CUSD update from Jonathan Volzke, Beyond the Blackboard:
April 21, 2010
“This just in from Capistrano Unified School District
CUSD RESPONSE TO STRIKE
The Capistrano Unified School District received official notification from the California Teachers Association at 6:07 a.m. of the union’s intent to strike effective Thursday, April 22, 2010.
The district is arranging for substitute teachers and putting necessary plans in place to continue to keep schools open and provide a safe and operational educational program for our students and employees.
“We are saddened that the union has decided to take this action and hope that its leadership will accept the Board’s offer to negotiate in good faith in accordance with the Educational Employment Relations Act,” said Anna Bryson, President of the CUSD Board of Trustees.
On April 20th, CUSD Attorney John M. Rajcic issued a response to Christine Balentine, Executive Director of the union which reads:
Dear Ms. Balentine:
This letter is sent in response to your letter dated April 19, 2010.
Pre-conditioning a return to the bargaining table upon the acceptance of a negotiation proposal backed up by threat of a strike constitutes, among other things, an unfair labor practice.
In any event, as previously indicated, the District is willing and prepared to return to the bargaining table to commence negotiations regarding various items, including but not limited to, “restoration language” regarding the most recently imposed reductions.
The District can and will accommodate the date, April 22, 2010, you set forth in your letter. In addition, the District is available on April 27 and/or April 28, 2010.
Very truly yours,
Atlkinson, Anderson, Loya, Ruud & Romo.
a public employee strike, is that the same thing as quiting?
Will the school district be able to hire replacements and void the employee contracts of the strikers? Is the union on firm legal ground or are they just tossing they membership under the bus?
What is the diff between this action and the one in the 80’s when the Air Traffic union went on strike and the president fired the whole lot of them?
Cook. Valid questions. Hopefully the union will back down from their demands.
Not knowing how many employees are involved, and what their benefit packages contain, I might look into the number of school adminstrators on the current payroll. Everyone must share in the belt tightening during this financial crisis.
The administration has already been trimmed, and remaining administrators took a 10 percent pay cut. More cuts are coming, as even the 10 percent pay cut for teachers will not fill the gaping hole in the budget.
Too bad, but the district cannot fire teachers for striking. Subs will replace them — more expense caused by the union with a me-first attitude.
The community at large might not be following the negotiations, but everyone will see that the “dedicated teachers who are so concerned about children and education” are walking off the job.
With so many people unemployed, and so many new teachers looking for jobs, I don’t think the Union is in a great position to “Demand” anything……I think in Poker this would be called, Vicki Soderberg Overplaying her hand!
Perhaps you folks should appreciate the jobs you have? Or how about getting the deadbeat legislature off their asses instead of refusing to work.
then again half the kids you are affecting are illegal immigrants anyway so no harm no foul right everyone?
it seems reasonable that the teachers would not want their MOU changed with the pay cuts. They have agreed to temperary pay cuts. With the new changes in place we will know have some of the LOWEST paid teachers in Southern California. I do not feel this is in my children’s best interest. The board unilaterally made their decisions against the fact-factors recommendations, it is only with the strike coming that they have agreed to re-negotiate.
The teachers are SO WRONG!!! They have received 3.5% pay increases every year, regardless of performance or budget. We are all suffering in this economy. Why do they feel immune? Hopefully the district can fire the tenured “non-performing” teachers and hire some fresh teachers. Good Riddance. Welcome teachers to the “real” world we have been living in for the past few years. Welcome to our world.
Danah Hilden says: With the new changes in place we will know have some of the LOWEST paid teachers in Southern California
Some new teacher may start out on the low end, but the avg is 80 to 90 thousand in cash and over a hundrend thousand with benefits.
I think most people would not think that is low pay.
Yep…CA is hit very hard and everyone is going to either lose their jobs, or receive a pay cut. Wake up everyone, not even teachers are above what is happening here. We do need CHANGE, so start thinking about who we want to take over and help fix CA. In the meantime, they are cutting the kid’s programs, and the amount of days they’re at school etc. Money doesn’t grow on trees, we have to look at how the state got in this position and trim down (which mean CUT BACK) until we get back on our feet.
