ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTIONSJTA will be holding its election for the offices ofUnit President, Unit Vice-President, Unit Secretary, Unit Treasurer, Unit Membership Chair and Two San Gorgonio representatives.The elections will be held May 5-7, 2010. Nominations are open (which means that anyone who is a unit member is eligible to nominate any other unit member, including him/herself for office).The term for each office is from July 1, 2010 toJune 30, 2012.Anyone wishing to run for office should file their declaration of candidacy or nomination so that it is received by Virginia Evans, (vlevans@sanjacinto.k12.ca.us). This can be in written form or e-mail form. Written declarations will be available from your site representative. This should be received no later than April 15, 2010 by 5:00 p.m.
1. Article 7.7—In addition elementary teachers in grades 1-5 shall have one minimum day per week for planning and professional development of which up to one Friday per month shall be designated for district or site purposes and an additional 90 minute day per quarter for professional development.
Article 7.8—In addition to four (4) Fridays for grading and preparation (mid-quarter progress reports will no longer be required for every students), secondary sites will have one (1) additional Friday for preparation time per quarter.
The District proposes to temporarily alleviate the following elementary and secondary teacher responsibilities:
a. Lesson plans shall be available to administration to view.b. No posting of Smart Goals.c. Flexibility in Smart Goal timelines resulting in reduction in number of Smart Goal meetings (from every (4) weeks to six-eight (6-8) weeks).
d. Assistance with Math and ELA assessment scanning, as needed.
2. Class size for 1st and 2nd grades will be staffed at an average of 30:1 except at school sites larger than 850 enrollment where we will begin the year with 25:1. If enrollment increases during the school year, the District will utilize state flexibility.
3. Seven furlough days will be taken from students contract days.
4. Article 14.2—If a unit member has a change in assignments he/she shall continue on the predetermined evaluation cycle as stated in Article 14.2. If the unit member is moved during an on cycle year the cycle will be extended one year.
5. SJTA wants all teachers to retain their jobs and believes the District’s financial situation would be able to maintain present staffing. SJTA has no control over staffing and does not want to use our unit members as bargaining ships.
Taking 10 furlough days amounts to a 5.435% pay cut (This puts each salary essentially back 2 years!)The figures in bold below each yearly salary are the losses to each yearly salary
We Honor Ours “WHO” was celebrated on Friday, May 8th at the San Bernadino Fair Grounds. San Jacinto Teachers Association honored June McCullough of the Pre-School, Doug McCasey from SJHS, and Harry Ebeling from MVHS. We are all so thankful for the hard work they do for our association and particularly the teachers at their school; we are all stronger because of them.
It was especially nice to celebrate after all of the sacrifices we have been forced to make these past two years. Although most of our RIFS will be called back, they will remain on temporary staus. CTA continues to protest this move, as we are united in thinking cuts could have been made elsewhere.
As a result of the unprecedented challenges facing financial institutions in these difficult economic times, NEA and CTA were recently advised by Bank of America (BAC) of the need to modify certain aspects of the NEA/CTA Credit Card Program to ensure the Program remains stable and competitive. In response, NEA sought and received assurances from BAC that no changes would be made to a) the practices BAC has historically employed to manage account holders’ credit lines or b) the preferential criteria presently used to review and approve NEA/CTA members’ applications for credit.With these assurances in place, NEA MB and BAC worked collaboratively to create the fairest possible scenario for affected NEA/CTA members.
I’m sure that you have heard reports of other financial institutions that have already implemented significant changes to their credit card and loan programs in response to the economic downturn. The tempered nature of the changes cited in this bulletin assures that the NEA/CTA Programs remain highly competitive and continue to provide true value to NEA and CTA members and their families. The new APRs and fees also continue to compare favorably with rates and fees on similar products in the marketplace.NEA/CTA Credit Card Program ChangesApproximately one quarter of existing NEA/CTA cardholders will be impacted by rate and fee pricing changes that take effect June 1, 2009. BAC will begin notifying these members of the changes in April 2009 by letter and through statement messages and inserts. Members wishing to opt out of these changes will be instructed to call or write Bank of America. However, any use of a card after opting out will be considered an acceptance of the new terms and conditions. If you have any questions regarding the information contained in this bulletin, please feel free to contact Member Benefits at 650-552-5200, or Diane Morte, Member Benefits Consultant, at 650-552-5430.
Department Of Education Poised To Distribute First Round Of School Stimulus.
The AP (4/2) reports, “Secretary Arne Duncan released the first $44 billion in economic stimulus money directed to schools Wednesday but said strings will be attached to the next round of aid.” He also “outlined a series of steps that states must take to get the next round of dollars.” Duncan announced the stimulus news at Maryland’s Doswell Brooks Elementary School. He “chose the school because it has significantly boosted achievement despite high numbers of poor and special education children, a challenge that often overwhelms urban schools.”
“Nationwide, the first batch of stimulus funding includes $11.4 billion targeted largely to help students who live in poverty and those with disabilities,” The Washington Post (4/2, Glod) reports. “That money, doled out based on formulas that consider factors such as the percentages of children from low-income families, is available immediately, federal education officials said.” But “states must apply for a piece of the larger share of the first batch, $32.6 billion.” Of that amount schools, “$26.6 billion must be used to prevent layoffs and improve public schools and colleges.” The Post notes that “federal education officials today sent applications and guidelines to states.”
According to the Detroit Free Press (4/2, Higgins), “The nation’s top education leader said today he wants ‘absolute transparency’ in the way states and schools spend stimulus money.” In addition, he gave more details “about $5 billion in Race to the Top grants states will be able to apply to receive.” The grants “will go to states that have shown improvement, or shown a willingness to make improvement, in areas such as teacher quality and developing high standards.”
Reporting on the impact of federal education stimulus funds on schools in California, the Los Angeles Times (4/2, Mehta) reports that California education officials are “worried that the state’s share won’t be enough or come in time to stave off widespread teacher firings and program cuts.” The state expects to receive “more than $4 billion…in the first round of education funding from the stimulus package.” Charles Weis, superintendent of Santa Clara County schools, said “Given the cuts we’ve experienced in education this year, this won’t even get us back to where we were last year.”
The AP (4/2, Gruver) reports in a story appearing on USA Today’s website on Wyoming’s $26.5 million share of the first phase of stimulus funding, that will go toward “special-education students and students from low-income families and neighborhoods. Once that money is allocated, the department will be allowed to apply for another $26.5 million for those same purposes.” The Wyoming Department of Education expects to receive $144 million.
“In all, Utah schools are set to grab more than half a billion dollars in education stimulus money over two years,” the Salt Lake Tribune (4/2, Schencker) reports. State “lawmakers decided this past legislative session to use about $298 million in stabilization money to plug education budget holes.” Education Week’s (4/1, Aarons) Politics K-12 blog also covered the story.
NEA Member Benefits and NFCC:
Offering Solutions to Help You Manage Debt
In light of the current economic situation and the worsening
of the economic crisis, many members are wondering what to do
and where they can find help.
A great place to begin is http://www.debtadvice.org/nea/.
From there, members can search on the NEA Member Benefits and
NFCC web-sites for solutions that best fit their particular
financial situation.
- NFCC Homeowner Crisis Resource Center
- Free consumer video, “Avoiding Foreclosure”
- Find a Counselor Now: Find an NFCC Agency Near You
- Consumer Debt Advice
- And a Newsroom with updated information
In addition, NEA Member Benefits offers a wide variety of
information at www.neamb.com then click on the Tools & Tips
link and go to the section that is most pertinent to your
needs.
