Yesterday in Riverside and across the state of California teachers, classified employees, administrators, parents and students went to the streets to protest the lack of state funding and very real impact those actions have on students, schools, employees, and families. While I obviously could not attend all of the demonstrations, I was able to participate with two schools.
Beyond our borders and our local newspaper there is certainly other media coverage (including TV) of the budget situation and the related impacts both here in Riverside and across the State. In the final analysis, we in California have some basic choices; we can either invest in our children and education (at all levels) or suffer the consequences that will be economic, at best. When we are at or near the bottom (depending upon your data) of per student funding amongst states in the nation, it seems abundantly clear what our future is without serious intervention across the state. While we have great potential in California, it is not the same as investment in our future.I would encourage you and others that you know to contact your local legislators regarding our need to invest in our children and our future.
It was great to have you here with us at Beatty. We appreciate the support and standing with us.On a personal note, thank you for helping clean up and take in chairs so the teachers could go back to their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you expect MORE money to come from?
ReplyDeleteWhat does that sign at the top even say? I thought the official language of California was English am I wrong?
ReplyDeleteBasically..."Who is going to be the teacher of my son (daughter) next year?"
ReplyDeleteIt means, "Who is your child's teacher going to be next year?". It doesn't hurt to pick up a little of the language that your immediate neighbors to the south speak. (I am a non-Spanish speaker) I've been in favor of every comment being posted until now. I think we need to maybe draw the line at unneccesary and hate- motivated commentaries. I'm sure there's some other forum for that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteHate motivated? Who am I hating on? I was curious what it said because I don't speak anything but English. Thank you for the clarification on that. Who's a little sensitive?
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as unnecessary I felt the need to know sorry to bother you but you did have the choice to not read or respond to me. This is my first post to this blog and already someone is screaming for censorship. That's got to be a record!!!
I do apologize (sincerely) if I misinterpreted "I thought the official language of California was English am I wrong?" as being a dig at people who are non-English speaking. You're probably right about the sensitivity issue. I care deeply for the kids I work for, (all of them)and do tend to watch out for those kinds of comments.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you expect MORE money to come from?
ReplyDeleteI agree with America Angel. If the sign had to be in Spanish there should at least have been the English version above it. I feel like I don't belong in my native country sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with American Angel. English is the language of business and if California is ever going to survive this economic mess,complete and immediate immersion in the English language is essential. Oh, but I guess that makes me a racist! Go figure.......
ReplyDeleteI have worked in the district over 30 years. At my school we were devastated with the last layoff list and now the possibility that we might have 38 to 40 students in our classes. I know that the district has cut everywhere. We have all talked about now taking a 3 or 4 percent pay cut for next year so more teachers can keep their job. The union has not asked teachers for this. In the end we will be left with 40 in a class, less counselors less assistant principals and no money. Read the news to see that everyone is losing their jobs not just in education. We can support each other. I have 5 more years to work before retiring and I am willing to give up pay to save jobs. Why aren't the rest of you!
ReplyDeleteI began with RUSD 21 years ago. I have begged the Union to negotiate for furlough days and pay cuts. I too, would be more than willing to take a cut in pay to save smaller classroom sizes and teachers' jobs. It is important that the community know that many teachers want to do what is right for the students we teach, but the Union has its' own agenda no matter the cost to the students we are supposed to be serving.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above post. It would be nice if the district and union could tell us how many dollars and jobs might be saved with a 3-4 percent reduction in pay for everyone. Then perhaps, everyone could make an informed decision.
ReplyDeleteI was proud of the fact that our school carried signs in Spanish! I think the whole reason the Spanish sign was even put on the blog was to demonstrate how we as teachers were trying to let EVERY member of our communuty know what is going on. Just face it, you live in a part of the country that used to be Mexico, what makes you think people aren't going to speak Spanish? After all, he who speaks two languages count as two. Teaching in a state like California (a Spanish name by the way), I would think you would accept the fact that people will speak other languages. Is our country not made up of immigrants who came from all over the world? If it weren't for all those families who speak spanish we probably wont need as many teachers as we have now! The least we can do is TRY to communicate with them.
ReplyDeleteA misconception many people seem to have on this blog is who proposes salary reductions. It is never the association who should propose its members take a pay cut, no matter what form that may take. That would be negotiating against oneself, which would be a ridiculous position for any association to take in negotiations. Rather, it is the district who should propose cuts which would then be subject to the negotiations process.
