Once again we have had to set up a new SAUSD corruption thread as the last one started to run slow with all the comments on it.
Our schools are in crisis today – not just here in Santa Ana but all over the state. The only thing we know for sure is that we are going to take more budget hits.
I am amazed that the SAUSD hired back all their laid off administrators. How crazy is that? Class sizes are growing, good teachers are laid off, and the union, as usual, is asleep at the wheel.
We will continue to reason through all this here at the Orange Juice blog! We can but hope for the best…
MQ- Will you volunteer to get this non profit off the ground? You seem to suppose that teachers have so much power. Send a student home for temper tantrums? Why would you expect a teacher to strike in order to get parents to do their own job? In reality, they have mortgages, bills, car payments etc, etc. How far do your absurdities stretch? Again, let us all know when you start this non profit. It’s a good idea but too much talk.
MQ- Will you volunteer to get this non profit off the ground?
MQ says:
I don’t know, yet?
“You seem to suppose that teachers have so much power. Send a student home for temper tantrums? ”
MQ says:
The teachers are the one’s paid to teach! If they cannot do their job because the child is disturbing and disrupting the class, then send his/her butt to the principle and call the parents! WHY is this concept so hard to grasp and why are you even questioning it?
Are schools institution for learning or daycare center?
“Why would you expect a teacher to strike in order to get parents to do their own job?”
MQ says:
Hmmm… Because the parent is important to the overall success of the child!
If the parents are not doing their job, it only puts a stain on the teacher, and the result is a lot of failing schools! So for once, I think teachers should strike for success instead of increased pay!
“In reality, they have mortgages, bills, car payments etc, etc.”
MQ says:
In reality so do we all, but some of us sit down with our kids and either help them with their homework or make sure they have done it! We also join the PTA, fundraise for our schools and while it may be exhausting and quite frankly a pain in the a$$, the results are well educated, happy kids! And really don’t give me the stupid working poor rhetoric. The poor are NOT stupid and the poor can help insure their kids are getting a good education!
Really where is your logic?
“let us all know when you start this non profit. It’s a good idea but too much talk.”
MQ says:
I will let you know, when I know I will get full support from the district, teachers and social services!
hahaha! You’re beginning to get the idea. But, if you don’t expect teachers to get full support, that is parents and admin, then why do you need full support also. You are so illogical and uninformed and you are too predictable with your responses.
The idea of what? You don’t say or do anything, because what is the point?
Why are we wasting money then to pay you to teach?
“you are so illogical and uninformed and you are too predictable with your responses.”
MQ says:
What a complete disaster SAUSD is…How many idiots are we paying to sit around and do nothing because they feel they don’t get any support?
How many kids are being shuffled through a system where the environment is one of complete distrust and stalemate!
How long is this going to continue?
Was that predicable?
I don’t know why you are laughing, cause the taxpayer is NOT!
OMG!
Michelle truly does have some great ideas, I respect that she is here and saying something, it doesn’t all come across the way it should. I actually have to admit that I personally don’t have the power to send a kid home for having a temper tantrum, the one major temper tantrum this kid had, I called the DSO to come and get him and he couldn’t even do it. The parents had to come to the school. Michelle is right, the parents are the key to all of this. There are many teachers who do their job and do it well but the solution all lies with the parents. I think some of the things that are going on at Carl Harvey with the parents are the things that the district needs to pay attention to. My own kid is in a Santa Ana school and they are doing very well. They are also demanding a lot of parents. We can beat ourselves up and beat up the kids (metaphorically, of course) but until we start beating up on the parents, nothing will change. If some sort of non-profit really wanted to come in and help the situation with parents, I’d be all for it.
I do like you tmare,
And in your case, I apologize for my lack of diplomacy. It is not something that comes to me easily!
“but until we start beating up on the parents,”
MQ says:
This whole county would be behind you 100% and I 110%!
