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.
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- NFCC Homeowner Crisis Resource Center
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In addition, NEA Member Benefits offers a wide variety of
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If your district asks you to sign a statement verifying your seniority date and credentials, BE CAREFUL.
Make sure the information is 100% correct before you sign. If you sign and the information is not accurate (for example, the statement credits you with too little seniority or some, but not all, of your credentials), the district will use the statement against you in the RIF hearing to undermine your seniority and credential claims. RIF hearing officers also often restrict individuals from contesting incorrect credential or seniority information at the RIF hearing, especially when the individuals already have had an opportunity to set the record straight.
Make sure that ALL of your credentials and certifications are on file with the school district, especially certifications to teach English language learners. If you hold a credential or certification but it is not on file with the district by March 15, you will not be credited with that credential or certification in the RIF hearing. If you need to check on your credentials, look them up on the CTC website at http://www.ctc.ca.gov/lookup.html.
Check your personnel file. Copy any documents from the file that you will need to prove your first day of paid service with the district as a probationary employee. Remember, your first in-service day may count, even if it was not mandatory, as long as you were paid for the day. Collect the documents now that will let you prove that date if need be in the RIF hearings.
If you are an agency fee payer, join CTA so that you will be represented by CTA in any RIF hearings that occur in your district. CTA provides representation to all members in RIF hearings, but does not provide representation to agency fee payers in RIF hearings.Contact your SJTA or CTA staff person immediately if you receive a layoff notice. There are very short and strict timelines that begin to run from the date any teacher receives a layoff notice. It is very important that you contact SJTA right away once you receive a layoff notice, so that SJTA can help ensure that all of the statutory deadlines will be met.
5 STEPS TO TAKE NOW
California Teachers Association
1705 Murchison Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
Legal Services 650-697-1400 • www.cta.org
Thanks for taking the time to review this material. A little time now preparing for possible RIFs in your district could make all the difference later.
Everyday across the San Jacinto Valley, thousands of teachers, support staff and administrators are ensuring that our students receive a world class education. We owe it to all San Jacinto Students to give them the access to an education that will best prepare them for today’s global environment.
But bigger classes, less time for student-teacher interaction, mandated paperwork, inadequate resources, staff cuts and fewer choices will have a lasting negative impact on our students.
We can stop this from happening be making our schools a priority!
We need to make sure that our students receive a well rounded education.
We need to make sure that we keep our veteran teachers.
We need to make sure that our students receive the individualized attention they deserve.
We need to ensure that our classrooms are not over-crowded and that the class size amendment is implemented.
We need to give our teachers the time to teach and our students the time to learn.
Now is the time for us to get involved. We cannot afford to wait for a “fix” from our elected officials. Talk to your school board member, your state representative and our state senator and ask them to make our schools a priority.
The following are questions which De Anza has asked regarding the budget short fall and its impact. Here are the answers to the best of my ability.
How does the union prioritize the issue of taking a rate reduction or temporary salary freeze in relationship to class size reduction? Class size reduction will mean more RIFs, a salary rollback or freeze is not guaranteed to save jobs as the district is loosing students and is overstaffed. Salary is also a negotiation item and whatever may be agreed on at the table would have to be voted on by the entire SJTA membership.
Does the union have a list of how many teachers there are in the district that are not NCLB or CLAD certified? If not, why? No, Alicia Peel and the Personnel Office have this information. NCLB and CLAD are tie breakers. RIF is based on the 1st day a teacher worked, seniority, then credentials, certifications, Master’s degrees, etc. are used as tie breakers.
Is it the position of the union to fight for highly qualified teachers and the release of teachers meeting a lesser standard? As teachers it is not our position to evaluate teacher qualifications.
Is it correct that the union chooses to not be involved in the tie breaker criteria? If so, why? Yes, CTA has advised all unions to steer clear of the tie breaker criteria as it may put us in a libel position. The District is the organization which hires and fires.
When will the union provide those concerned with the preliminary lay off list that you will be provided with next week? We are waiting on the District to give us their list, which will determine when it can be passed on.
Are budget reports available upon request? Yes, some have received them if they have attended one of Jayne Christakos budget presentations.
It will be impossible for anyone concerned to be assured fair and equal treatment during the lay-off process without all the facts. Will the union take the position to ensure that all those concerned receive complete ranking lists? Last year during the process a lawyer came to represent unit members (if you are a fee-payer CTA does not represent you) during the process. SJTA’s Executive Board is not versed in all the ins and outs of Ed. Code. We depend on CTA to help in those areas. After the list is put together the lawyer looks at it, but can only go by the information the Personnel Office gives him/her.
