Classified Senate President
Nagel received a letter from President Wefald thanking Classified Senate
for it's positive and focused leadership on campus. In the letter President
Wefald indicated that he is transferring money to Classified Senate
to be used at the Senate's discretion to cover expenses incurred throughout
the year. President Wefald's letter is an excellent indication that
Administration is acknowledging the hard work of Classified Senate and
that we are making a positive impact on campus.
On August 28, 2007 a scoping meeting was held in Forum Hall at KSU for
the proposed site for locating the National Bio-Agro Defense Facility
(NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas on the campus of Kansas State University.
The purpose of this scoping meeting was to gather public comments on
the issues and alternatives to be considered from federal agencies,
state and local governments, Native American tribes, and other interested
individuals and organizations in considering Manhattan as a location
for NBAF. The information that was gathered then is analyzed to determine
the potential for significant impacts to the environment and is put
into a draft known as an Environmental Impact Statement or EIS. About
40 persons presented oral statements to the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). The Senate did not take a stance, for or against NBAF, but presented
the positive impact a facility like this could make to K-State, Manhattan
and the surrounding communities while pointing out some concerns that
classified employees had expressed. Attached is Nagel's statement made
to DHS. Public comments will be accepted through September 28 for the
NBAF EIS. These can be submitted at http://.dhs.gov/nbaf
(click on Public Involvement). After a draft EIS is prepared, more
public comments will be gathered. A final draft EIS will be prepared
and again public comments will be gathered. It is expected that a decision
on where the new facility will be located will be made in fall of 2008.
Kansas State Classified Senate will host a second meeting of the Kansas
Council of Classified Senates on November 5, 2007 at the KSU alumni
center. The Regents Senates will meet to develop a unified position
paper to present to the state legislators on Legislative Day, which
is yet to be determined. Our Classified Senate would like to discuss
at this meeting how the Regents schools can form a more united front
on important issues, such as the state pay system.
The Campus Affairs Committee announced they will have a booth at the
Benefits Fair which will be held on October 4, 2007 in the Main Ballroom
of the Student Union. Campus Affairs will pass out any materials or
information that other committees on Senate would like distributed to
classified employees. The committee reported they received information
from HR regarding the above step hires and the conversion of classified
positions to unclassified over the past seven years. Campus Affairs
has discussed this information within their committee, but there are
different opinions on what to do with this information. The committee
would like some direction from the Senate as to what to do with this
information. A budget forum is being planned in coordination with the
KSU budget office for later this fall. The budget forum will provide
an opportunity for classified employees to learn how the budget process
works, how money is received from the state and is distributed, and
how positions are funded. There will also be a question and answer period.
As details about the budget forum are available information will be
distributed. The next meeting is September 19 noon - 1pm in 107 Ackert.
The Legislative Affairs Committee passed out a copy of the proposed
by-law changes and reviewed those changes with the Senate. One of the
major changes involves changing the Senator terms to 4 years and officer
terms to 2 years. The Senate will have the month of September to make
any comments or submit changes to Connie Kissee before the October meeting.
The proposed changes will be voted on at the October meeting. The Legislative
Affairs Committee reported that the next Oversight Commission meeting
concerning the new pay system is September 7th in Topeka. The Commission
is expected to present the proposal for a new system at this meeting.
Those persons wanting to attend the meeting should contact Kissee at
wildcats@ksu.edu or 532-0551.
Legislative Affairs Committee co-chair Marlene Walker updated the Senate
on the meeting Barb Nagel (President), Janel Harder (Vice President),
Jennyfer Owensby (President-Elect), Connie Kissee (co-chair Legislative
Affairs Committee) and Marlene Walker (co-chair Legislative Affairs
Committee) had with legislators Tom Hawk and Roger Reitz. Reitz shared
that he has not heard from very many people concerning the pay system
issue and those he has heard from were not in favor or a merit system.
He expressed that in his mind classified employees must be happy with
their pay and the current system since he is not seeing persons picking
or protesters up in arms about the situation. The Classified Senators
in attendance shared that a petition will be drafted once the Oversight
Commission has made their recommendation on a new pay system. He agreed
that this would be an effective tool to target those legislators who
represent the different classified employees at K-State. The Legislative
Affairs Committee is working on how to get this petition to be a state
wide endeavor. Hawk asked the Classified Senators in attendance, "What
are the items that you would like to see in a new pay system?"
The Classified Senators agreed that a new pay system must put salaries
first on the State Ways & Means Committee docket so funding is guaranteed,
salaries should be market based for everyone, supervisors should have
to attend mandatory training for evaluating classified employees and
there should be some flexibility for merit based on performance. Hawk
& Reitz both stressed that personal letters from constituents with
real examples of how they are personally being affected by the current
pay system is the best way to for constituents to convey their message
to legislators.
The Recognition Ceremony Committee reported that the Recognition Ceremony
will be April 2, 2008. Dean Lori Goetsch will be the guest speaker.
The committee is reviewing the procedures for selecting the Classified
Employees of the Year. A survey/questionnaire will be available at the
Senate's booth at the Benefits Fair to gather input from classified
employees about the selection process of the Employees of the Year.
The next meeting is September 6 noon -1pm in KSSU Stateroom #3.
The Public Relations Committee reported that a notice was sent to all
classified employees that the August issue of the ROAR was available
on line at: http://www.k-state.edu/class-senate/Aug07_roar.pdf
Hard copies were sent to classified employees in facilities and housing
& dining. If you know of someone who does not have access to a computer
or did not receive a hard copy please contact Melissa Linenberger (
mwaso@ksu.edu 532-4392) or
Lois Schreiner ( lschrein@ksu.edu
532-1267). The next ROAR will go out in November. The Public
Relations Committee is wanting to highlight a classified employee in
the next issue. If you have any suggestions on a classified person to
highlight contact Melissa or Lois.
President-Elect Jennyfer Owensby contacted the Student Senate to discuss
the possibility of a classified representative sitting on their Senate.
The Student Senate didn't really like the idea of a classified person
formally being on their Senate, but welcomed attendance by classified
employees to any meeting which is held each Thursday at 7pm. The Student
Senate was interested in improving communications with Classified Senate.
Minutes and meeting agendas from each Senate will be shared with the
other.
The next meeting of Classified Senate is October 3rd in KSSU Staterooms
1&2 at 12:45pm.