ReplyDeleteArguments for RCTA to propose furlough days are confused- you are asking the wrong group if furloughs are what you want. Rather, you should ask the RUSD to get their act together and sunshine the furloughs before the sunshine deadline so it can be legally negotiated. This is the process that RUSD agreed to follow when it incorporated the sunshine deadline into the certificated bargaining agreement, at it's own insistence during a previous contract negotiation.
As an aside, this is why RUSD is trying to tie transfers to the ERIP. RUSD's bargaining team screwed up last year and didn't sunshine their transfer proposal language until well after the deadline. RCTA filed a grievance and the district withdrew the proposal, as RUSD knew they had violated the contract. Then, desperate to try to get the transfer language passed in spite of their error, RUSD tied it to the ERIP as a condition of its acceptance even though it had nothing to do with the retirement incentive.
My proof of this is that no other surrounding district has tied transfer language to their retirement incentives. And it wasn't part of RUSD's original ERIP offer either. Someone on the district side got the bright idea as an afterthought and now they won't let it go. The result is that the ERIP is now on hold. That is what happens to negotiations when one side negotiates in bad faith.
I would suggest to RUSD moving forward that it respect the bargaining process and simply follow the rules both the district and the association have agreed to follow. And it would help matters if the district instructed its site principals to refrain from telling the teachers they have just informed were RIFed that they should lobby the association for furlough days so their jobs can be saved. I've heard about several association members who were told that by a site administrator as they were also told they were receiving RIFs. Not the kind of PR that RUSD needs right now with its employees. RUSD should probably tell those cowboys to holster their pistols.
One additional suggestion to the individuals posting anonymously on the blog begging RCTA to propose furloughs. Could you please include your name on the post? It would remove the suspicion that you are actually RUSD managers or administrators rather than current classroom teachers.
The least THEY can do is try and communicate in the official language of the state.
ReplyDeleteYou're right if there were less spanish speaking families we would need less teachers.
Yes, our country is made up of immigrants. People that wanted to come here and become Americans. Speak the language and immerse themselves in America. That changed over the years and I am hearing more about "It used to be ours".
I am not a teacher I am a parent. I do not mind that others speak other languages but when it comes down to using my tax dollars to teach them to speak it, I mind. This should be the responsibility of the parents not the taxpayers.
What is this about people speaking two languages counting as two? So do people who speak three count as three?
We were given this property in a war. In 1842, the American minister in Mexico Waddy Thompson, Jr. suggested Mexico might be willing to cede California to settle debts, saying "As to Texas I regard it as of very little value compared with California,...."
I think the whole reason the spanish sign was put on the blog was because the English langauge is becoming secondary.
As an almost lifetime resident of California I am saddened to see the schools lose their standing and the education go down the tubes.
I am a pink slipped teacher. It seems to me that with so many people demanding furlough days to save jobs, the only offer we may get from the district is furlough days with no jobs saved. Those of you requesting furlough days, what do you want the district to do? Reinstate Class Size Reduction? I don't foresee that since they won't gain any revenue from it. The administrative and support staff cuts that require more teachers to be bumped are not going to be changed either. The fact is the union should have used furlough days as a bargaining chip prior to teachers being pink slipped. That is when they could have proposed for example class size numbers at say 27 in k-2 instead of 30 in exchange for so many furlough days. This wasn't done. Will it make it better to beat up on the union now. No, what is done is done. My fear is that 350 teachers or more will be laid off, plus numerous classified staff and everyone that is left will take a 3% or more pay cut. My opinion is that those cuts would be too deep. Both certificated and classified employee workloads would significantly increase while their paychecks significantly decrease. Will that senario be true for the cabinet also? I don't know the answer to that. I do know that overworked teachers that are also stuggling with finances at home can't possible be the best scenario for our kids.
ReplyDeleteI understand the issue that Jan VanMeter brings up about trying to squeeze unusual contract language into an early retirement package. But I also can see this issue from the districts point of view. If their happens to be a school that because of the early retirement package loses entire grade level teams, or entire departments, is it in the best interest of the kids to transfer in the least senior teacher whether they have experience at that grade level or with that subject matter or not? To me it is understandable that the district would want to make those tranfers based on forming departments or grade level teams that have a mix of experienced teachers and teachers that will be new to the subject matter or grade. I know this is completely against what our union feels is fair, but if we look at it from the student's point of view it makes sense. At some point the district and the union have to start trusting that each other are working in good faith to provide the best education for the students of RUSD.