How are the positions of the union being steered by all of its members? Each site has a minimum of 2 site representatives who attend monthly meetings, and who should in return be passing on information to the unit members at regular site meetings. Site Representatives are also encouraged to bring site concerns to the monthly meetings. The Executive Council takes those concerns to a monthly meeting with Dr. Fox and the DO Cabinet. Any unit member is also welcome to attend the site rep meetings. Members are also encouraged to attend School Board meetings
One of CTA’s proudest achievements is Proposition 98. Approved by voters in 1988, Proposition 98 guarantees that schools and community colleges receive a minimum amount (approximately 40 percent) of revenue from state taxes and local property taxes.
CTA has vigorously defended Prop. 98. At the height of
California’s economic recession - in 1992 and again in 1993 - the governor and legislature decided to call portions of Prop. 98 school revenues “loans” with repayment due in future years. CTA objected and sued the state in CTA v. Gould. CTA won the lawsuit in the biggest school funding victory ever scored against a state government. This victory not only cemented a significant legal issue, it resulted in schools getting $540 million more in 1996-97 and millions more every year in the foreseeable future.
CTA was also the driving force behind class-size reduction. For more than a decade, CTA has lobbied hard for class-size reduction. In 1996, CTA’s advertising campaign aired for 30 days in every television market in
California. The ads, which featured real teachers, parents, and students, drove home the message: “More teachers, smaller classes.” CTA spent $2.3 million on that campaign and made class-size a “hot button” political issue. The legislature appropriated $770 million to reduce K-3 class sizes from 30 students to 20, and kicked in another $200 million for portable classrooms. As a result, nearly 95 percent of the state’s school districts managed to launch a class-size reduction program in kindergarten through 12th grade.In 2005, CTA won a historic victory for students, public schools and CTA members by defeating several initiatives on the governor’s special election ballot.
When the governor attacked teachers and our association in his State of the State address in January, CTA responded. After announcing his intention to break his promise to repay the money he borrowed from the education the year before and his plan to destroy the public employee retirement system, CTA joined a broad coalition of teachers, firefighters, nurses, public safety officers, parents, public employees and all education groups to form the Alliance for a Better California.
With CTA members taking the lead in the
Alliance, we defeated the governor’s special election initiatives that would have:
Cut school funding and destroyed the minimum school funding guarantees of Proposition 98
Given the governor’s extraordinary powers over the state budget to make school cuts in the middle of the year — without consulting anyone.
Destroyed teacher dues process rights by allowing districts to fire teachers during the first five years without any reason.
Silenced the voices of teachers, education support professionals
Through an aggressive organizing and media campaign, CTA members made the difference in this election, making more that 1,000,000 phone calls to voters.CTA has been the predominant force for improving both the quality of education and the well being of educators in
California. CTA led efforts to:
Create free and integrated public schools and institute compulsory attendance laws.
Outlaw child labor and enact other legal protections for children.
Establish community colleges, the
University of
California, and the California State University System.
Devise and implement plans for educational reform and improvement.
Create a pension plan: the State Teachers Retirement System.
Protect academic freedom with the “continuing contract” system that affords due process to teachers in their employment
Fellow teachers,
It’s been quite a start to the beginning of the school year. From every direction and school site, there are grumblings of unrealisitic expectations put on you by site administrators, not enough prep time to do it in and disregard for the children and their families who will end up being the ultimate sacrifical lambs when more district cuts are made.
Some of us remember the days under prior superintendents when classes were dissolved and combined at a moment’s notice. Once again, that seems to be happening. In these days of fiscal undertainty, of course we know that money is tight, but it should never come at the expense of our children. It’s hard to fathom that children might lose their teacher that they started the year with because of numbers.
Some of you have even talked to me about not doing any of the extra duties San Jacinto teachers often take upon themselves to do after school. I would caution you not to do that at this time; this is usually done as a unit when we want to make a statement about conditions. We must all stand together.
Negotiations have not yet started for the 08-09 school year; management is till trying to get the nurses to give up extra days for last year. So now you have time to really think about how your life in the district has changed this year in SJUSD. If you could change anything through the contract, what would it be? How are conditions most adversenly affecting you? This will be a year when language is changed, so we will be asking you to do some soul searching and see what you think would help you the most in the classroom.
None of us like the direction things are going. Join you site rep in voicing your displeasure, so constructive steps may be taken to rectify it. We hope to utilize survey monkey before negotiations do begin, so get your home e-mail address to your site rep or myself. But meanwhile, suggestions may be made during the monthly ten minute meetings.
Keep up all of the good things that you do for kids!
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