impact the well-being of people are on the table. I support the RISE Delaware lawsuit because a change of this magnitude should have been rolled out with greater amounts of targeted and intentional engagement. By that measure, the move to Medicare Advantage fails that simple test.

I will refrain from spending too much time with my more political, pointed, and critical take on privatizing a public good like Medicare. In my eyes, no good can come from replacing Medicare with an entity like Highmark, which may be a non-profit, but whose CEO was paid a salary of nearly $8 million in 2020. How many procedures had to be denied for him to earn that? People are rightly fed up with health insurance schemes and scams in America. When they demand that a guarantee like their Original Medicare not be touched, we should listen to them. And we should take a more holistic approach to ensuring the solvency of our retirement healthcare fund instead of the route the state opted to take.

Over the last few weeks, I've heard from a number of retired and current educators who've shared their concerns about the state switching to a Medicare Advantage plan for retiree healthcare. The state will be moving to this new plan effective January 1.

I will be completely honest and tell you I still have lots of questions about the plan. One of my biggest concerns lies, however, with the lack of notification stakeholders across the state received about this process. This could have all been handled a lot better if the state had spoken with intentionality at the beginning to alert retirees (and future retirees!) that this was an option so that organization and mobilization could have happened BEFORE the state signed a contract with Highmark to be our Medicare Advantage vendor.

I need your questions. At the October 24th DSEA Executive Board meeting, the state will be giving our Board a presentation about the plan. They will, presumably, also be answering questions. Please feel free to private message me your questions or leave them right here.

Our retirees deserve assurances that they will not be victim to onerous pre-authorization processes or the potential loss of providers that they know and trust for their care.

In Solidarity,

Mike

***A new evaluation system is being proposed for teachers. 2021-22 will be a pilot year, with expected STATEWIDE ROLLOUT in the 2022-23 school year. This is related to HB 133.
I would urge all of our members to log in to PDMS and sign up for training #29497, an informational session on this proposed evaluation system. There are three dates:

April 29, 4pm
May 10, 4:30pm
May 25, 4:30

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY.

THIS IS ONLY FOR TEACHERS. Specialists would not be covered under this new evaluation system.***

Yesterday, DSEA held its annual Representative Assembly. Delegates from around the state attended our business meeting virtually for the second year in a row. While a virtual meeting can never compare to seeing our friends in-person, the meeting went so smoothly and was an engaging mix of speeches from leadership and awardees as well as business done on behalf of our organization.

We passed bylaw amendments, a two-year budget, a legislative agenda, debated a New Business Item on lobbying for the right for Delaware educators to strike, and elected a whole host of members to serve on the DSEA Executive Board and as delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly for two-year terms.

DSEA will soon report out to the membership as a whole the specifics of the annual meeting. And, it's my hope that more members will consider attending the Representative Assembly in the coming years. And, even more importantly, it's time to get involved in your local association and be the voice that your members and students need advocating for the best schools possible!

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

In my 12 years as an active union member, one of the most asked questions I get is “How can we be a union if we can’t even strike?” While the right for educators to strike was taken away four decades ago, events in recent years — and, in particular, the COVID pandemic — have revealed that educators have lost an amount of leverage that could force key decision makers to listen to our concerns more clearly. Giving up the right to strike so long ago may have made sense then — but no longer.

Striking should be rare and saved for only the most dire of circumstances. Considering we are talking life and death right now, I firmly believe the right to organize and strike to ensure our schools do not open a second too soon should be provided to all educators across the state.

As a member of the DSEA Executive Board, I will work this year to see to it that the right to strike plays a part in our legislative agenda. The right to take this kind of work action strikes at the heart of the rights of labor.

If you are a DSEA member, please reach out to your local and state leadership and urge them to support this addition to the legislative agenda when it comes before the Representative Assembly in March.

Representing the members from New Castle County on the DSEA Executive Board, I want you to know I’ve heard from dozens of you over the last two weeks about the need to maintain the safest learning environments for students. Based on the feedback I received, I sent a brief email to DSEA President Stephanie Ingram letting her know our position should be that we go fully remote to lessen potential of infections in our schools as case rates soar across the country and, in particular, Delaware.

DSEA has fought hard to put student and educator safety first and we all will continue to do so. Remember: When you ask “What is the union doing?” you are the union. WE ARE THE UNION. Continue contacting your school boards. Your state representative and Senator. The Governor.

Our monthly DSEA Executive Board meeting is next week. I will continue to share my position, based on the overwhelming number of messages I’ve received, urging us to go fully remote until the case numbers reduce dramatically.

Please also know I fully respect both sides of this debate and understand why some of our members are advocating for returning to schools more quickly. There are strong feelings on either side of the debate and I would welcome hearing from those folks too — and I have heard from some.

I’m attaching here the list of DSEA Executive Board members. Learn their names. Reach out to them with your thoughts. They represent you at the state level of our union.

In the meantime, please everyone stay safe. And always feel free to reach out.

DSEA Executive Board | Delaware State Education Association Our physical office spaces are closed; all DSEA staff have moved to remote work environments indefinitely. You can still contact staff at our regular office numbers (Dover: 734-5834, Newark: 366-8440, & Toll-Free 866-734-5834 ) and email addresses. If you aren’t sure who to email, call the respect...

Another document shared at our Exec Board meeting this morning.

At our October DSEA Exec Board meeting, this was share. Please share widely.

Hey, everyone! I really need to update this page more.

So, I'm now officially on the DSEA Executive Board. Our first meeting is September 21. Do you have any issues or concerns you'd like me to take to the meeting? Think statewide. If your issue is something that's happening across the state, then it may be something that can be brought to DSEA. Our union works hard to make sure we have the working conditions to meet our students' needs.

I'd love to hear your thoughts below.

I had this truly awful thought earlier today. I visited about 100 schools in my time as DSEA president. Some of the schools were in amazing condition, while most of the schools I visited were clearly in major states of disrepair because, let's face it, most schools here in Delaware were built decades ago under different standards. I talked to educators up and down the state who would tell me about old buildings, nasty classrooms, and how some school districts would never go to referendum to make improvements because the voters wouldn't go for it.

Now we find ourselves in this crisis, with many community members demanding we return to schools. I'm going to put this bluntly -- too many of our schools are just gross. They have not been invested in to make sure HVAC systems and ventilation systems are good EVEN IN TIMES WITH NO PANDEMIC. How can we expect districts and the state to make these needed upgrades FOR OUR HEALTH in just a few short weeks? I truly fear for the physical state of too many of these buildings and how that will impact the health of students and educators.

Let's put COVID aside -- in general, our state has failed to invest in these community assets to bring them up to the 21st-century standard that communities deserve. And now we are confronted with the ultimate test of whether or not these hubs of learning can even keep us safe.

I think we should all be concerned. If you're concerned, then email your school board today. Email the governor today. Email your state representative and senator today. Demand that they take the physical structures of our school buildings seriously. With over 200 schools in this state, I imagine it would cost hundreds of millions or even a billion dollars to bring them up to where they need to be.

But aren't our students and our educators worth it?

My school district, Red Clay, today released the results of a survey that went out to its stakeholders a few weeks ago. Did your school district survey folks? I'll be interested in seeing if results are similar across the state.

Summary of Red Clay's Reopening Survey 2020-07-24 (1).pdf