Kim Fidler elected to serve national organization post

Friday, January 30, 2015
Kim Fidler

While attending a recent conference in Pomona, Calif., Kim Fidler was elected vice president of the National Association of Professional Bargainers.

Fidler, who resides in Greencastle, serves as the ISTA UniServe director for Vigo County, Southwest Sullivan, Northeast Corporation, South Knox, North Knox and Shakamak schools.

"When I started teaching Spanish I-IV at South Putnam High School 24 years ago, in the 1990-91 school year, I could not have imagined the changes that would take place in public education and the legislation surrounding public education," Fidler said. "I was always very involved in the association and bargaining team for the master contract. I was not, of course, the spokesperson for the bargaining team as a non-permanent teacher, but was part of the process.

"During the last seven years of my teaching career, I become the local president of the association, after making my way through the ranks as treasurer, secretary, etc. I had always loved lobbying the legislature and became active in campaigning for local candidates. "

Fidler also became involved in Delta Kappa Gamma, a society of women educators. She served as president of the Epsilon Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma and has served on the Legislative Committee. She attends the Delta Kappa Gamma Legislative Day in Indianapolis each year.

"It was through these connections that I was asked to apply for an intern program with the Indiana State Teachers Association," Fidler said. "I was hired as a UniServ director in 2006, in an office in Jasper. I bargained contracts for members, represented members, and continued to work with legislators in Southern Indiana.

"At the time, I worked with 13 different school corporations. That eventually became 17 different school corporations. During the 2006-10 years, funding was the main priority when lobbying the legislature. It was not until 2011, when I had moved back to Central Indiana to work with school corporations in the area that we were hit with legislation that would change the look of public education in more ways than anyone could know."

Mitch Daniels was governor and Tony Bennett was state superintendent of public instruction, she noted, as laws were passed in 2011 that limited what could be bargained or formally discussed.

"Laws were passed that opened the door to charter schools and vouchers for public schools," Fidler said. "Teachers were to be evaluated and ranked in one of four categories, based upon an evaluation developed by the Indiana Department of Education under Dr. Bennett. Schools were to receive a letter grade of A-F. Furthermore, funding to public schools was drastically cut. Money was taken from traditional public schools to fund charter schools and vouchers."

Fidler recently completed my eighth year with the ISTA as a UniServ director. She had the opportunity to attend the SERSA (State Education Research Staff Association) and NAPB (National Association of Professional Bargainers) Conference Dec. 2-5 in Pomona, Calif. While at the conference, Fidler was elected to serve as vice president of the NAPB.

"The main goal of the conference is to give everyone salary, wage and benefits information," she explained. "It provides wonderful opportunities to network with other UniServ directors from across the United States. Of greatest importance was the presentation of information on the Affordable Care Act and how to bargain benefits for teachers under the act. Merit pay and high-stakes testing were also hot topics."

Fidler looks forward to serving the NAPB as the vice president and having a role in planning the 2015 conference.

Currently Fidler works with custodians and secretaries in Vigo County. She also works with the teachers in Vigo County, Southwest Sullivan, Northeast School Corporation, South Knox, North Knox and Shakamak.

"Due to the large number of education-related bills during the 2015 legislative session, I will be certified as a lobbyist for ISTA in order to work with legislators on these bills," she said.

Fidler also serves on the board of directors for Spencer Pride and was named Volunteer of the Year for her work with the organization in 2014.

"I continue to dream of getting a PhD," she said. "Time has been the issue with this goal. My daughter, Chelsea is 21 and a senior at IUPUI in Indianapolis. My son Denny is 18 and a senior at Cloverdale High School. He plans to attend Lincoln Tech to become a diesel mechanic.

"I believe that the most difficult part of moving forward with all of the changes that have occurred, besides working with teachers in public schools every day and seeing the wonderful work that they do while facing so much scrutiny and stress, is that I cannot encourage my own children to enter the teaching profession. With the lack of respect and amount of demands made on teachers today, it is no surprise that fewer higher education students are becoming teachers.

"I owe everything to public education and to my wonderful teachers," Fidler added. "They are the reason that I do what I do every day. I hope to see the day when the pendulum swings in the opposite direction."

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