The teachers need help with the parents, you cannot be expected to teach, when you not only have out of control street kids, but sperm and egg donors that have no interest in actual parenting!
The key is the parents and teacher’s willing to drop the PC that has only hindered public education and allowed parents to deny their kids a fundamental human right! The parents are the first educator’s and the only one’s who can instill the first seeds to life long learning! Most of the parents in Santa Ana are from countries that see absolutely no value in education. Most of these parents view schools as day care centers and a convenience for them!
This must change! The PARENT not just the child, needs to be made aware of the fact that they are accountable for their child’s education, and that the teachers are only a tool and not the complete solution!
Their must be strict academic guidelines for parents to follow and consequence’s if they are not!
Such a non-profit already exists: turnaroundusa.org
thank God Dennis Cole is no longer the flavor of the week. At least you all have moved on to bigger and better issues than to deface someone’s character
Remember when a school’s administration would actually converse with the students? Outside of an SST or disciplinary action? Yeah, so can a whole lot of MacArthur’s parents and teachers, yet the administration won’t have anything to do with the kids! Winter Dance: any admin? No. They were behind locked doors totally inaccessible to teacher or student. They say they care but their actions speak louder than words.
I’m not sure if you really recognize what is going on at the district level and what the district asks administrators to do. The majority of the time at my site I see one or two administrators before school, during break, lunch and after school out supervising and talking with students. However, I do also see that when they are not present it is because they are at district meetings. The amount of time they spend at the district office (not of their choice) is staggering. The number of meetings at the district office creates the need for too many administrators and we could save a lot of money just by reducing the number of meetings. The administrators themselves state that most of them are useless, yet they are required to be there. In addition to this, they spend countless hours behind closed doors with parents and teachers. I guess we all have our own perspective but until you’ve walked in their shoes, it is difficult to judge or believe what you say.
Connect with other SAUSD parents and members of the SAUSD community and discuss the possibilities of making our students first.
Log on and join studentsfirst.org A movement to transform public education.
Be very careful with studentsfirst.org. This is Michelle Rhee’s organization. Michelle wants to dismantle public education but is a poor example of what a public school teacher should be. She’s the east coast teacher that taped shut the mouths of her second grade students because her classroom management skills were so poor she knew no other way to quiet them!
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1675
Dismantle public education! FANTASTIC!
Anon –
Tsk, tsk. I listened to the video tape. She is talking about her misadventures as a first year teacher. She states on the video that in attempting to quiet the class she suggested they play a game. The game involved placing “a little piece of masking tape” over their lips. She explained this as a seal and it should not be removed until they reached their destination. What she did not anticipate was the troubles in removing the tape. Ms. Rhee did not resort to “taping shut the mouth of the students” because her classroom management skills were poor, she chose to engage the students in a game that would entertain with the end purpose of keeping them quiet. Who, as a parent or teacher, has not made some unwise decisions when they were new at being a parent or teacher. Generally these mishaps are not intentional. but happen because we are not experienced or adequately trained.
Do you consider the new parent who feeds her newborn baby milk that’s a bit too warm a bad parent? Or is the mom who sends her child to school without a sweater and the weather turns cool a bad mom?
As a parent, I have no problem with the tape game for the following reason: she was a first year teacher and I do not think her motives were to harm the children.
I think you don’t like the dust she’s kicked up regarding teacher unions.
BTW … did Superintendent Russo willingly resign? As an SAUSD parent and taxpayer I hope the search for a new superintendent is much more transparent. Be wary of Trustee Noji
recruiting the new superindendent.
A “game” to keep kids quiet by putting a piece of tape on their mouth? Seriously? Tsk Tsk to you too Lemon. I can think of many other games to keep kids quiet than one that involves tape on their mouth! You can paint it as innocently as you wish. Bottom line a teacher should never have to resort to this type of game. A new parent may go through difficulties, but a teacher is trained to teach! And yes, as a parent I would have a problem with this. Parents will always make mistakes raising their OWN children. Teachers don’t have the luxury to make mistakes on other people’s children.
