Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing! In this case our 2009 SAUSD thread has so many comments on it that it is now running too slowly. So we are starting this new thread for the second half of 2009.
So far this year we have had plenty to write about. The State budget cuts have had a devastating affect in Santa Ana. Layoffs have ensued.
To top this all off, the SAEA cut a weird deal with the SAUSD that essentially cut benefits for all the younger teachers. And then the SAEA held elections.
Now more budget cuts loom…and all the other issues remain. I expect this thread will fill up too before long…
Posted at sateach.org:
http://www.sateach.org/President's_letter_06-09.pdf
District in Total CHAOS!
June 5, 2009
This is my first “President’s Letter” and unfortunately it is packed with bad news.
Yesterday, I attended a School Services workshop in Ontario and I heard depressing news, slide after slide. Currently the State has a deficit of $24.3 billion dollars and will run out of cash in the next couple of months. The Federal government has clearly indicated that it will not bail out California. Furthermore, California’s credit rating is one of the lowest in the country making it extremely difficult to borrow money. The May/June budget revise has major cuts to education and the Federal Stimulus money will slightly alleviate the deep cuts the Governor is proposing.
Given the dire economic situation, the District has decided to staff grades 1 through 3 at 30 to 1, in essence eliminating class size reduction. This will seal the fate of about 300 Multiple Subject credentialed teachers. Only Single Subject credentialed teachers are being rescinded. This means staffing with a minimum number of teachers to open schools in September. This means class sizes of 40 to 45 students at the secondary level for the next school year. Counselors, psychologists and music teachers are still in limbo. No “out of the classroom” positions are being funded using categorical monies. The picture is dreadful with no relief in sight.
To make matters worse, the District is in total disarray! Yesterday, Deputy Assistant Superintendent stated the District is planning to RIF an additional hundred Multiple Subject credentialed teachers by August 15th. Today, the Superintendent denied this statement. When contacted, School Board Members knew nothing about a second round of RIFs. Clearly, District Administrators either don’t know how to do business or don’t talk to each other.
IT IS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER FOR YOU TO ATTEND THE JUNE 9TH RALLY
YOUR JOB IS AT STAKE & THE SCHOOL BOARD IS UNAWARE OF THE CHAOS!
Be assured that I will keep you informed throughout the summer via email or snail mail. Please make sure SAEA has your current non-district email address.
Susan Mercer
President Elect, SAEA
Susan,
Neither you nor anybody else at SAEA has ever kept us informed during the last 7 years of rifs. I do everything I can to keep the rif and its affect on me away from my students, but I don’t know how much longer I can handle this, especially with no help from the union. Bulletin: STUFFING A BUNCH OF ENVELOPES EQUALS NO HELP. We need a rally on June 9 and at every board meeting. You personally need to be at every board meeting fighting for our jobs and bringing parents with you. You need to make sure rifs don’t happen again. The situation in SAUSD is preposterous. No teacher or human being trying to make a difference should suffer the way the riffed teachers and many of their students have year after year after year. Yes, yes, I know. It’s not the union who rifs. It’s the district. But the union has influence, and it is obligated to do more for us than stuff envelopes and make sure the process is “fair” and goes smoothly. I didn’t want a massage. I wanted a union, like the teachers in L.A. and Pomona have, that would stand up for me, organize parents, challenge the district’s budgeting information, speak out at board meetings about the wisdom of cutting so close to the classroom when other cuts could be made, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I did not vote for you and I don’t presently trust you. I think you are Dave Barton aka Do Nothing #2. But I guess I have to rely on you. So here is your chance. What are YOU going to do to help us keep our jobs? I don’t want to just be one of the 300 multiple subject teachers you talk about who kisses my job goodbye. I don’t want the union to passively or even collusively stand by and allow these job losses to happen. I have a lot invested in my job and I like doing it. And I am good at it, unlike many of the teachers with more seniority who are a disgrace to the profession. I want to keep my job. I want the unfairness of the rifs and maybe even the strict seniority rules challenged. Help me and the rest of us, not with a massage, but with ACTION! Not just on June 9, but over the summer and as long as it takes to make sure that every one of us gets our jobs back and that these rifs never happen again. Then you would be a union president who earns respect and proves those of us who were skeptical of you wrong.
rif rif (#21/24)
Why is it so hard for you to believe that Barton would be angry about additional RIF’s? That fact that you or anyone else is or has been RIF’d makes everyone angry – everyone of your co-workers, everyone of your union leaders, everyone. The fact is that SAUSD is run by a bunch of incompetent mid-level managers that are doing one thing and one thing only – covering their asses and trying to save their jobs.
As for the notice sent out by SAEA – give them some credit. Since you had your notice in your mailbox on Friday, guess what? SAUSD lied to SAEA the day before (at least) – unless you are delusional enough to believe think that SAUSD’s inter-office mail delivers the same day, SAEA had to but the notices in the mail on Thursday.
So what’s the point? The point is that the only reason the RUSSO Mafia can get their message out within hours is that they get to use SAUSD e-mail and rely on school office managers to deliver their messages ‘instantly’. If SAEA members would be as connected with SAEA as SAUSD is to it’s office managers, then maybe SAEA would be able to communicate ‘instantly’ – until then, SAEA fights time.
Bottom line – Olsky, on behalf of SAUSD lied to SAEA and SAEA acting on that lie, tried to communicate as fast as possible with it’s members. Here is an example of SAEA trying its best to do its best, and yet you slam them for their efforts. And you still trust SAUSD more than the SAEA? That’s foolish.