From listening to comments Mike Fine said at a board meeting, there is no guarantee that furlough days would save any jobs. It simply would help RUSD balance the budget. So far, RUSD has not done everything that can be done to save teacher jobs. The token cuts that the upper administration has taken does not make up for the 10% pay raise they gave themselves last year. We are still top heavy with too many administrators at the top, yet there have been very few lay offs for the district office administrators. And yes, there are still millions of dollars in our budget that can, but are not being spent on saving teacher jobs.
ReplyDeleteBefore we talk furlough days, let the administration address what they are doing for our students!
As a teacher for over 27 years and a dues paying CTA member, I would be willing to accept fulough days or a pay cut. My wife works for the County of Riverside, and our family has already experienced a 10% pay cut in monthly income. I know that Instructional Services Specialists in RUSD took a huge cut in their pay having their days reduced from 227 to 200. That is a significant cut in pay. I am willing to take a cut if it means keeping jobs for our colleagues and maintaining services. This budget crisis is global. It is time that we all recognize the contributions that all employees make and work together in making sacrifices that will keep teachers and support staff working.
ReplyDeleteIs this blog available in Spanish? A huge percentage of our parents and community speak Spanish as their first language. They pay taxes and provide substantial support to our community's economy. I feel we can be more responsive to their needs to be heard.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to my previous post translate.google.com would accomplish someone's need to read the blog in Spanish or many other languages. It accepted the url for this topic and translated it.
ReplyDeleteDespite what you might see at school site "pink" demonstrations, there is not a lot of public sympathy for the plight of public school teachers. (Read the P-E blogs.) Many feel that belonging to an industrial style union has limited recruitment and retention of the best teachers, thus affecting student outcomes and public trust. If teachers want to be treated as professionals, they'll need to abandon factory-style protection measures. It's tough to have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard any where that a pay reduction or furlough days would save jobs! People are just shocked that some members of RCTA voted for neither, but some of us are hanging on by a thread here! A furlough is a pay cut! Less money for my family! If I make less money than my family slowly begins to lose everything! Why would we agree to furloughs or pay cuts if it is not saving jobs? I have several friends who are pinked slipped and we have had this discussion about furloughs and pay cuts and their overwhelming response was if it doesn't save a job don't do it!!! I agree with the above comment about the lack of sympathy from the public. The comments on PE.com are disgusting!
ReplyDeleteNot to be rude, but if you have been teaching over 27 years, you probably don't have many dependents. Therefore, you are more likely to be in a position to beg to save other's jobs. However, there are some veteran teachers who still have daycare expenses, food, clothing, college, etc, for their children. A cut in pay without saving jobs would cause a lot more damage than good.
ReplyDeleteBTW I am proud of our union. Without our union, we wouldn't have the amazing benefits we have now. Quit blaming our union. If you had been following RCTA's blog and Dr. Miller's Blog months ago instead of when you heard of budget cuts and pink slips, you could have attended meetings and become active in your passion beforehand.
I beg to differ on recruiting the best possible candidates comment. All our universities graduate stellar candidates in which RUSD hired the best and most talented.
An engaged, proactive parent is a beautiful sight no matter what language they speak.
ReplyDeleteI think that the teachers, unions, and administers need to develop a positive response to the negative comments made by John and Ken (and others on their radio station and at mumerous other media sources. These are very influential media persons.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, John and Ken, day after day, publicly announce (and rally support for their views):
1. Teachers are such self-centered, overpaid babies (whiners)who don't deserve their pay. Don't they realize that everyone else is accepting paycuts? Why do they think they are so special? Why haven't they had paycuts like the rest of America has? Their pensions (and the pensions of other public sector employees) are outrageous. The private sector doesn't have these. Why should teachers?
2. It's a big lie that all these teachers who are pink-slipped will really get laid off. Last year, all were hired back. It's just a ploy to get parents riled up. Just watch, just like last year, most will be hired back.Don't listen to their "wolf" cries.
3. What's wrong with public schools? Look at the high drop out rate. Charter schools can do it better and cheaper. What are the unions and districts afraid of?