I feel sorry for the high school students who are about to take their AP Exams. Hopefully they’ll be able to drown all of this out and concentrate on their own futures? NO ONE is looking out for them and that’s the school lesson for today, kids.
Then if the people supporting the teachers want to pay them more money, then they should open up their wallets and pay what they can to the district. Extra 100.00 a year if your lower income to extra 1000.00 a year if you are upper income. I do recognize and understand the need for a quality education.
we support and love our teachers !
So how come EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT in the state can negotiate the teachers contracts just fine except CUSD? Its because this school board HAS NEVER RUN A SCHOOL DISTRICT BEFORE and doesn’t know the first thing about negotiating teacher contracts. The teachers are fine with a 10% pay cut as long as its conditional. The school board wants a PERMANENT 10% cut. What about when the economy improves? Do teachers still have to get paid below where they started? Bottom line: recall every single one of the trustees and find some normal, level-headed people to run this district. If they exist.
Anonymous.
Do you have a CCW? It’s easy to hide behind the curtain and take pot shots at the new Board.
I will give you the opportunity to post any NEWLY signed collective bargaining agreements. Not to say that I will Benchmark the two simply to see who had a better negotiating team.
Did you just return from outer space? Are you aware that we have been in a long recession with 12.6 percent unemployment in CA (as of this month) with teachers out of work who would love to get into one of the CUSD classrooms?
Anonymous.
In a prior comment I acknowledged CUSD teachers who deserve partial credit for the high test scores by our students. We acknowledged the dedication of the students, teachers and parents. This issue is not about our appreciation for the commitment to educate and motivate our kids by most CUSD teachers. It’s the result of our state living on a credit card where the bills come back to bite you such as Bonded Indebtedness that must be paid.
We cannot continue spending more money than comes in the front door.
It works that way in the private sector and must be part of any Master Plan in the public sector.
It is sad that people are seriously blaming the teachers and telling them to back down. ARE YOU KIDDING? If a 10% pay-cut is determined to stay permanent, that would mean the teachers and their families would lose their homes and suffer. Now, maybe next year, the district will come into some money or the economy might get a little better. If the cut is permanent, the teachers would be doomed to survive. (If some of you didn’t know, no since more than 10 years ago did the district compensate for rising costs of living expenses, so a 10% pay-cut, in a teacher’s family of 4 would be fatal if there is no sunset clause or it is not made temporary.) It is not about the 10% pay-cut anymore. The teachers know that these are rough times. They are lucky to have jobs. However, they also know that the economy fluctuates and maybe next year, or the year after, the economy will gain its foothold again. This is where a sunset clause is needed.
Instead of directly addressing this issue, the Board has made it its goal to pussyfoot around and make vague promises, of which none will fall through. On top of that, the Board also is in full support of charter schools. Yet they are working in a PUBLIC school district????? I’m sorry but there is something fishy going on there. If this district was a charter school, the teachers would be fired, and would gain no deals or negotiations. However, while the CUSD is still PUBLIC, the Union has a right to strike.
And to ANYONE who is ignorant enough to say “fire the whole lot” I would personally love to smack them upside their putrid little head. My teachers are the most wonderful, helping, and caring human beings. They spend so much money out of their own checkbooks on lab supplies, materials, equipment, and other things to make our (THE FUTURE GENERATIONS WHO WILL BE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY AND WHO WILL BE SUFFERING FROM THE IGNORANCE OF THE PRESENT GENERATION) benefit. I don’t know about you, but I sure would want my son/daughter to get a good education. I mean THERE IS NO HOPE for this country with a bunch of high school drop outs running the show. Anyone who thinks that the teachers are hurting the students are WRONG. The Board of dumb-beaus that is running the Circus that we named CUSD who does not know how to balance a checkbook and would rather build a $38 MILLION dollar district office rather than paying their teachers a fair salary, are the ones who are hurting the students! NOT the teachers. The teachers being hurt just as much as the teachers.
Oh, yes, and if you still believe that the teachers should all be fired (again, you must be fools), then how about you send your kid to a private school. I personally love SCHS, I have such great opportunities and the best AP/IB teachers. I know that in a private school, this would not be the case. Plus, I still stand for free public education, as I think that, as Locke would say, it is a Natural Right to everyone.
