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Thursday, December 9, 2010

No Layoffs Continued as Sacramento continues to Churn!!

I congratulate the CSEA team and applaud their efforts.  Last night they, as the teachers, ratified by 80% (to 20%) a tentative agreement that "freezes" the existing furloughs, contracts, and MOUs -- thereby guaranteeing no layoffs until June 30, 2012.  Kudos to all!!

At the same time, Governor Schwarzenegger called another Special Session (along with the swearing in of new Legislators) to resolve the $25 Billion budget deficit.  Needless to say, there are those that aren't sure that they wish to resolve the budget mess with a "lame duck" Governor.  On Wednesday, Governor-elect Brown began his messaging about where he intends to go with the budget -- with the first of 3 budget forums.  Senate leader Steinberg summed the situation up fairly well saying, “When you boil down all the complicated formulas and the complexity of the state, it comes down to one question:what do we want as a state and how are we going to pay for it’?

And guess what, NOW we have a $28 Billion deficit (based on the federal estate tax actions).  The news is NOT improving.

On a positive note, the Governor-elect did acknowledge that with national comparisons with other states, we are in trouble and need help.  He specifically recognized that we are ranking 49th in teachers-per-student, 49th in counselors-per-student, 50th in librarians-per-student, and 47th in administrators-per-student. The new governor seems aware of the magnitude of the problem our schools and students face.

Stay tuned, it should be an interesting couple of months!

Monday, December 6, 2010

NO layoffs!!

I was most excited to hear a couple of weeks ago that the RCTA team along with the RUSD team had reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) that essentially “froze” the existing agreements including furloughs, etc. – and we would guarantee NO layoffs. GREAT work on their part.

Friday, I was even more excited that the agreement was approved by the members of RCTA – which moves the issue forward to Board for ratification on Monday night. It is my sincere hope that CSEA members will similarly ratify the TA on Wednesday with their vote.

The idea that we will NOT layoff employees is tremendous. This is good NOT only for our staff members – it is good for our students and their learning. Some relief of this tension allows us to focus on the real work of our District – our students.

There are certainly “unknowns” about the budget and what exactly the state will or will not do with their budget. But to provide this certainty at this time is important for us all. Who is to say what things in California will look like in 18 months? Dan Walters posted a very interesting (somewhat counter-intuitive view of the budget situation). All signs, signals, and conversations with Sacramento tell us that the “deferred” $1.8 Billion promised just a couple of months ago – is none existent and will certainly be taken away. The larger question that seems to be will there be a mid-year reduction or additional reductions for 2011-12.

On the positive side, we can all hope that the financial situation improves under the new representatives in Sacramento – which would give us all the opportunity to get things back on track.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Our "New Normal" Future from DC?

Since we seem by state and financial initiative to be increasingly linked to the action and direction of those in Washington D.C. it would seem appropriate to consider what is in our future with them.

In the middle of November, U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan contended that we have a "new normal" and should "do more with less".  At a time when the Department of Education has far more resources than ever before -- Secretary Duncan lays out to the American Enterprise Institute that we need to reduce waste and seize new opportunities in our "new normal."  Secretary Duncan opened with a bold statement. “I am here to talk today about what has been called the New Normal,” he said. His basis for his statements would seem to be his 7 years as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools [which BTW in 07-08 when he left, was funded at $11,536 per student -- or twice RUSD levels].  The Secretary's suggestions for the transformational reforms that can also boost student outcomes would include such actions as:  rethinking policies around seat time requirements, class size, compensating teachers based on their educational credentials, the use of technology within the classroom, inequitable school financing, and the over-placement of students in special education.

Duncan goes on to argue that "In some cases, government may have to spend more now, to get better returns on our current investment. Race to the Top and i3 are good examples."  For me, I am a little unsure of what "return on investment" he might be referring to at this time.

Finally, Secretary Duncan lays out what we can anticipate with the coming reauthorization of federal educational programs and their related categorical funding. "Our ESEA reauthorization proposal consolidates 38 programs into 11 new funding streams -- so we can focus on achieving fewer, larger goals, better -- and it reduces red tape for people at the state and local level. Congress accepted the administration's proposal to eliminate four programs in fiscal 2010. And in fiscal 2011 we proposed eliminating six more programs.

I would agree with Secretary Duncan it looks like we will be "in" for a "new normal" from the Department of Education in Washington D.C.  What seems to be missing from the discussion is some idea of what we "get" in terms of outcomes, with our "new normal."