4. Look at the schools. They have hundreds of incompetent teachers --- even some who are so bad that they are paid to stay at home. Why don't the schools get rid of them?
5. Administrators and teachers say that we are 47th in funding per teacher for education. That's a lie.
6. Why should we pay for extra funding for college students? Why don't they take out a loan and pay it back themselves? The extra money and higher salaries they get when they graduate will be paid back in a few years. Only 35% of CA residents are college graduates. Why should the rest of us have to pay for these students? It was ok when we had the money. We don't have it now.
7. We all pay for public education with our taxes. Yet the % of people who have children in public schools is much less than it was years ago. Why do we have to keep paying more?
8. If we kicked out all the illegals, our schools would have enough money.
9. If schools are laying off thousands of teachers statewide, that is simply proof that the schools have been wasting money and that they are overstaffed. Why haven't they been cutting staff and other costs and living within their budgets for the past 5 years. It is no surprise to anyone that our state is in a recession.
THE ABOVE ARE TOXIC COMMENTS THAT ARE GAINING A WIDE AUDIENCE AND MORE AND MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT. It is a lot more than simply rallying against larger class sizes and pink slips. This is becoming a widespread attach against public education. It is not union vs. administration, or one union against another.
We have to respond to these public attacks and not just let them go unanswered. We need to respond in a positive manner. Why are our public schools great?
A RUSD teacher who is NOT being laid off, and who is teaching at JFK -- a school where 11 great teachers are being pink-slipped.
Let's focus on choices over which we have control and are the right thing for our students and our employees.
ReplyDelete1. Make an early retirement offer to save jobs, not money. Use the average $25,000-$30,000 difference between salaries of more experienced teachers to newer teachers and purchase two years of service credit for those who are near retirement. A substantial offer like this would receive a substantial response. It would cost the district nothing and hundreds of jobs could be saved.
2. Negotiate a narrow and specific Memorandum of Understanding to address the issue of teacher transfers for next year. This is a unique time with unique needs.
3. Lead by example. Continue to find ways to reduce expenses from those positions and programs that are furthest away from our students. This should of course include the Cabinet returning their 9% pay raise and changing management work days from an 8.0 hour pay day to 7.5 hours to match those of teachers.
4. Offer a necessary and reasonable reduction of teacher salaries-either by way of furloughs or pay reduction. We are willing to make sacrifices to support our students, our colleagues, and our schools when we know they are the right thing to do.
I support what Tim Martin has written.
ReplyDeleteAs to "bargaining against itself"...isn't allowing more than 200 teachers to lose their jobs failure on the part of the union? Or does everyone believe the union line, "The District did this, not the union?" We will never know if the failure to negotiate an ERIP would have reduced this number. RCTA did not even bother to find out when the first pink slips were being mailed...and blamed that on the District. It is the responsibility of the union to find out what members want,to monitor what is going on, and to update the membership. The union did NOT keep us informed. Did YOU check out the RCTA website? It was not updated until criticism from pink-sliped teachers. Of course, it is heresy to speak against the union. Some of you are seeing red right now. BTW check out the union budget, a SECRETARY makes more than the highest paid teacher.
Bravo Tim Martin! Well said. Thank you for your professional, insightful, well thought-out suggestions.
ReplyDeleteWell said Tim! If all of these were done, there may even be a little money left over to address next year's budget cuts.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tim, for your thoughtful and practical suggestions. I hope the decision makers are listening and willing to negotiate producing the right results for both our students and staff. How do we begin the process of working together making these suggestions a reality?
ReplyDeleteI like Tim's suggestions! Sounds very reasonable and doable. Except that #4 should also be tied to the saving of jobs, nobody should have to or wants to take less pay next year if they are actually doing considerable more work. Increasing class sizes does not benefit anyone, teachers and most certainly not the students.
ReplyDeleteDo the cabinet members fall under the certificated salaries or the classified? I was looking at the budget for RUSD and certificated salaries take up 50% of the budget I was curious how many people that covered. Same thing for the 15%+ in the classified category how many people are in this category. And obviously the benefits (15%) are everyone or am I wrong?
ReplyDeleteHere are 2 scenarios to argue against transfer rights, but again, read Jay VanMeter's response from a few days ago for his perspective...
