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PALs Update Dear PALs, I attended the Town Hall meeting in San Clemente on Mon., April 12. It was very informative and a way to hear directly from the teachers and three of the Capo school district board members: Ellen Addonzio, Larry Christensen and Anna Bryson. The biggest issue discussed was that the teachers seemed to be upset about the permanent nature of the imposed contract. Members of the union board were invited to attend, but they declined. As this has been a topic of debate, I am including part of an email from the parents who worked so hard to make the town hall meeting a way to bring our divided community together. "For the record, after attending the Board Meeting last night, we were disappointed to learn from teachers district-wide that they were being told by CUEA, that we did not invite them to our Town Hall Meeting either with advance notice or at all. We would like to set the record straight. We did indeed invite the CUEA Board and would be happy to provide the supporting records (if you are interested). Nobody was more disappointed than we were to learn that the CUEA Board would not attend.” Respectfully, I also attended the board meeting on Tuesday. There was an hour of open comments. Most of the speakers were teachers, parents and a few well-spoken students who wanted the board to go back and negotiate with the union. They spoke mostly to the permanent vs. temporary nature of the contract. Some other speakers discussed that students should be in school and let the adults deal with the problem. Right after the open comment drama, much of the audience left the board room. It was enlightening to see that some of the hundreds of people waiting outside filtered into the board room, but there were still plenty of seats. It was unfortunate that some left the room before Ron Lebs gave an update of the budget, including potential program cuts and the way the district will determine those cuts. Mr. Lebs explained they have had to cut $50M over the past years and another $34M for the 10/11 school year. They created a list of four questions to ask a variety of district employees to help them decide what could be cut.
Readers can visit the district website to download the 4-13-10 agenda and look up item 43. There is a list of what the district is considering. Some of the items include: eliminate summer school; reduce Driver's Ed; suspend expulsions (so they can capture ADA); reduce purchase and supply and printing requests; and eliminate multi-student family discount rates for busing, to name a few. Tuesday was also a student sick out. It was started by parents. Most teachers did not condone this. As I emailed on Monday, the ADA cut off was March 19. However, absences can affect categorical funding from the state and federal government. Here is one article: According to the district information: The biggest issue for the teachers is temporary vs. permanent [pay cuts]. The union wants the district to follow the fact finder's suggestion of sunsetting the cuts in 2012. The district disagrees with the fact finder because they do not know what financial place they will be in 2012. Regardless, it is a contract that will be negotiated when it ends in 2012. Yesterday, CUSD issued a press release stating: "Upon receipt of written communication from CUEA requesting to commence discussions. CUSD Trustees will direct staff to continue to meet with the teachers' union. This opportunity would enable both parties to reach agreement on remaining contract provisions for the 2009-2010 school year. In addition, CUEA may make a proposal to begin negotiations for 2010-2011 school year." CUEA responded with the letter below: Subject: CUSD Press Release Reps, if possible, please share the CUEA list serve with your teachers, along with this message: From Vicki: Re recent CUSD Press Release: CUSD responded with another press release attached stating: "Trustees are not interested in changing the terms (salary, furloughs, benefits, nor step/column) . . .HOWEVER, the Board of Trustees would entertain a discussion of the temporal nature of those terms, should CUEA formally (in writing) proposed to meet regarding such. (The press release continues . . .) "Simply put, CUEA has choices. One choice is to do nothing. Another choice is to negotiate contract elements of the 2009/10 school year . . as per the union's June 09 opener, and at a later time of their choosing, present contract openers for 2010/11 school year. Still another option of CUEA would be to propose formally (in writing) temporal language related to the terms of the Board's unilateral resolution that could be incorporated and negotiated into an MOU. Lastly, CUEA can choose to ask for a strike vote by its membership. Hopefully, CUEA leadership will consider the even greater personal sacrifice, both emotionally and financially, they would be asking of their teachers and other members should they request a vote to strike." PALs, this is a difficult time for everyone involved. Our teachers are faced with a very difficult decision. While my personal hope is that they understand the economic downturn many of us are facing now and do not strike, I respect whatever choice they make. As things continue to heat up, please seek information from a variety of sources. Do not believe every blog or email you read. Remember there is always another side to every story. Go directly to the source. Supt. Mahler stated you can call her directly (234-9200). While you do not have to agree with every viewpoint, I hope you will at least listen to what all people have to say. All the best, |
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