You give “DON RUSSO” way to much credit. She acted and acts with FULL INFORMATION. If she doesn’t, then she’s even more incompetent and a bigger fool that ever imagined. She and others are very deliberate in sending out messages aimed at demoralizing and angering teachers. Don’t make any excuses for her or anyone she relies upon.
As for the rally – you and others like you will never be satisfied. You demand action, and when you get it, you refuse to support it as being ‘too little, too late’. What’s ridiculous isn’t SAEA’s planning and holding a serious rally; it’s the pathetic response of teacher’s like you.
And why shouldn’t SAEA take credit for saving jobs if they actually did something? In this case, I think it’s a natural part of SAUSD’s standard MO – RIF hundred’s more than you will actually need, with no consideration for the life’s they are affecting, and then hire back people on a piecemeal basis, causing even more stress. I don’t think you’ll hear anyone at SAEA taking credit of the current round of rescissions.
Finally, please, get your facts correct – SAEA had nothing to do with the ‘Bakersfield’ decision. Of course, if you had been positively affected by Bakersfield, I doubt if you’d be demanding that others be allowed to take your job because the ‘Bakersfield’ decision was so wrong, would you?
Red Vixen (#31) So, tell me Red, what exactly should SAEA do about RIF’s?
2centworth or UNION LEADER,
You guys really need to be ashamed of yourselves.
Your about to get a shock when taxpayer’S like myself tell you “NO MORE MONEY TO FUND YOUR CRAP SCHOOL SYSTEM”.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO WORK ANYMORE FOR YOU AND YOUR LIE’S!
“NO NOT ONE MORE PENNY”,
JILL
I HAVE YOUR BACK!
I ADMIRE YOU VERY MUCH FOR STANDING UP FOR THE KIDS, IF YOU NEED A TOUGH WOMAN ON YOUR SIDE, I AM YOUR GIRL.
2 cents:
Get your facts straight and stop misconstruing what I’ve said.
1. Barton has never expressed outrage about the rifs, at least not to the riffed teachers. It seems to most of us that all he has done is passively or collusively accept them. So it is hard for me to believe he cares. If there was any outrage, perhaps it was because there was some backroom deal that he would not mount any serious challenge to the 581 rifs in March on the condition that there would be no more rifs in August. That’s how things seem to me as I’ve suffered through 7 years of rifs. I’m entitled to my opinion and stand by it.
2. I don’t even know who Olsky is. I have never had any contact with her and never even have heard of her anyplace other than on this blog. I also have no knowledge of any conversations she may have had. But here is the point you’re missing. Nobody could reasonably think more rifs are coming in August. The district is presently planning to open the schools with 30:1 and no resource teachers. A few rifs have been rescinded due to unexpected retirements or resignations. How in the world could there be a need for additional rifs? The district has never threatened to go higher than 30:1. It does not take rocket science to figure out that no additional rifs could be coming. I know that, and I am not part of the district or the union elite. So why shouldn’t Mercer know that? And why is Mercer relying on this Olsky person if Olsky is as untrustworthy as everybody on this blog says?
3. Russo was not operating on full information when she sent out her demoralizing letter on the day of the teacher. The propositions were still in play and the stimulus money had not been received. And don’t paint me as a fan of Russo’s. I’m clearly not. The fact that I trust the district more than SAEA speaks more to my total disdain and distrust of SAEA rather than respect for Russo. For the most part, I agree with your assessment of the district.
4. SAEA was not part of the Bakersfield case. That is true. But it did force the district to prepare a Bakersfield list rather than a credential list. Barton proudly bragged about this in one of his president’s letters last year. So get your facts straight, and take your head out of SAEA’s ___.
5. It would be better for society and for students if rifs were based on merit, not on seniority, Bakersfield or non-Bakersfield. It’s a sad world we live in when so many competent teachers are let go when so many incompetent teachers have been retained. And I’m not saying competence is a function of seniority. It’s not. Many teachers who have been retained on seniority undoubtedly would have been retained in a merit system. And many teachers being laid off undoubtedly would have been laid off in a merit system. But merit is what should count, not seniority. This is not for the sake of the teachers, but for the students and the future.
5. The rally, if that’s all there’s going to be, is too little, too late. Have you so little experience with boards that you don’t know that their minds are generally made up based on the documents they have received to prepare for the meeting? A rally outside on the day of a meeting is not likely to change that. Why wasn’t this rally scheduled much much sooner? I can only conclude that it is a pretend show of support for the riffed teachers, just like the hearing. But I do support it as something rather than nothing, and hope agsinst hope that it is a beginning of action by SAEA rather than a one time event. I will show up, and I have encouraged many others to show up. I also appreciate the comraderie that will be shown by the many teachers who did not have rifs who will be there to show their support. So please refrain from calling my response to the rally pathetic.
5. The word is lives, not life’s. The plural of teachers is teachers, not teacher’s. The possessive form of its is its, not it’s. Are you a teacher? If you are, I hope you’re not teaching English grammar and mechanics to your students.
“Red Vixen (#31) So, tell me Red, what exactly should SAEA do about RIF’s?”
#54 My.02¢Worth,
Well, it looks like someone who knows something in SAEA has shown up. Welcome.
I hope you stick around to answer some of the hard questions, yourself. These times are critical to so many.