ReplyDelete1. A teacher spent time going to school at night (away from their family) while teaching full-time, and spent hard earned dollars to add to their education a master's degree and counseling credential. They are now a counselor for 10 years. Then comes in a NEW counselor with NO teaching experience. Why should the person with more education and more experience have to leave the counselor position because of a NEWer counselor (who has no teaching experience)? This is not right on any level that a new person should unseat a veteran counselor just because that counselor also has a teaching credential...not to mention the loss of extra salary that they have worked hard for and earned.
2. A teacher began teaching in this district 20 years ago as a high school biology teacher. Again, while teaching full time, they went to school to get an elementary credential. They have now been teaching elementary for 15 years. It is not right for a "newer" teacher to unseat the 20 year veteran...and it would be very awkward to go back and teach high school biology after 15 years.
Esentially, people on these blogs are suggesting that those who have worked hard to gain more education and have been faithful and loyal to the RUSD for several years should now be punished because they have worked hard to earn more than one credential. It's working backwards. Let's turn this around and put it on the newer teachers...why don't you go and spend your time and fees to earn another credential so that you can be flexible and move around the district. Those who have worked long and hard in both building their education and in their longevity should not now be pushed out of their position into a lesser position (counselor to teacher) or into a position they chose to leave 15 years ago because someone with less experience and educational options are demanding their position. That is not rewarding to the person who has EARNED their position. The veteran teachers/counselors should NOT be manipulated into feeling guilty because they have a teaching/counseling position that they have earned.
There is a heirarchy in life...those who have worked longer and harder, have more experience...and those who have sacrificed to earn more education and degrees and credentials to succeed should be rewarded. People with less experience and less credential options should not be pushing out those with more experience and education.
Back to the issue of placing a classifed person into the position of high school discipline administrator...Under the Ed Code and California credentialling policies, an administrator must have a master's degree and credential in admin along with 2-3 tiers of certification work beyond that...Why has all of this heavy education to earn the master's and credential in admin, which includes courses in school law, been required for this position, and now suddenly is being wiped away at the whim of the district??? This makes NO sense.
PS: Go back & read comments from previous blog dates...
I'm a new-ish (pink slipped) teacher who has 2 credentials and a masters degree. It's not just the more veteran (remember teachers with hire dates back to 2004 have been RIF'd) teachers who are loyal and work hard to improve themselves and better themselves as educators. It should not be veteran teachers vs. newer teachers. And that's what you're post seems to suggest. It's a shame that this is what it has come to.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the comments from Jay VanMeter regarding transfers and the recent action plan posted by Tim Martin above(the exception being transfers). Let's consider the following: changing the transfer language will not save jobs. So why change the transfer language? Who has the most to gain from changing the language? Teachers? District staff/adminstrators being returned to the classroom(Bingo!). The District is willing to put up big bucks to get us to change this part of the contract. For what purpose? This could allow these folks who haven't been in the classroom for a while to pick the site they want to work at rather than waiting in line like the rest of us and being placed in the first opening they are qulaified for. We should exercise caution on the transfer issue.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is time for a change. Though it is generally an uphill battle, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows employees to call for a special election to get rid of the union as their “exclusive representative.” This is called a Decertification Election, because employees revoke the union’s "certification" to be the “exclusive bargaining representative.” In our case, the union (RCTA) and their guiding association (CTA) could be voted out of RUSD opening the door for alignment with another association such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and new local leadership.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim Martin for a clear action plan! Let's Roll!
ReplyDeleteWith regard to transfers; why is RUSD the only District that needs to change the commonly accepted(by all the surrounding districts)contract language related to transfers? What does RUSD need that other Districts don't?????
ReplyDeleteTim Martin is always willing to sign his name to his thoughtful, professional, realistic suggestions on this blog. Too many educators have chosen to remain anonymous when we need to be speaking out with one voice.
ReplyDeleteIt is time to stop blaming one group or the other. California has lost major sources of revenue and is in a serious economic crisis. But California has another crisis - our state government is broken. It is not accountable to the people. We have a rule that budgets must be approved by a 2/3 majority. This rule makes it possible for a small minority to hold the state budget hostage. California is one of only three states that has this two-thirds rule. The other two states are Arkansas and Rhode Island, whose budgets are a fraction of California's. The two-thirds vote requirement has made California's budget negotiations so deadlocked that our lawmakers have missed the June 15 constitutional deadline to approve a budget in 28 of the last 32 years! Let's return to the day when the legislature governed and initiatives on the ballot were unnecessary. Let's all work to get a 55% majority to pass budget legislation in Sacramento.