Maybe (hopefully) they will not hire from within again. A nationwide search should begin today. Olsky and Lopez are already lobbying for the job.
You need Steven Perry!
Noji will choose the Supt. as she did the last one. Hence, nothing positive to look forward to. Look for Dawn Miller, Cathie Olsky or Juan Lopez. None of them are good people and will do nothing but maintain the status quo of a failing district.
I guess they can lobby from within the walls at Chestnut St. but there are many of us who will find ways to lobby from within the district OUTSIDE the walls of Chestnut St. for actual change. Those three have actually been running things for years anyway. My question to the board is, “How has that been working out for the kids?” We need some real change, we need a Superintendent who listens to the people who actually work with kids. We need someone with some guts to stand up for the things that really matter not their own ego induced agendas.
Get a life tmare. The problem is teachers like you. Stop bitching about what everyone else is doing. I would love to see your students scores. Also, lay off the District office. They are not our enemies. We are all one in the same. Our kids have major issues and we need to help them not just complaine. Shut up already!
Well said tmare
Not all students think intellectually. A lot need hands on to understand how and why things work; they’re no less smart than another, just process differently. Yet with the district teaching to the test this is no longer available. We are doing a disservice to our students to lose all the “electives” that weren’t really elective, but subsidiaries of the main courses. How much math is in both Home Ec and Wood Shop? How much math is in music! You would be amazed. How much math is currently happening in Santa Ana? Not much.
I so agree. Wood and metal shop, cooking/sewing, choir/band (music is based upon math), The only “elective” they seem to have kept is football/basketball. They do still have PE, don’t they?
Aren’t these “electives” really just before school/after school activities or, dare I say it, clubs?
Do schools look better to the state when they call these extra curricular activities electives?
What are the technical differences that make these offerings electives?
I always thought electives were classes teaching specific skills by teachers who were qualified to teach them.
Art, music, wood shop, computers, home ec., were all meaningful classes taught by teachers whose skills were in the areas they taught.
So much is missing for these students.
Another fabulous argument for an 8 period day. Take away the electives and make the regular teachers pick an elective and wing it. Just ridiculous.
tmare,
His philosophy is exactly what Santa Ana students and teachers need!
dr-steveperry.com – Cached
Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Ph.D….REally..
Along with Rob Richardson and deciding vote of José Alfredo Hernández, J.D. whom has turn his back on the real reason why he decide to run and become a school board member in the first place will go along with Audrey and company to hire from with in.
Future outlook.
Yeah!
The the 3 amigos will vote to hire an outside firm. Do a national search for the best and most qualified Superintendent money can buy.
At the end of the day!
1 of 2 things will occur.
The best and most qualified Superintendent Money can buy will end up being someones friend or extended relative of!
Juan Lopez
Cathie Olsky, Ed.D.
Camille Boden
Michael P. Bishop, Sr., CBO
or the outgoing
Incompetent
Jane Russo.
The school board would have voted and wasted all the money for a national search for nothing, because they will never be transparent. They will choose and go along with Audrey Noji.
It is up to us all.
using russo’s own words, to put pressure on the Entire School Board, not just a few to actually do what this district needs.
A Superintendent who has not family or professional ties with anyone at SAUSD, then and only then we can have transparency.
For a supposed District insider you sound like an idiot.
Noji and her two lap dogs – Richardson & Hernandez – constitute a board majority. It’s simple math.
Noji and Richardson remain in place due to Mayor Pulido and the SA Chamber of Commerce.
The SA Police and fire fighters walk for Pulido and they bundle Noji, Richardson and Hernandez’s political literature. I still find it hard to understand why the police and firefighters actively campaign for the mayor since it is the mayor and council who negotiate and sign their contracts. Looks, smells and walks like conflict of interest to me.
Nonetheless, most teachers do not understand the politics of the city and have at times been very instrumental in helping elect the mayor’s slate.