Could you please request that Susan Mercer put me on her email list for general notifications to the membership? I would be happy to post links or information text when I receive it:
rvixen@gmail.com
Rif Rif – you said you didn’t know who Olsky is, and you’ve never heard her name except on this blog? Go to http://www.sausd.us point on “about us” and click on deputy superintendant. There are a lot of teachers, I’ve no idea of the percent but it’s significant, who pay little attention to things outside their own school site. I’m not surprized you haven’t heard the name Olsky, or maybe Murrey, Boden, Lopez, Ayala, Mendez, Hammitt from other teachers, but along with Russo these are people most influential over teacher’s salaries, benefits, work hours, working conditions and continued employment. It’s a continuous battle with advantage always going to the District, fought by a relatively small group of teachers volunteering time after teaching their classes to represent their colleagues. Seriously rif rif, you and several others here are acting like spectators at a sports match fuming and heckling the players when you don’t know the rules of the game.
RV: You asked once if I would pass OJB cards around to other teachers. I have talked it up, but the majority of teachers I speak to say they know about OJB, but it just looks to them like a bunch of ranting, and don’t look often. Too bad ’cause I like to hear what’s going on at all the sites. I’m afraid 2cents won’t be back after that hammering just above, and OJB will indeed devolve into chorus of think-alike ranters.
#57
How to rate teachers? Merit vs. tenure? As long as you promote administrators without merit (but by political connections) you will have a problem with what is an deserving teacher and one who might need intervention. When you promote principals like Jeff Bishop who will always put down teachers in front of students and undermine them in their own classrooms how can you decide an effective teacher vs one who is over run by students who have been given a free rein to act out? (Let us count the holes in the *door* of the classroom by the students with the excuse there was no engaging curriculum?) A different method of choosing administration needs to happen. In the meantime watch out Sierra! This is coming your way.
In the SAEA’s defense, the district’s continued over-riffing w/o regard to necessary or mandated staffing costs the union far more,proportionately, than the District. This drains union coffers thru admin and legal costs, as well as sheer energy- just ask Paul, Rue, or any volunteer. Both sides must know this is unnecessary.
Contrarily, the union demonstrates incredible gullibility in allowing this to happen,for years and years, 100% rescission of rifs until this year, now it’s 50%???
I believe the human cost to teachers has been amply demonstrated on this blog.
This is a very depressing lesson in classroom mgmt.
Math question:
Teacher A has worked 9 years full time. Teacher B has worked 10 years, 4 of them 50% of the time. Who has more seniority?
According to our district teacher B. Let’s take a closer look.
I’m no math major, but as I see it teacher A has been paid for roughly 185 days for 9 years, equaling 1,665 days of service. Teacher B has been paid for 6 years of 185 days and 4 years of 92 days, equaling 1,478 days of service. Golly gee, by my math that’s close to 187 days more for teacher A!!!!
Seems like we need to revisit how we gauge years of service when displacing teachers!
“I’m afraid 2cents won’t be back after that hammering just above, and OJB will indeed devolve into chorus of think-alike ranters.”
I doubt that. I think you are seeing just a small portion of teachers who are concerned about what is happening in SAUSD. This site continues to build a chorus of people who are interested and involved in what is happening. OJb is still the best place to vent problems and bring out issues.
Maybe your colleagues are just happy with the way things are. It seems like the High Schools are more insulated than the elementary schools are.
This site allows all discussions and allows all problems to be aired. It is all history here and there are several groups that link our threads to their advocates for change.
I think that twocents wont be back b/c they dont have the spine to answer questions that need to be addressed.
There is a whole lot of ducking and covering from your union brass going on. It’s fine with me. You all are paying $1k per year for these kinds of silly “representation” from your union. I certainly hope you don’t need any assistance, because you just might be on your own.
I’m leaving at the right time. Since the middle and high school people are rescinded, they view the union leaders as their heroes, yet they will be dumped on with more responsibilities and kids. It looks to be middle/high school people vs. elem now. Sad!
I don’t believe for 1 second that they won’t RIF again in August because they did NOT RIF enough people in the elem. (multiple subj) areas.
How do I know this? For ex. I know at one school alone 8 people need to be displaced. At my school 1-2 people have to go (not enough spots for them). SO, if you take all of the elem schools that have too many teachers and not enough spots for 30:1, where do you think they will put them?
They are just saying they won’t RIF them now just in case a whirlwind of $$$ comes through and then they will staff the QEIA schools at 24:1 for those displced teachers, but it’s not coming. I bet anything that they WILL RIF the extra people who are being sent out (displaced) at the elem grades. I don’t care whether or not Jane wrote a letter or not…they have too many teachers (multiple subj) and NOT enough openings 30:1 scenario.
Ok, carry on. Don’t leave OJ because of me. In fact, I am moving out of state. 🙂
#59 — As good teachers, don’t we try different strategies with our students when we see we are not getting our lesson across? Why then should the union do the same old tired thing with the rifs year after year after year? I am not like a spectator at a sports match. I am paying $1,000 per year for representation that I consider inadequate. I am venting my frustration, as I have a right to do. As a teacher with obvious seniority yourself, it may be hard for you to understand how demoralizing, destabilizing, and destructive it is to suffer through these rifs year after year. In the early years, I thought SAEA would protect me. But now I see that it is not the case. The “volunteers” that are currently responsible for running SAEA have alienated and frustrated large portions of their constituency. Perhaps it is time for them to try a new strategy with respect to rifs — or to just let somebody like Robert Chavez or Patricia O’Neal have a turn to battle the district. If battling the district is so overwhelming to the current group and they do it so poorly, let others try.