We also need to get rid of term limits and return to the democratic principal that makes our vote the only term limit needed. The people we elect should serve at our will, and not be limited in their ability to accomplish great things for our future. We won’t get anywhere if we don’t have great leadership. Each of us needs to take some leadership responsibility to make change happen. We can start by becoming informed practitioners who understand and speak about how public education has been funded since the passage of Proposition 13. We need to disseminate facts instead of permitting continuous media misinformation about our professional work. Parents need to understand the impact state and federal policy has had on the education of their children. Together we should work for a ban on corporate philanthropists who dictate practices that benefit bottom lines for corporate America through their donations to programs and assessments that are educationally unsound and take decision-making power from the classroom to the corporate boardroom.
I do not believe the situation is hopeless, we just need to look into doing things differently and remain unified in our goals. There is no quick or easy answer to this crisis, but some of the best minds in the state are in our classrooms every day, teaching kids. Let us all STAND UP FOR KIDS and their best interests. Keeping them as our focus will enable us all to reshape our profession so that we have the jobs, the respect, and the dignity we deserve.
Thanks to Tim Martin and Jay Van Meter for their clear and concise insights about our current plight as a district and state. It is time to do whatever necessary to stop the hemorrhaging! Furlough days may not save jobs now, but may prevent more jobs from being lost next year. We have filled a significant portion of our deficit using one time cost savings made possible by use of general fund reserves. Since this is not a cost reduction, won't these same costs reappear next year? It seems to me that without further cost saving measures we are sure to face the same difficult task next year. The time is of the essence and we need to act now...the union and district need to begin working together to find some common ground.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Anonymous (March 7, 8:25 am) it was not the association who issued RIFs to the 200 employees mentioned by the blogger, it was the district. The association has urged the RUSD school board to spend down its ridiculous multimillion dollar reserves before resorting to RIFs the last 2 years, when RUSD also RIFed hundreds of employees. It was the action of the association which saved most of those jobs, including the 100+ teachers last year who had been RIFed by RUSD due to an accounting error by the district. And the district reserves still increased this year, due to the stimulus funding RUSD received.
ReplyDeleteThe comment by Anonymous (March 7, 8:25 am) that the association has not kept members informed is incorrect. It has been RCTA which has scheduled multiple meetings for RIF employees and has provided certificated employees who received RIFs with information regarding their rights and responsibilities. The district only began to do this at school sites after it had already issued RIFs to 250 certificated employees. To get a district administrator to actually meet to discuss RIF information, the employee had to request it through the site principal. I have personally distributed many informational flyers and bulletins from RCTA in the last several weeks as one of the site reps at Arlington HS. The RCTA blog is not the only source of information from RCTA to its members.
Finally, to address the comment by Anonymous (March 7, 8:25 am) regarding the salary of the secretary at RCTA, I assume the secretary in question is the RCTA executive secretary position. The figure mentioned in the RCTA budget for the position is salary + benefits + retirement, plus accrued sick leave not used since original hire date. The executive secretary has been with RCTA for 25+ years. The position is comparable to one of the district’s executive secretaries downtown. The executive secretary position handles confidential info. like employee personal information, disciplinary actions, personnel information, and other confidential matters. In addition, the RCTA executive secretary handles budget, payroll, reimbursements, plans events like the Retirement Dinner, TGIFs and the spring RCTA picnic, and also booking airline/hotel/travel arrangements for association conferences like Fall Leadership, Good Teaching Conference in spring, as well as other conferences throughout the year members attend. The RCTA executive secretary has a year-round work schedule, without summers off and a 8+ hour work day. A comparable secretarial position at the district makes more money and does the same or less work. The district has 14 executive-level secretaries, plus an executive assistant position. All are considered part of management at RUSD, and are not classified employees. I did not see the anonymous blogger mention this in the blog, so perhaps if Anonymous is implying the RCTA secretary is too expensive then the district could save money by cutting these 15 district-level executive positions too?
It is easy to make anonymous statements on a blog that are misleading or factually incorrect, because as an anonymous source you don’t have to publicly take responsibility if your statements are misleading or incorrect. That is why I always post my name on all my comments on this blog as well as the RCTA blog (www.myrcta.org), because if something I say is factually wrong then I can account for it. Anonymous (March 7, 8:25 am) cannot say the same.