Pulido runs this city like a company town and the district is within his personal fiefdom.
The head of the snake needs to be cut off and Noji’s board majority needs to be dismantled.
Superintendent search: they claim it will be transparent, but it will not.
The last superintendent search, in my opinion, was a sham for the following reason. Trustee Noji appointed a distinguished member of the community to represent her on the community search committee. This same member submitted a letter of reference for the candidate that was selected. This letter was part of the candidate’s application. At no time was this fact disclosed to the community search committee.
This is how Noji does business. She personally recruits who she wants to install and then she solicits key members of the community to sit on the community search committe and write letters of recommendation.
Message to Teacher … your comment … “Parents will always make mistakes raising their OWN children. Teachers don’t have the luxury to make mistakes on other people’s children.”
Parents like teachers are human, last time I checked. We all make mistakes. It’s your sanctimonius attitude that’s a systemic problem with SAUSD. And that’s teachers included.
“Message to Teacher … your comment … “Parents will always make mistakes raising their OWN children. Teachers don’t have the luxury to make mistakes on other people’s children.”
Parents like teachers are human, last time I checked. We all make mistakes. It’s your sanctimonius attitude that’s a systemic problem with SAUSD. And that’s teachers included.”
MQ says:
No woman, YOU do not have a clue!
The reason why SAUSD is so bad, is due to the fact that idiots like you have tenure and cannot be fired. The reason why SAUSD is so bad is because union hags like yourself are all about the pay check and not the children….
Parents give birth to their children and parents do make mistakes… Teachers are paid to do a job and if they constantly seem to be a mistake in the classroom as evident by low preforming students then they should be swiftly fired!
The teacher how ever does have the power to seek the help of the parent and if the parent refuses then it should be in the best interest of the class room that the parent have some sort of reprimand…So teachers are human and teachers do make mistakes but not at the cost of a child’s greatest tool in life, an education!
Its a shame…really when you think about it.
SAEA and CSEA spend much time trying or making it look like they are trying go against district will, but the sad truth is not SAEA nor CSEA have the will power to do so. Nor, do they have the spirit to truly go against their employer.
Sad to say but, true. It just lip service.
Neither side have the real knowledge or inside help to truly give them heads up on what Audrey and lap dogs are up too.
Audrey
Richardson
and
Jose
are human just like u and I.
They have weaknesses, but neither side knows how to find them and use them to demand transparency.
Now, get off your ass and demand for a superintendent whom will clean and take all the garbage out of the district office. Starting with Russo’s old regime.
Anon
Posted February 1, 2011 at 1:23 PM
just gave you the biggest hint you will ever get on how to go about it. That’s, if you can and if your not bigger idiots than the morons running the show down town.
Once again you are an idiot. Why do we have it so bad? I look around at the other Districts around us and they all have furloughs and roll backs. Have had them for a few years now…we have been OK so far. Even if things get worse for us, at least we made it with no real pain so far.
Joke (for the benefit of MQ who doesn’t seem to get them) The Lone Ranger and Tonto were surrounded by hoards of angry Native Americans. LR says, “looks like we’re in trouble, Tonto”.
His reply, “What do you mean ‘we’, white man?”
In other words, “WE” are NOT “OK”. Look around at co-workers who have gotten “pink slips”. Look at classes overfilled with little warm bodies. Look at the extras everyone is forced to do with a false promise of keeping their jobs.
Like so much of the rest of today’s economy, you are seeing false and misleading prognoses of a better future because your own house has not been foreclosed/you have not received that pink slip.