Lastly, I wanted to point out the fact that now that the teachers will be striking, the substitutes (who will not be teaching AP or IB classes, even though the tests are a little more than 10 days away) will be giving out packets that include work on BALANCING A CHECKBOOK… SERIOUSLY??? How about I switch with the Interim Superintendent or the Board of dis-“Trustees” for a day and have them fill out that packet. Maybe that will help them figure out how to spend LESS than the dollar amount available in the district’s funds.
Austin Taylor,
AP/IB Student at San Clemente High School
Austin Taylor.
We thank you for joining the debate.
Let me suggest that you contact Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him to shift all the money being spent for prison guards to CUSD’s Trustees.
Furthermore, why should our tax dollars be spent to incarcerate, feed, clothe, provide free health care and color TV sets for 171,000 prisoners, at around $35,000 each per year, when our children’s teachers are being asked to take a pay cut.
That’s $6 billion dollars out the window for those who have broken our laws while the children of law abiding citizens become pawns in a contract dispute.
Creating a balanced budget, when the income is less than fixed expenses, is no easy task.
Austin. As a side bar. There is nothing wrong with Charter Schools
BTW- My kid’s (I have one in middle school and high school) both came home today saying their friends weren’t going to school during the strike. I am going to sit them down tonight and talk to them *again*, we appreciate everyone here…however, our school district needs our support too. We cannot use these kids as pawns during contract negotiations…ever. Kid’s are going to school!
Mom With Boys.
Thank you! The real losers in this stalemate will be the children.
I noted this statement from anon, “The teachers are fine with a 10% pay cut as long as its conditional.”
For those of us who live in the real world, the employee doesn’t decide what the employer will pay. The choice is to accept the pay or go elsewhere. Many out-of-work teachers are ready and waiting to accept the pay as offered and say thank you.
Larry Gilbert-
I have contacted the Governor before, via phone and message. The same goes for the Superintendent of CUSD. I had a long, emotional conversation with her secretary, Connie.
This would be one reason why I am a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Diploma… I am going to University in Britain before this State corrupts my education any further (than High School).
I somewhat agree with you on the subject of the prisoners, but I think that that issue is much more broad than a simple changing of a few words on a school district’s legislation that would make the 10% cut temporary. If by next year, the board “comes in to some unforeseen money,” which I could see happening if the 10% cut is made permanent, then I see fit that the cut should not have to continue. But those stubborn mules in the district can’t climb down from their high-horse and stop beating around the bush.
Lastly, towards Charter Schools. I have nothing against them, as long as they stay out of our PUBLIC school system. The right of every individual to have access to education for free is imperative (especially in the economy, Larry. I would not be where I am headed today if school was not free, just as many of my peers would not be where they are today.
Austin. Let me commend you for your commitment to education and your taking emotion out of the debate.
The losers in any teachers strike are the children. At church tonight a parent said they were keeping their children home tomorrow. Although I disagree with that decision we each have free will.
And being a realist, there is no way that the CUSD Board will get some windfall revenue next year. I have spoken to members of our state legislature who confirmed our having another shortfall in the neighborhood of $20 billion dollars.
Well, maybe if they would rent out that huge, multi-million dollar taj-majal that they built that is sitting vacant, maybe that would make them some money. Or maybe if they wouldn’t spend so much unnecessary money on attorneys that get nothing done…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMb9Ok5ci8
That’s a link to a relevant topic…
Austin Taylor.
Sadly, the current Board inherited that huge $50 million HQ facing the freeway. At the present time I do not know what vacancies, if any, exist in the building. If there was a safe way to lease part of it out I am sure that they would have looked into it.
Ten years ago I made a similar suggestion at the SMWD HQ on Antonio Parkway in Ladera Ranch.
FYI. In have not looked at the video link but wanted to respond to your comment.
L.R.