Please......Let's work together...Let's get out of ourselves and work for the good of all.....
ReplyDeleteI want to thank the brave individuals who sign there name to their posts. Thank you for standing up for what is right. None of the above comments are mine, but I wanted to give my perspective on why I remain anonymous when I do comment.
ReplyDeleteLast year, when I was pink slipped, I tried to speak out (professionally) by putting a face to the number. I sent e-mails to board members and district leaders and spoke out whenever I could. I was never disrespectful, but I made sure to question the process in order to look out for myself. During the process, I got a few e-mails from HR telling me not to contact certain people. The e-mails were also cc to my principal. When I finally got my job back, my principal had a talk with me about my actions during the time I was RIFed. The message I got was "Shut up and go quietly or we will make things difficult for you."
So, I am afraid to sign my name to anything because it is much to early in my career to make a bad name for myself and burn bridges.
About the transfer issue, my understanding is that Administrators who were first teachers in RUSD get three years of seniority added to their teaching years, while those who were hired in as adminstrators have no such rights. These are difficult times, but choices were made based on a contract, a contract that should be used to protect those who abide by it. We shouldn't change the rules now.
ReplyDeleteI think we need Tim Martin to become the RCTA President. He is well spoken and easy to understand. Plus, he has worked at the district office in HR (and many other positions around RUSD) so he understands how the district works. It seems to me that very few people are seeing both sides of the issues especially at RCTA or the school board level. We need someone like Tim that is willing to fight for all staff.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to revisit what was said here: "NIS has 11 managers with salaries that exceed $1.4 million dollars some of which have duties that overlap others not to mention the Help Desk Analysts that have expertise in the same areas."
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be more managers at NIS than there are classified employees at NIS. Help Desk Analysts are extremely important in keeping our district running. But by consolidating the 11 managers positions into 4 managers (one for each department within NIS) it would save money. We could then hire classified employees at lower salaries to fill any needs or outsource the work. We should look to see if we can make any savings in this area.
Jay –
ReplyDeleteWe all are not as fortunate as you to have the freedom nor the security to pubically voice our opinions. The world a RIFed teacher lives in is much different than your secure environment. Once a teacher receives notification that they may not have a future job with RUSD, their world is dumped upside-down.
I am one such teacher and inhabit a classroom on a campus where one-third of our teachers received the dreaded “pink slip.” When this happens to a staff, the staff is very much polarized into their RIFed and non-RIFed corners. While for the most part I work with a very kind group of people, it is incredibly difficult to walk through the school doors post RIF notification. Parents question the craziness of a code that mandates lay-offs based solely on district seniority, students ask why you’re being fired, and the community wonders why the teachers are unwilling to negotiate during unprecedented economic times. We are no longer a part of conversations that plan for the future and our grade levels and physical classrooms are fought over. It takes every ounce of strength to continue doing our very best for the students we want to teach. To be further confronted by colleagues, principals, and other administrators (due to stating our positions, would make our already difficult situation even more impossible. Being open and outward with my identity would eliminate any shred of peace I’ve been able to find. Still, I am entitled to my opinion and do not believe that I should be silenced just because you need to confront me when you disagree with me.
As for your opinion regarding the Union being supportive. I see it completely differently than you. We have had ONE informational meeting from the Union. The Union is meeting with the waves of lay-offs separately. There have been 3 meetings, but one for each group of lay-offs. At our single meeting, many if not most of our questions were unanswered with no follow-up. Mark became defensive and provided very little support. I’ve personally contacted Mark asking for answers and have received no response. I have however, received very complete and thorough answers from a director, assistant superintendent, and three board members. If my opinions or answers are slanted – that’s because our Union has failed to support me during this time.
I would trade places with you any day and then perhaps I would have the freedom to sign something other than..... Anonymous
Since I do not know who this is, I encourage them to call or email me with any questions they feel we have not answered. We must work together and not decome divided. I am working for everyone and trying to keep as many certificated positions as possible. The district has finally agreed to a negotiations nate, March 23, and we shall see if they have any suggestions how they think we can resolve these issues.