I don’t think anyone was complaining about pay. The issues surrounding the management of SAUSD are more about the education of the students. The district management continually tries a one size fits all approach in which the district mandates things and allows virtually no site management. Their insistence that every school follow their own ill conceived plans is the problem with the district. The pressure on principals to do things that they know are not in the best interest of the students inevitably puts pressure on the teachers and the students as a result. Many of us are hoping for a major change in leadership with a new superintendent. I would like to see him or her clean house and stop allowing people who know nothing about kids and the realities of the classroom to run the show.
tmare: You have nailed it on the head. Unfortunately we all know that the district people are not of any use. One size does not fit all. MacArtbur/Willard. Lathrope/Mendez. It’s scary what they think they’re doing!
Is the Health Benefits Authority going to eliminate the PPO?
No, it is definitely not going to eliminate the PPO. That was the major concern of SAEA in regards to benefits. Actually, it is probably going to save it.
Is this district wide? We found today that at at least one intermediate and at one high school, ALL the probationary’s ( 1st and 2d yr teachers) were asked to resign their jobs. They were told that if they did not resign, they would be given a letter stating that they would not be rehired for 2011-12. All have been recognized as effective young teachers, in mathematics (at least 3), science and social studies, but they were given no reason for their termination. Obviously, this is being done as a hedge against state cuts in ed funding, not for poor performance. Nevertheless, these teachers were urged by adminstration to resign with the explanation that having a termination on your resume will make it more difficult to be hired. However, resigning your job disqualifies you for unemployment compensation. Is it correct that the employer pays a portion of unemployment, and the district may be bullying these teachers to resign in order to save unemployment compensation costs?
Please be more specific regarding the schools. This isn’t happening at all schools and it would be helpful to know the names of the schools affected.
I will try to find an answer for you.
Thanks, tmare … I just talked with a friend at Saddleback H.S. — same thing with a new math teacher there. She’s frightened and afraid to say anything, with the implied threat that if she doesn’t resign as asked, she’ll be saddled with an unfavorable recommedation for a new job.
It isn’t just here, I follow an on-line chemistry forum based in the LA area, and just read a plaintive call for advice from a new chemistry teacher in LA under pressure to resign. I’m suspecting new cost cutting strategies gaining popularity among school admin. groups. These teachers have to be replaced, the students are still here, these courses have to be taught, the classrooms are packed to capacity as it is, and math and science positions are hard to fill with qualified teachers. I don’t know what’s on their minds.
If you could be more specific regarding which schools you are speaking about, I might be able to help a bit more.
I found out a few things. First of all, I would advise every teacher who is in this situation to contact the union prior to making any decisions. I don’t think the union is aware of these notices until the employee contacts them (the district or school does not automatically provide this info to the union). It appears that they are well within their rights to give these notices. However, my sources tell me that in the event that they do resign, the district has still allowed them to collect unemployment. There does appear to be some sense by these administrators that this type of action will make them seem “tough”. To me, it cries of cronyism. They know that they can get rid of these people without any reason and it is highly likely that they have someone else in mind for those positions. Things are pretty scary right now and tenure is not really saving many people. Unfortunately, this is something that can happen to all probationary employees. Please make sure you tell all of them to contact the union with any and all questions.
Tmare,
Let me tell you what is going on, so your fellow members are not scared!
We are so sick of you all! You’ve done a horrible job in educating our children! And yes as you sat back and knew that you where about to educate a multitude of children that did not speak English… hey, it was a job! YOU sat back as locals schools lost the locals and YOU sat back as your schools got worse and worse and now you want us to feel sorry for the fact that we are paying you a huge amount to teach??????
Unions are about to go under. So that mean’s you are about to start REALLY teaching and if that mean’s kicking some parent butt….GO FOR IT!
Your vacation is over and now you are really about to become educators!
Once again, Michelle, you give me too much credit. I have taught the students who are in front of me for over 20 years and I have never been “sitting back”, I have been fulling involved with those students. We are talking about brand new teachers who are losing their jobs. There really isn’t any union involvement. In fact, that is precisely the problem. These new teachers have no recourse, they have done their jobs to the best of their abilities and being a new teacher isn’t easy in this district. They have no protection from an administrator who wants to appear to be the tough guy. Many of them are great teachers in the making but there is really not much that can be done to help them. You want to blame unions, I would rather blame the cronyism that is happening in this district everyday.