And let me ask you this question. You left Richardson and Hernandez out of your cast of district characters, but they are as responsible as anybody for the sorry state of the district. So why, if the district so overwhelms SAEA and seizes advantage at every turn, did SAEA endorse these two board members when we had a chance to get rid of them and bring in outsiders with fresh perspectives on how the district should be run? You must understand why somebody in my shoes, who has never felt supported by the union in 7 years of rifs, feels that the union and its current staff is at best incompetent. That’s the best. How I really feel is that they operate in collusion with the district. This makes them, in my view, worse than the district because they are the ones who are supposed to protect me. From my perspective, I believe that the union elite, including Jennifer, Barton, and the volunteers you mention, is trying to preserve its own fiefdom at any cost to teachers and, ultimately, students.
Michelle Quinn (#55) So, give us the answers – since YOU aren’t going “FUND YOUR CRAP SCHOOL SYSTEM. WE ARE NOT GOING TO WORK ANYMORE FOR YOU AND YOUR LIE’S! NO NOT ONE MORE PENNY”…so what are your alternative answers?
Red Vixen (#58) ask her yourself.
rif rif (#57) Yes, you are entitled to your opinion – but it’s just that, an opinion. I am sure that there are many people that would vouch for Barton caring as much as you insist he doesn’t – so why does your opinion count more than tmare (#22) who insists that Barton was infuriated – I prefer to believe tmare to your acidic rants.
You don’t know who ‘Olsky’ is? And you say you’re a teacher in SAUSD? If that’s that case, then you are the poorest example of a teacher in SAUSD. Let’s see – why don’t you check http://www.sausd.us/144310101152928337/site/default.asp and find out who SAUSD’s second in command is: Cathy Olsky, ED.d. Deputy Superintendent, SAUSD. You, rif rif, come across as completely uninformed about your own employer…talk about getting your facts straight,
Are you kidding about the knowledge of August rifs? It’s common knowledge throughout the entire education community that Districts have the option of utilizing August RIFs when staffing for the fall semester – again, you are ill-informed about the entire process. Let’s see, how could anyone assume there would be any more RIF’s? Consider that the rescissions are secondary teachers – primary, but multi-subject. In order to accommodate 30:1, they might have needed to RIF more multi-subject teachers, since when RIF’s were issued the assumption was that it might be 24:1 and that the Propositions might actually pass. Reality changes and things must change also.
Regardless, what you don’t really get is this – the Deputy Superintendent of Education for SAUSD LIED to members of the SAEA Board of Directors. And YOU still want to trust and believe SAUSD? What are you smoking?
You still want to give “Don Russo” the benefit of the doubt? You MUST be a District hack to have that much faith in someone that has a proven track record of mismanagement and incompetence.
You are COMPLETELY out to lunch on the ‘Bakersfield’ issue. The ONLY thing that SAEA does, as far are RIFs are concerned, is make sure teachers have the appropriate paperwork and that their information is forwarded to CTA attorneys. You see, I actually took the time to contact my union rep and ask them how the process works and, guess what? You didn’t even bother. SAEA has exactly ZERO influence over the attorney’s. And, again, I can guarantee 100% that YOU WOULD NOT BE ARGUING THE OPPOSITE if your job had been positively affected by the outcome. I don’t see any teachers that were positively affected by ‘Bakersfield’ offering to give up their jobs because the decision was ‘unfair’.
Really, merit based RIF’s? Wow, and the teacher with ZERO experience that doesn’t meet expectations would loose out to the 30-year vet that’s figured out how to ‘work the system’ and ‘teach to the test’? Like that makes any more sense than the current system.
Sooner? When would you have liked it? Before the elections when we had no information? During the elections? During testing? There is never a good time.
And, if you want to get picky on spelling:
against not agsinst
one-time not one time
camaraderie not comraderie
Hope you don’t teach by example.
Hope you do show to the rally, I hope to meet you there and I hope leave your hatred of SAEA at home and give them a chance to prove themselves. Things change, times change, and people deserve a chance.
Jill (#65) g-bye….don’t let the door hit ya on the ass as you leave
#70 My .02C worth…take a hike Julie.
Red Vixen (#36)
LIE #1:
“After all the dust settled, somehow SAUSD and Jane Russo offered Jennifer a paid position as “Grievance Chair”.”
The position of Grievance Chair is a position appointed by the SAEA Board of Directors.
LIE #2:
“Jennifer has not helped, in any way, to resolve problems. When colleagues have called, they get an email back from her asking me to write out what the issue is and she will possibly get back to me. This is unacceptable! We need to be able to explain things and clarify the situation over the phone! I can’t name one person who Jennifer has helped.”
This person describes a SINGLE instance. Even here on the OJ I’ve seen people state that Jennifer HAS helped them. And, really, how unreasonable is it to ask someone to articulate his or her issues in writing?
As teachers, we all know the importance of writing down what you want to communicate – you organize your thoughts, you prioritize them, you make sure you haven’t left anything out, you include all of the facts. Basic essay or thesis writing 101! And this teacher was afraid of doing just that? Sounds to me like they knew they didn’t have a case worth properly documenting, or that they hadn’t bothered to document it over time.