You are right–in the real world employees have to take the pay they are given. That is why teachers are, and always will be, in a class of their own. We are so fortunate to have out-of-this world teachers who put their hearts and souls into their work every day. They went to college for 5 years, in many cases much longer, and spents months student teaching in classrooms for not one penny. They did these things to one day have the right to negotiate their pay. Having the opportunity to change the path of a child’s life is certainly not part of every job in the “real world”. There are only a privledged few in this special corner of the world, and if there was ever a corner we should stand up for, it is this one. We all know the economy is bad and the unemployment rate is high, and there are obviously some bitter people out there who have lost their jobs or gotten cuts. Is the answer to bring the teachers down with you? If you didn’t want to be part of the real world, maybe you should have become a teacher…if you are creative, smart, compassionate and dedicated enough to handle the position.
To that Austin Taylor student:
The districts are given two separate amounts of money. One section of the money goes towards building buildings or anything that has to do with adding on to the school/district offices. The other amount of money is used for school supplies, paying teachers, and paying other workers. One section of the money CAN NOT go to the other section, and vice versa. Because of that, that “$39 million dollars spent on district offices” could not be used for the teachers.
Brian.
While I cannot put my fingers on it now, back in 1999 the voters in our District, CUSD, supported Meas A approving $85 million dollars of Bond Debt which I believe is not to be used for classroom instruction.
REGARDING:
momwithboys says:
April 21, 2010 at 5:12 pm
BTW- My kid’s (I have one in middle school and high school) both came home today saying their friends weren’t going to school during the strike. I am going to sit them down tonight and talk to them *again*, we appreciate everyone here…however, our school district needs our support too. We cannot use these kids as pawns during contract negotiations…ever. Kid’s are going to school!
Right on and Amen to that!!!
Austin and Debbie had to go finish their homework.
The Taj Mahal was finished prior to any of the current trustees being elected, so this is the first fiscally responsible board this district has had, as far back as I can remember. The trustees had to balance the budget, and they’re doing it. Power to them.
Perhaps we should be noticing the the two endless wars we are now engaged in have already cost the people of California about $125,000,000,000. (125 billion dollars) and the amount is rising each day. That’s why we don’t have money to educate our kids, provide decent health-care, and keep our roads and bridges in decent repair. We waste our treasure to pursue policies that severely damage our economy and our military, create thousands of brain injured and emotionally damaged veterans and instead of making the world safer, seem to create the opposite. That $125 billion would eliminate the State’s budget deficits with plenty left over. Educating our kids, should be one of our highest national security concerns if we are going to compete with the rest of the world..
Bruce.
Sorry to disagree with you but our “national security” is the number one role of our government.
President Obama, who promised to bring the troops home in his campaign, sent thousands of the same troops to Afghanistan. My point is that both major parties recognize the long term impact if we didn’t take that step.
While everyone would agree with you that educating our children is vital, it will never trump our national security interests.
“more expense caused by the union with a me-first attitude.”
Yeah, how greedy. How dare they ask for wages that have barely kept up with inflation in the last fifteen years. How dare they point out than when things were good, they received no large salary increase or Christmas bonuses, but when things are bad they are expected to give up whatever small gains they might have eeked out. How dare they suggest that teachers in CUSD make on average just a little more than one-tenth the price of the average home in the area per year. How dare they point out that a 10% pay cut for administrators that make well over 100k a year (and some much more than this) are not permanent – but their’s will be.
Truly awful people.
ww.
Our daughter was a special ed teacher. No one said that teacher base pay is excessive. However, no one twists your arm if that’s the career path you choose to make. As to the cost of housing in CA vs elsewhere no one forces you to live in this state. Again, we each have choices.
The bottom line is that while I agree that we need to look at the needs and compensation of current school administrators, we have permitted our state government to add new programs and increased staffing to a point that can no longer be sustained. By Prop 98, they control the shrinking source of funds
There are out of work teachers who would love to have a job. Now is not the best time for the union leaders to be playing hard ball.
Those entering the teaching profession know the jobs are not high-paying. If teachers cannot find a better-paying job, whose “fault” is it they can’t compete in the job market with a microbiologist or an engineer? They made the choice.
Someone in another post (maybe it was another article) suggested sending teachers cash to show support. If anyone thinks teachers should receive a Christmas bonus, send them one.
Teachers can thank their union for loss of public support after the union’s childish pranks at board meetings. As for the 10 percent pay cut, accept the 90 percent and get back on the job.