Did anyone else at Willard get a letter in their mailboxes from our new after-school choir director, Michael Duron? Does anyone know anything about him other than what he states in the letter (he currently sings for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church under the direction of Christopher Walker in Westwood)?
Aren’t there any SAUSD choir directors who could or would like to fill the position?
Why do so many of these volunteers come with some type of religious affiliation?
I, for one, can’t wait to hear his promised rendition of one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite songs, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Do you think old honest Abe also listed “Amazing Grace” as one of his favorites?
I am confused about your post. If you are writing only to Willard staff, then maybe this is the wrong place. If you would like to give us some background information then maybe we could understand what you are trying to say. There are people here who could help with some issues but this post doesn’t help us. Please clarify.
Tmare, the comment is directed to Willard Staff, but that doesn’t mean everyone is confused and it’s not the first time the issue of volunteers with religious affiliation has come up on this blog regarding Willard.
I understand the issues as they have been posted here. I know that there are concerns regarding religious views and the issues of the church/state divide at Willard. However, I am unclear as to the job that is being described. Is this a district position? Who has posted it and who has applied for it? Please explain.
Letter given to teachers in their mailboxes:
February 2011
Dear Willard Teachers,
Hello! Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Michael Durón and I direct the after-school choir in Room 25 from 2:30- 4:30 everyday. Hopefully you had the opportunity to hear the choir perform their music during the awards/holiday assembly last December. The effort put forth was quite evident in their performance and I am sure that you were impressed, as I was, by their sound and vocal quality.
The purpose of this communication is to give you a strong sense of where I’d like to take the choir this remaining semester. But before I do this, I feel it’s necessary to give you a little bit of my background information. I am a cellist, pianist and tenor. I currently sing for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church under the direction of Christopher Walker in Westwood.
You, as instructors, understand what the value of the Arts brings to a school and to each individual student. Often times our students are not exposed to orchestral and choral music and I firmly believe that when we bring the Arts to students, lives are changed and we open doors to a wider world outside of their own cultural experience.
In addition to singing patriotic songs, the choir will be performing songs appropriate to the season or event. For instance, we are currently rehearsing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a favorite song of Abraham Lincoln and “Angel Baby” by Rosie and the Originals for Valentine’s Day.
Next month, on Wednesday March 16, the choir will be singing in its first choral competition for middle school choirs in La Habra in April. I am also making arrangements with the local hich schools (OCHA and Santa Ana HS) involved in a musical exchange/mentoring program to give our students further support and direction by their peers.
Having a successful performing arts program requires careful planning and tremendous work. It is my sincere desire to see Willard Intermediate School become known in the upcoming years as an outstanding performing arts middle school. I also understand that to succeed, the spport of the students’ teachers and parents is key to their future musical progress.
Enclosed with this letter is a small student-made poster promoting the choir. I ask that you hang it up in your class. I ask for your help in that if you know of a student of creative/musical ability to reommend him/her for the after-school program. Please feel free to contact me by email at [email given but not disclosed in this posting] or drop me a note in my box. I thank you kindly for your attention and look forward to our students’ successes through musical performance as well as their improved academic achieement.
Warmest regards,
Michael Durón
Is Mr. Duron paid or is he “volunteering”?? Just trying to clear up some confusion.
As SAUSD decided to phase out electives teachers fought against it. SAUSD said the purpose of cutting elective was to focus on core classes but teachers knew it was the money.
Providing a variety of electives such as music, art, shop, home ec., etc. is as important as reading, writing and math to help form well rounded citizens. Developing a child’s creative abilities improves skills across the board and improves attendance.
Teachers want electives back into our schools.
Qualified teachers work within state and federal mandates.
Electives should be reinstated and qualified teachers should be in those classrooms.