If Jennifer or anyone else relies on a phone call what happens? We’ve all been there…”but I told you”…”you didn’t hear me”…”your notes are incomplete” – the real issue with this complainer is that they didn’t get the result the wanted and they don’t want to be held accountable for what they they were asked to write. It’s a hell of a lot easier to hide behind things we said.
LIE #3
Actually, I spoke with multiple people that attend this awards dinner and Gladys Hall-Kessler was mentioned SPECIFICALLY BY NAME as being THE guiding force that led the way for the successful RIF hearings – a 100% lie since she had nothing to do with the process.
In fact, I understand from RIFd teachers that attended the RIF hearings that she didn’t even bother showing up to the hearings. Guess it wasn’t important enough for her.
Lie #4
“Riff ed teachers have those bastards to thank for losing their jobs.” SAEA had NOTHING to do with the RIFs. PERIOD. RIFs are a function of the budget and a corrupt SAUSD administration. No one at SAEA knows if, when or how many RIFs are going to be issued until the notices have been sent out by registered mail to the teachers. I still can’t figure out what teachers expect SAEA to do about RIFs.
Lie #5
In reading the email that this person quotes, I can’t see anywhere where it says to check the website – it says call. So, why did he or she bother checking the website? Follow instructions, call and ask. Maybe then you’d get an answer.
Regarding this person’s personal grievance:
I have no idea if or why the SAEA Board would vote to take or not take a grievance any farther than a level 3 – but I think that’s a question this person should address to Jennifer or David, not here on the Blog. Of course, we only get one side of the story here because I’m sure Jennifer is bound by some type of ethical code of conduct or privacy.
Maybe this person would like to share ALL of the FACTS of his or her grievance with the OJ Blog community and let us vote on it – and don’t forget to include all of the criteria that SAEA might have used to judge it. And, by the way, what’s the current status on the grievance now that it’s been dumped in Gladys’s lap? Keep us informed.
One final thing, Red Vixen, in order to increase OJ’s credibility, why don’t you start indicating the beginning and ending of each reposted email, instead of posting them as if they were one long email?
rif rif (#66) What new strategies do you suggest? I totally understand the stress of being RIFd – and how dare you assume that I’ve never been through or am not currently going through the same process. I resent your implication that, because I believe that SAEA might actually be doing something right, that I’m not suffering also. My family and I struggle every day with the realities that confront us. It’s not easy making ends meet when you don’t know if there’s a paycheck tomorrow.
So, I ask you again, what would you like to have seen or see SAEA do? Hunger strikes? Suicide bombings? Waive a magic wand and create a money tree? Demand that the district fire all support staff in order to save teachers? Demand that SAUSD stop all supply purchases? Increase your health premiums to $500 a month? If the District doesn’t RIF and goes bankrupt, you’d prefer that the State of California take it over? My understanding from when I went to college is that 80% of a typical District’s budget is paid out in salaries – where would you like the cuts to come from? It all comes down to simple math – there’s a finite amount of money and a nearly infinite demand. And the money pool is shrinking at the same time the demands are rising.
I don’t believe that either of the other two people you mentioned is anywhere near as qualified or willing to fight for teachers in SAUSD. I believe that both have personal agenda’s and axes to grind.
Why did SAEA endorse the two you mentioned? I don’t have a frickin’ clue – maybe because they were the lesser of all evils? Maybe none of the candidates were any better? Did you bother interviewing all of the candidates? I didn’t. Did you find out their positions on issues? I didn’t. Did you bother sharing your concerns with people at SAEA BEFORE they announced their endorsements? I didn’t. You act like SAEA operates in a vacuum. I am sure that SAEA, like any other organization, operates based on information that is has – not information that it doesn’t have.
Union Hack,
Where are your stupid “Talking Points”? on your website?
Why is it okay for Jennifer and Scott to conduct side jobs out of SAEA offices?
Loser.
California Teachers need to unite and sue the federal government ASAP
RIF’s -pain and suffering
RIF’s- stress
California Teachers Class Act Lawsuit
Calfornia Teachers v. U.S Gov.
why? Because ultimately, our nation and our children don’t look good in comparison to the rest of the world,and this is no secret.
There needs to be a bailout for education whether we like it or not.
Whether we are financing immigrants’ education or U.S Citizens’ education is irrelevant. We send billions in aid to other countries. Those we educate will contribute to our country-period.
Teachers- Start looking for work internationally if you are willing to do that. China,Japan- Teachers need to be appreciated.
We need to send a message to Washington that it is Education First./
Healthcare costs are wiping us out- Slash nurses’ salaries and support our teachers.
I am presently writing this proposal!
and I will snail mail Obama. Support me by HANDWRITING NOT EMAILING – AND SIGNING YOUR LETTERS TO OBAMA. Remember the majority are emailing.
OBAMA NEEDS TO ISSUE A MORATORIUM ON TEACHER LAY-OFFS, IF HE WANTS TO GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE PPL’S PRES. For those of you that don’t support teachers, you don’t even know how much teachers have to study to be where they are- and how they in actuality are career students themselves in order to remain credentialed HELLO – WE DON’T HAVE THOSE DANDY LIFETIME TEACHING CREDENTIALS WE HAD YESTERYEARS!!!
2 cents:
You really need to work on understanding the difference between plurals and possessives. You’re committing the same errors again. And I hope you’re not teaching your students that putting the cents sign together with a decimal point, as you have done in your moniker, is the proper way to write money amounts.
