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WE ARE YOUR TEACHERS
Help us make a difference
It looks to have been a good election for public schools in Indiana. The supermajority is no more; 21 total legislative seats flipped and the new breakdown is 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats in the State House, with the Senate coming in at 35 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Congratulations to all the winners; including the two new School Board members for FWCS!
ATTENTION TEACHERS:
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The HSA associated with your high-deductible health insurance is NOT changing to an employee match at this time. Any change to this plan is bargainable and subject to Board approval.
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The closing of the Auburn Road Wellness Center still leaves the Catalpa FWCS clinic as well as seven shared Parkview clinics; FWCS did not own the Auburn Road facility. Services should be the same at Catalpa and the shared Parkview clinics; the only caveat to that is that the free medication lists can be different. That means that some teachers may need to travel to the Catalpa clinic to pick up their medication at no cost.
The 2025-27 FWEA/FWCS contract is available on the "Information for Members" page
ISTA has terminated two UniServ employees who happened to be the president and vice-president of PSO - ISTA directly falsified information from FWEA's president to support the termination. This now heads to arbitration, where our dues dollars will be used to try to make the termination (i.e. union busting) stand. Objective arbitration should restore their positions, but the dollars ISTA spends on this cannot be restored.
Don't forget - No Teacher Hours!
The 2026 legislative session removed hours from the regular teacher contract as of July 1, 2026 - what that means is that teachers can't count on an 8-hour work day or regular daily hours. Since there are no longer "contract hours" there isn't any way to determine a teacher's hourly rate, which is how many extracurricular duties are compensated (such as summer school) This change will have a significant impact on the working conditions of teachers in Indiana (anyone have a second job or family responsibilities?), and it will have a negative impact on teacher recruitment and retention in this state (and, yes, there is currently a teacher shortage). Teachers should check with their districts and school boards to find out if their local will continue to support an 8-hour work day for teachers (and put it in writing).
At the FWEA RA in May, members unanimously voted to approve a no confidence vote regarding the ISTA Executive Director, Nate Williams, and the ISTA president, Jennifer Smith-Margraf. Read the letter here.
How does Indiana fund public education? Where did the $ go?
The annual 2026 Labor Day Picnic at Headwaters Park was another big success!
Tulu the Wonderdog kept everyone entertained while FWEA 1st VP Jessica Farlow rubbed elbows with congressional candidate Kelly Thompson!
Watch this video to learn how reinstating full bargaining rights for Indiana's teachers will help turn around the state's growing teacher shortage and make stronger, healthier, and more successful public schools for all Hoosier children: teacher working conditions are student learning conditions!
Important info about the new ISTA license plate - some plates were printed without the necessary county number. The BMV will correct this error by providing corrected plates at no cost.
Mark your calendars: The annual holiday event with Santa (a collaborative event between FWEA, EAEA, and SACTA) will be Saturday, December 12th this year!
​Ongoing and Upcoming Events
The Meet the Candidate event for FWCS School Board candidates at the downtown library on Saturday, October 10, was recorded. Check out the library's public access channel if you weren't able to attend.
The contract reopener meeting between FWEA and FWCS is scheduled for October 27th. Unofficial bargaining for the 2027-2029 contract will begin in late spring of 2027.
Do you have student loans?
Thinking of retirement?
Travis Schuman's Horace Mann workshops can answer all your questions - check the schedule under the "Information for Members" tab.
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