Public education is underfunded but we do not allow outside corporations sponsor various parts of a school’s responsibility. Burger King should not be running our lunch program.
On another note, I was told that the principal at Willard, a Mr. Cole, is seldom at school. I know the new and fancy name for a principal is now “School Administrator”, but whatever the title, I would presume that the position would require a person who is on campus and handling school business for a majority of each day. Perhaps my source was incorrect, so I would appreciate more accurate information. I would think that not being on the school campus at all, or only arriving late in the afternoon would be an extremely poor way to “administrate”, however perhaps all school administrators are on a similar schedule. Enlightenment, please.
Yes, apparently the District Office personnel believe that all school administrators should be in meetings somewhere off campus for a minimum of 4 hours per day. This is my experience and what I am hearing from others at many school sites. This doesn’t just include principals, it is also true for all assistant principals.
To concerned and puzzled:
Your information is correct.
To concerned and puzzled
Posted February 19, 2011 at 12:12 PM
Is Mr. Duron paid or is he “volunteering”?? Just trying to clear up some confusion.
Excellent question. I have no idea if he is volunteering or not. I have no idea what avenue he took to get to Willard, whose decision it was, what his directives are or who defines his “curriculum”.
Mr. Cole may (or may not) know more about Michael Durón.
Apparently, Mr. Cole is not always fully aware of who volunteers at Willard or what exactly they do or don’t do while doing their volunteer work.
Your questions are why I was asking.
Does anyone know anything about Mr. Durón other than what he states in the letter?
Do students need these types of programs in school. Absolutely.
Do teachers want electives back in our schools. Absolutely.
Qualified teachers work within state and federal mandates for good reasons.
Electives should be reinstated and qualified teachers should be in those classrooms.
Another question.
Under ed. code, what is the difference between an elective, a before school/after school activity, and a club?
To me an elective is a class with state guidelines and state approved curriculum.
I suspect that by calling some of these things electives an individual school as well as the district benefit when reporting to state and federal agencies regarding school funding.
I was surprised to learn that SAUSD does not have specific guidelines for clubs. Now I am wondering if they have specific guidelines for what qualifies as an elective.
It is very obvious that the district isn’t using any guidelines in regards to who teaches which electives. The implementation of the 8 period day has effectively eliminated electives which are taught by qualified people. Language arts and math teachers are basically told to choose an elective to teach with no guidelines or curriculum. I have heard of math teachers who choose to teach an extra class of dance. Even worse, in many cases, schools have eliminated 1/2 of the science and social studies curriculum in favor of having unqualified teachers choose an elective. This is a major waste of the student’s time in the name of squeezing in more math minutes. At the very least, it is wrong and it is possibly not legal. As the district pushes for more of this type of thing, I hope teachers will become more willing to bring these issues to the board. I think the board is left completely in the dark by the district administration and the teachers need to bypass the district and go directly to the board with information.
I work at an Elementary School and both of our administrators are on our campus at 7 a.m. greeting parents and students at the front of the school. They also have a morning assembly that they attend with the kids to get them motivated for the day (a cheer session). They are rarely gone and I very seldom see them gone to meetings during they day. If they do attend one, they notify us all on a staff bulletin. They let us know who is in charge and so far that has only been once all year.
I guess I should have said that my experience and those I have talked to are all from secondary schools. At least the elementary principals appear to be able to stay on-site.
A statement was made in an earlier post that SAEA members will still have the PPO option with the new Health Benefits Authority. According to the proposed contract language, the HBA has the authority to make whatever plan modifications they deem necessary to offset increased benefits costs. The HBA is also authorized to make plan changes during the year, in which case, plan enrollment would be reopened. What guarantee is there that the PPO option would continue? Is it not true that while the PPO may, in fact, continue to be offered in name, the HBA may authorize changes that make it prohibitively expensive to members, essentially leaving them little choice but to switch to the HMO?