That aside, are you the same person that used to post under the moniker Need to Know? I suspect so. Both of you seem a little deranged.
I’m a poor example of a teacher because I don’t know who Olsky is? I suspect few elementary teachers have ever heard of her. You’re sick if you think good teaching has something to do with knowing who Olsky is. I’m quite a bit more informed about the district than you or others think, but this Olsky name is one I have only heard on this blog. Perhaps she is more involved with the high schools. I don’t know. Yes, now I know she is the deputy superintendent and I have seen her picture. In your psychotic world, that will now make me a superior teacher. I could tell you already that I could teach circles around you. Just based on your logic, reasoning, and writing, it is obvious that you might be better off doing something other than teaching.
I have stated what SAEA should be doing for the riffed teachers, and I am not going to say it again. Ditto for the FACTS regarding Bakersfield. I am not going to waste my time more because of your hysteria. Hysterical idiots who don’t read or comprehend the first couple of times are unlikely to read or listen the next time either. Maybe we should just add reading comprehension to your list of weaknesses as a learner and teacher. Go back and read my previous posts if you want to know what SAEA SHOULD do. And Barton’s statements about proudly forcing the district to use Bakersfield and change the list within a few days of the hearing last year are part of his president’s letters from last year. Why don’t you ask Susan or Jennifer for copies next time you go over to SAEA to do whatever disservices all of you do to SAEA teachers?
Sorry about camaraderie. But that’s not an elementary school word, is it? I wrote one time correctly. What did you do, copy my writing into Microsoft Word and use your spell check on it? You’re certainly not smart enough to know when it is appropriate to use one time versus one-time, and spell check is not 100 percent reliable for those things. Against was obviously a typo. In contrast, you don’t know the difference between a posssessive and a plural. You don’t know how to write a money amount. You should be ashamed of yourself. If your family is struggling so much with you as a teacher, why don’t you go do something else. It would be a service to your students and the teaching community.
As for August rifs, I strongly doubt there will be any. The riffing was based on 30:1 in the elementary schools, no resource teachers, and the propositions not passing. I know more about the rifs, I’m sure, than anybody at the SAEA office, including Mercer and Barton. And if I wanted to learn more about them, why the heck would I call SAEA? To leave a message for somebody who would undoubtedly be in a “meeting” and not return my call? Unless enrollment declines drastically (unlikely), the district has calculated how many teachers it needs for 30:1 and riffed accordingly. Just because there are displacements at some site doesn’t mean that there aren’t other sites hit very hard by the rifs that will need teachers.
Finally, since I strongly suspect that you are Need to Know, who I said I would not respond to any more, write whatever else you want. I’m not wasting more time responding to you. Don’t forget to refill your Prozac prescription before work today. Adios.
Is union agent 02 cents the same as Need to know? -Attacking the CTA professional sounds just like an
SAEA hack.
-SAEA should be dealing with these spurious rifs ahead of time, instead they do worse than nothing- they endorse anti-union School board members and the districts bond measure. The bond did not give a cent to teachers, it gave the the district millions to play hide the nut with.
-SAEA is bordering on criminal negligence with the Isensee anger mgmt. scam. Victims should band together to discuss legal options.
SAEA sucks (#74) Please, someone, show me where, anywhere that anyone writing on behalf of SAEA said that talking points would be posted on SAEA’s website. The email mentioned said CALL THE OFFICE.
Just in Time (#75) Last time I read anything about it, I believe that public education is a function of each individual State. It’s not within Obama’s authority to “ISSUE A MORATORIUM ON TEACHER LAY-OFFS” and, did I read correctly, you want nurse’s salaries to be cut? That’s a surefire way to make friends in health care unions.
.02 –
jesuschrist!
Don’t you have ANYTHING BETTER TO DO? I thought you were supposed to be teaching?
Damn SAEA nutters…….!
Post your stupid talking points on your website and save everyone a trip to the phone. Gawd, you all are a lazy lot.
With about 30 years in the classified service I came to expect the kind of antics I read here from CSEA, not SAEA. CSEA was well known for leaving its members hanging high and dry when the crap hit the fan with the district big-wigs. Failing to adequately represent its members; compromising at the expense of the membership; sleeping with the enemy (in one case literally); and even refusing to defend members accused of wrongdoing or following up on grievances.
Now I learn SAEA is no better. What a shocker. How would I have known? My union always followed negotiations after SAEA and generally agreed to whatever crumbs SAEA took. What could I expect from my union negotiators when it included people employed as security guards, electricians, plumbers, secretaries, and the like? Not that there is anything wrong with those jobs but lets face it, these people are not political scientists or business majors. Even our string of LRR,s, with a few exceptions, were barely competent. No wonder my supervisors used to tell me my union leaders were a bunch of morons.
But SAEA? Now that was a different story. Armed with degreed representation and negotiators I just assumed the teachers got their monies worth. Now I learn here that is not the case.
I didn’t learn this from the riffed teachers that showed up to bitch and moan about losing their jobs. I expected that and I can’t blame them for venting. But I can say quite honestly if these people had exited their little worlds and read the economic indicators they should have known that the money tree was dead thanks, in part, to their own union lobbyists.