ReplyDeleteWell Mr. Lawrence.....I'm glad to see you read this blog too. There have been lots and lots of very good ideas posted here and on the RCTA blog. Tim Martin's ideas have been incredibly well-received on this board. I hope both the Union and the District can come up with something that helps balance the budget while keeping smaller class sizes for students and saving as many certificated jobs as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused when you guys are yelling "No cuts, Save our teachers" What exactly do you want parents to do? Give more money? Get out there and yell at other adults to inform them? What is it you want the parents to rally behind on March 15th?
ReplyDeleteTim, you are breath of fresh air! Finally, someone who seems to have a clear, thoughtful, bipartisan perspective on this crisis. I second the previous comment about you running for RCTA President. We are in serious need of new leadership. You'll have my vote 100%.
ReplyDeleteMike Fine has made it clear that furloughs would save no jobs. However, if the District would, in good faith, bargain an early retirement incentive I believe there are teachers out there ready to take it. This would save jobs. However, the District has NOT made a good faith offer (without tying it to contract language)and we cannot accept that which has not been offered. Tim's idea is good. Other Districts around us have offered ERIPs. The question is why has RUSD not offered an early retirement package? The RCTA Bargaining team has repeatedly asked for an offer with no success. I am not on the bargaining team, but I believe they are conscientiously trying to work with the District team. It is the District which has the money and the control, not RCTA.
ReplyDeleteIf Tim Martin cannot be RCTA President, perhaps he would consider running for the School Board.
ReplyDeleteWe do not all have the freedom to sign our names. Our site has had several instances of intimidation of both teachers and parents.
Does "sticking together" mean not expressing your opinion and toeing the party line?
I have an additional comment and clarification regarding the RCTA secretary salary, which Anonymous (March 7, 8:25 am) objected to in their original blog. In the rep council meeting held March 9, it was pointed out by the RCTA Treasurer Roslyn Jones that the figure in the RCTA budget labeled SECRETARY is actually the total salary, fringe, health, and accrued vacation/sick leave for 2 RCTA secretaries, the executive secretary AND the receptionist. Again, I repeat it is easy to accuse the association anonymously of wasting our member’s dues (that was the writer’s intent by the comment) because as an anonymous blogger one does not have to answer for misleading statements. By pointing this out I am not trying to silence anyone, as Anonymous states, only correcting inaccurate and misleading statements. And the position by Anonymous that anonymity is their only safeguard doesn’t hold water with me.
ReplyDeleteI was a site rep starting from my first year at my school site. I had no permanent status and zero job protection, which is the same situation of many of our RIFed colleagues now. Yet at the same time I did not let that deter me from taking a stand with admin. when it needed to be taken. I never whispered or hid to protect myself, because if it is the right thing to do then you shouldn’t have to hide while you do it. Like the scripture says, “Let your light shine forth.” It’s the only way positive change ever comes about, and is the only hope for what really ails RUSD right now. Too many people want to hide to protect themselves, yet freely cast blame on other people working to do the best possible in their interest. The fact that most of the bloggers on this site are anonymous doesn’t speak well for RUSD’s goal of transparency!
Those who attack the association don’t even know, or maybe don’t care to know what work those who came before did, and what association reps and Exec. Board members are still doing on behalf of the members. For example, my mother taught at RUSD for over 35 years, and worked before there were ever such things as collective bargaining or permanent status. At one of her many school sites early in her career, the principal forbade the female staff from wearing pants suits to work, and required overweight (according to the principal) male staff to wear girdles to work!!!! Mom helped organized the staff, and every female staff member came to work wearing a pants suit, and every male staff without a girdle. And that was the end of that nonsense, in the entire district from that time forward. That is all it takes to deal with nonsense, solidarity. I’ve heard from friends that a site principal recently instructed their staff not to wear pink and black for the March 4 rally, so things really haven’t changed that much. We still need people to stand up for what is right.
We have to work together to solve whatever problems must be overcome to get as many of our colleagues RIFs rescinded as is possible. Former RCTA and CTA President Barbara Kerr warned of division when she addressed the RCTA rep council meeting in December 2009, saying (and I’m paraphrasing) “Having been through a few tough times over the years myself, I can tell you that this situation will be used to try to divide you. My advice is to stay strong and work together and you will get through this.” I second that.
I am wondering if Dr. Miller is keeping up with all of this. Does he approve of the school board's decisions? What does he think about Mike Fine's budget numbers? I wish that he would let us all know. As a parent with children in this district, I am scared at what is happening. Why are we so quick to get rid of teachers? Why are you seriously considering raising class sizes?
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