Although the proposed language indicates that collective bargaining would be used if an agreement cannot be reached on plan modifications, it also indicates that, if no agreement between the District and 3-member SAEA representative team is reached by November 1 of a given year, SAEA members will pay half of the shortfall in funding for member benefits retroactive to July 1st. Does this not effectively end the union’s ability to actually negotiate health benefits and mean that members will no longer be voting on benefits changes as they have in the past?
You have valid concerns, Patricia. I would advise you to attend one of the informational meetings so you can ask these questions. It is my understanding that the PPO either would have disappeared or become prohibitively expensive if the union didn’t come up with this solution. This solution will avoid the caps that were certain if this did not happen. Things are changing greatly and it is to everyone’s benefit to become as knowledgeable as possible regarding these changes.
So, elementary school children need their administrator on campus but older students do not? What takes place at these four hour daily meetings? If administrators aren’t actually needed on campus, perhaps the District could save a huge amount of funds by curtailing the position or just making it half time. Never mind. They would just put these people back in the classroom and lay off the ones who actually do the work.
I am not exactly sure what is going on at the secondary level, but I’d imagine that the teachers will be let in on the secret sometime before the end of the year. My theory is that it is BIG. Time will tell what has made the administrators disappear for most of the day.
I don’t know if this is true or not, but they are supposed to be moving grade 6 to the Elementary Schools. We don’t have room for everyone now, but maybe they will move the preschools or the special ed classes.
Ah, yes. I remember when they switched 6th grades to “junior high” and renamed them “middle schools”. So we’re going to do the old dance, “old is new again”. Whole word vs phonics, been there, done that at least three times. “cursive” vs “don’t bother”, ditto. “algebra in middle school” vs “not until h.s.” and, oh, yes, my favorite: “electives” vs “no electives. Be warned: “no electives” will play in to “no prep”. And then there’s Madison, Wisconsin.
What concerns me most about the proposed Health Benefits Authority language is that we essentially give up our right to collectively bargain health benefits.* While the language does state that benefits increases not resolved by HBA-approved plan modifications will be subject to collective bargaining, it’s rendered meaningless by language stating that if no agreement on plan modifications is reached by November 1st of any given year, members will retroactively pay 50% of the increased member benefit costs for the preceding four months. Increases which stay in effect “may” (not “shall”) be referred to collective bargaining, so ultimately the District is not required to negotiate and those increased member contributions will continue (and continue to grow), unless SAEA agrees to benefit plan changes (which themselves will not require membership approval).
Unless we negotiate a pay increase or the HBA alters the current health plans (e.g., increases in co-pays and deductibles or changes in services offered), we’ll have the equivalent of a pay cut to cover the increased benefits contributions. Significant plan changes or increased benefits contributions, probably beginning with the new plan year, are essentially guaranteed by this language without explicitly stating that this is the case. Of much more concern, it seems to me, is that we have negotiated away our right to collectively bargain health benefits in the future if we were to choose to do so.
We will not have the protections such as those retained by UTLA in contract language related to their district/labor joint Health Benefits Committee. UTLA’s language guarantees that if the school board rejects the unions’ health benefits proposals presented via the HBC, the next steps will be impasse, mediation, and fact-finding and the unions retain the right to strike over benefits if necessary. UTLA also retains the right to inform the district by January 1 of any given year that they intend to withdraw their share of health benefit expenditures and negotiate a replacement benefits plan.
Our language, on the other hand, only allows us to request mediation, which is unlikely to result in an agreement if nothing else has. Not only will the membership no longer be voting on plan changes, the union will have lost the right to go to impasse or fact-finding on health benefits cost/premium increases, much less retain the right to take job actions. We will be at the mercy of the District and the insurance carriers and will have given up a right others fought hard to win.
*The exception would be if benefits costs go down, in which case the amount in the new benefits fund in excess of two months worth of benefits costs would be subject to health benefits related negotiations.
My health benefits “tank” in July
Did you attend one of the informational meetings? Perhaps your question could’ve been answered there.