When it actually became clear what a corrupt and equally loser union SAEA is, was when all the union hacks showed up here during the election cycle for their executive board. These hired guns took on three forms. Some were outright blatant in defense of the union and candidates. Others, surreptitiously posted comments attacking candidates opposing their person of choice and in turn counter attacked anyone for anything negatively said by any anti-union commenter. The arguments took on many forms but generally the scenario went “Have you been to a union meeting?” “What have you done to support the union?” “How do you know that is true?” and when none of that worked it devolved into a spelling debate.
The third category were those that posed as harmless questioners or naive. “What do you suggest can make things better?” “What are your ideas?”, or “Wow they did that. We should file a complaint with CTA”. Then these goodie types would scurry off to report the allegation to other union hacks so the problem could be covered up.
At least one took on a number of different personas and name de plumes to make it appear more union hacks were here than actually were. In some cases unverifiable statistics were tossed out no one could dispute because even if they were correct numbers they were obtained through people bound by confidentiality not to reveal them publically. It is pretty difficult to argue with numbers not publically available to analyze. After the elections most of these hacks departed after achieving their goal.
But not all left. At least one still remains with a new tactic called “It’s not SAEA’S fault, Blame the district”. To that I say read the original title of this thread moron! It was called SAUSD corruption. We already knew the district was corrupt. The fact SAEA has been exposed to be just as corrupt is simply a bonus. Had you not cluttered this blog with such underhanded tactics no one probably would have ever known what a bunch of low-life scum SAEA has become. So for that, “Need to Know”, “Reality Check”, “2 cents” and all the rest on Gilligan’s Isle, we thank you for your cooperation.
If there are so many members unhappy with the SAEA leaderahip, wh’y dont you organize and come up with a slate of leaders that you believe will be more effective.
Just wondering
Just in case anyone was NOT reading the agenda for the board meeting tomorrow please note that Classified lay offs are on the agenda. I hear a rally is set for tomorrow. Anyone have any info?
csea41chavez@hotmail.com, csea41sanchez@hotmail.com, csea41acevedco@hotmail.com, csea41lopez@hotmail.com, csea41avila@hotmail.com, csea41lundquist@hotmail.com, mestrada@csea.com
There are the emails to your CSEA board. Maybe one of them can answer. I heard from chavez a while ago promising some info, but he never came thru. Good luck!
Well I am a classified and I was promised some info and I never heard back from anyone either.. I now give up. I have applied in another district. Yes..I could bump someone in a old position that they will have to re-train me for as I have not done it in well , let’s see 10 years..but I’m sure they have nothing else to do! All my years here are shot.. oh well I guess I will do that job till I find something else.. Gotta love it here at good ol’ SAUSD!
Red Vixen,
I would like to know… how secure is this blog? I have friends that are not posting because they say someone will reveal their identity and then the District and/or SAEA will retaliate…
This is just a note to express how uncomfortable it was to attend the last SAEA meeting. There was a member asking to speak and President Barton kept ignoring him. Finally when the member spoke he was rudely interrupted and told his site rep was there to speak and not him. It was so wrong… i saw what many of you have written about, THE CLUB atmosphere. i don’t care whose side one is on… but this is so wrong, so evil. It has to stop. i hope Mercer will behave better than her predecessor, no heart, so mean…
I want to know the same thing as #86!
MEGAFed-Up,
That is a reasonable question. I am not sure if I can answer it with certainty.
When these threads first started, Mijares was the Superintendent and things had more of a wild-west feel out there in SAUSD land. There was some telling-on-them posts that happened and then somehow Mijares and the principals in question were tipped off. The incident I remember as being one of the most shocking was the story about a small group of counselors who were hounded by administration at Valley High School. It was very bad, with intimidation and racial threats being part of the goings-on. Eventually there was a lawsuit.
When the telling-on at OJ was found out, “suspected” teachers and staff were rounded up on that campus and even called in during spring break to see if they could get whoever it was posting things. I don’t believe they were ever successful, and as a sign, someone/s posted about the round-ups and the spring break shake downs. It was an in-your-face-you-don’t-scare-us posting. Of course, Art made the SAUSD thread even more in-your-face with his searing commentary, unflattering photos and all those other OJ tricks that this blog is known for.
Right before Mijares was encouraged to move on, there was an awful lot of postings concerning the big three power abusers: Jones, Espinosa and Bishop. It was suspected then that someone from the district, from their IT department or from the district’s attorneys was trying to monitor the blog. Never did find out.
When the class size fraud was revealed, there were IP addresses that seemed to be watching for lengthy periods of time. Was it the district? Their attorneys? Maybe scared spouses of the teachers who told? Just a vivid imagination? Not sure. However it was discussed and the main part of the discussions were this: WHY is the district spending a LOT of resources to try and catch/persecute people who had reported a legitimate problem? Wouldn’t that be like criminal behavior? The responsible thing would be to deal with the actual issue. There was an IP address assigned to SF, which is also the city where one of the district’s attorneys had another office, and that was pointed out and then demands to press the Board and Cabinet to reveal if they were spending excessive monies on monitoring this blog. Nothing ever came of all that.
Every site, every position, every supervisor has a certain level of cooperation/intimidation that staff have to deal with. Only YOU can figure out if what you are posting will cause you harm. If you are so utterly frightened about what you post may be “discovered” then do yourself a favor and just don’t do it.
If you sincerely have something that you want to vent out about, then my suggestion would be this: Give it to a brave friend. Or send it to Art/myself. Or perhaps the best way is this: Write up what you want to post on a word document. Log on, get to the comment section, post the comment, submit it and then log off. Your IP may or may not register in a way that anyone can notice. Come back later.
Tracking IP’s is extremely difficult to do and is very labor intensive for guests such as yourself. Admin can see the IP’s and that is why when NTK was hyperposting, spamming, attacking and making up numerous dopplegangers/posting names to make their point over and over again as if there was a huge number of people in agreement, I told that poster to stop it. It was detracting from the essence of what people come here for.
I am assuming that people are posting things that are important for them to vent about. If you are filled with shame about doing that, it is understandable, because there is indeed a great deal of intimidation and coercison going on by both organizations.
Bad people get outted here. It has happened over and over again. But it was not from some IP address that they posted from. It was because people were telling the same stories about them and the board of ed had to take action. I have seen people “guess” who an obnoxious poster is like NTK or .2cents. None of the CURRENT blog team is interested in revealing identities. It is counterproductive to what we are trying to achieve here. That is a better school system for Santa Ana.
I know I didn’t fully answer the question. But I hope I gave some insight as to the risks. Definitely the IP does not list things like: this is Susie Smith’s computer logged on to OJb. Maybe Art will weigh in. Terry is our webmaster and he might be able to add.
I hope this helps.
Maybe if said person would stop grandstanding and repeating himself over and over while the whole room cringes, he might get a bit more respect. Did he show up late again and ask for a repetition of everything he missed? If he is so involved then why is he not able to be the rep for his site? Could it be that he couldn’t even win a school site election? There are official union rules for meetings regarding site reps speaking. This person is not a site rep. Many members have grown extremely tired of his antics. I am not normally a mean person and I like to hear people out but this situation has become extreme.
#86 and #88 Yes, Robert Chavez (ITC and CSEA President) can trace it by your IP address. From there it can be narrowed down to a neighborhood but not to your residential address. If you’re really fearful, post from school before or after the instructional day because it is difficult to trace. Rarely, though, does he try to trace a particular post as he is way too busy.
AOL will have a multi-user single IP address listed here. Services like Cox will often list the city. Why do you think that RC has traced comments here? What would he actually gain? Has there been any negative repercussions?
I don’t think its a particularly good idea to post from your school site. You need to assume the district is able to trace your every move online. I am not saying they do it, but you have NO assumption of privacy. at all.
People who are preoccupied with finding out who is posting what are the problem. They are busy not doing their jobs right and they are focused on intimidating others into silence. They are really cowards and bullies. Push back on them. Make them uncomfortable. When you push back, like those intermediate teachers did at the last board meeting, you’ll see that there is a sense of empowerment in the interaction.
You all need to grow a spine. Your organizations are sapping all they can from you. They are saving their butts at the expense of your jobs and happiness.
tmare and MEGAFed-Up,
The SAEA by-laws (Section IV-J) state: “All active SAEA members shall enjoy the privilege of discussion as non-voting observers at all meetings. Only elected Representatives, Officers, or Alternates shall have the right to make motions and to vote at meetings at which the business of SAEA is to be conducted.” “Said person” has the right to participate in discussions as do all SAEA members.
“Said person” chose to be an Alternate because the previous site reps both wanted to continue in their positions.
Patricia,
Don’t you hold elections for the site rep position yearly? Or do people just say “I want to do it again” and they get their wish?
#91
Nice try but no cigar. While the blog owner and his IT can see the IP’s of comments, outsiders will only see this blogs IP. As Red pointed out Chavez can track any computer within the district unless he finds a way to hack into this blog, which is illegal of course, then the only legal thing he is going to read is:
Results of IP Tracking for 72.167.5.21
IP address 72.167.5.21
Hostname ip-72-167-5-21.ip.secureserver.net
ISP GoDaddy.com, Inc.
Country United States
Red,
You can delete this if you want but below is all that an IP search of this blog turns up. The best I’ve ever seen done was to a city and without a search warrant no one can get an IP address. If Chavez is trying to track anyone on company time then he’s the one facing problems with his job and the law.
Results of IP Tracking for 72.167.5.21
IP address 72.167.5.21
Hostname ip-72-167-5-21.ip.secureserver.net
ISP GoDaddy.com, Inc.
Country United States
tmare,
We could have had an election, but the person referred to chose to serve as Alternate – just trying to make things easier and probably defer to people who had been at the site longer. Maybe we’ll have an election for next year. Not sure yet.
I’m missing something here. Does someone have reason to believe Robert Chavez is doing that? While I haven’t been a fan, I really do find that hard to believe.
As a teacher who experienced a sham representation by Isensee in a grievance proceeding, I am wondering if others would be willing to get together to consider legal options that may be available. Did anyone attend an “anger mgmt.” class taught by Isensee? Did Isensee proxy sign your grievance without your permission? District -SAEA collusion in this process may have dragged out the timeline, potentially costing taxpayers and SAEA loads of money.
A friend of mine (another fired teacher) will be starting our own blog site this summer. We are planning to file a lawsuit against the Union and for poor representation (one sided) and possibly the district. The details will be posted there (the new blog site) over the summer. If you are a multiple subject credential teacher and you have been fired, you may want to consider joining. We (the multiple subject credentialed folks) will NOT be going down without a fight). One last shot and it will be a lawsuit. Enough is a enough!
I apologize to anyone if I offended them. I am tired of being fired year after year!
Details coming…