I love that people keep commenting that teachers did not have to go into the profession.
Well, I am happy that they did. Otherwise where would this country be? Without teachers, there is no future for this country, or the world. Fine, all the teacher that complain; let’s fire them all and replace them with “fresh, new” teachers that have no idea what they are doing, and would bring down California’s education system even further than it already is. I, for one, have had a first year teacher before, and believe me, the poor woman did not teach us a thing.
So, yes, teachers never had a gun pointed to their head telling them to become a teacher, but if we didn’t have them, where would we be? Nowhere.
And no one give me that sass about the corporate, district building being inherited. I don’t care the the building magically appeared one night. The district should lease it out and move back into their old, adequate offices across the freeway.
And what’s all this about the teachers needing to settle? Are you kidding me? Have any of you ever been to a board meeting? Those fools that run our district are so sneaky and inconsiderate, taking bribes, spending past their limits, that the teachers better not back down.
Watch these videos, they just give you a glimpse into the crap that the district has pulled. Like threatening to sue Mrs. Kathleen Sigafoos, the founder of the Education Foundation, who has been donating her time and money, being the best person/teacher I have ever known in my entire life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Cyxm4FvDo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMb9Ok5ci8
I, along with many of my peers will be turning 18 before November, and believe me, I will be the first one up to that ballot box, recalling these conservative crooks.
I don’t care if the teachers were McDonald’s workers. They do not deserve to be bullied or treated the way that the Board of dis-trustees is treating them. It is just like a big brother picking on his siblings, who make much less money than he does, even the big brother’s 10% pay cut.
Board- I can almost guarentee you that most every student that you are putting through hell right now, right before AP tests, right before IB tests, right before SAT’s and SAT II’s, right before ACT’s, yet, ironically right AFTER the March 29th cutoff for state attendance endowments (Pretty coincidental that all this hit the fan after that date… Manipulation? Hmmmm.), sees through the wool that you are throwing over their suffering eyes.
We are the future. We are the lawyers. We are the bankers. We are the future teachers (or maybe not, maybe there won’t be any teachers in the future, now that so many of us students have seen the crap they get put through). We are the presidents. We are the senators. We are the doctors. We are the Future. We are NOTHING without our education. We are nothing without our teachers.
Austin T.
While I truly appreciate your passion on this topic, let me urge you to be careful with allegations of board members “taking bribes.”
As to leasing out the Taj Mahal. Have you noticed the existing vacancies and 13 percent statewide unemployment? Who would move in and how much money would the leases generate when compared against the current $25 million dollar budget shortfall?
Yes, it would be a start but both sides need to sit down, open the books, and see what compromises are acceptable to all parties.
Austin, your comments are informative and inspiring. As soon as I’m done with this weekend’s Arpaio events, I’ll be looking into this CUSD strike, and writing about it from a different perspective. You are going to be a great citizen.
The reports of the strike today indicate that union members seem proud of their “accomplishment” of disrupting school. Their intent of inflicting damage on the students and community says it all.
The neutral fact finding report does open the books and offers an acceptable compromise but, the board still won’t negotiate.
I THINK THE TEACHERS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB BECAUSE THIS IS WRONG
Folks. While I have not verified the following data that was just sent to me, I will take a risk and post it as received:
“The Capistrano Unified School District on Thursday afternoon released preliminary information about attendance—by students and teachers—on the first day of a teacher’s strike.
According to the district:
* 1 in 8 classroom teachers reported to work (12 percent of the district’s 2,200 teachers)
* 600 qualified and vetted substitute teachers reported for duty;
* 48 percent of elementary students attended school;
* 41 percent of middle school students attended school;
* 24 percent of high school students were at school.;
District negotiators and Capistrano Unified Education Association representatives were due to meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, although union officials called the meeting a “discussion,” not negotiations. Teachers walked out over whether cuts imposed on them by the Board of Trustees were permanent or temporary, and when, if ever, their salaries and benefits could be restored. There was no word whether the strike would continue Friday.
See the Beyond the Blackboard blog for more.”
If the above is from Jonathan V. it should be accurate. LG
Yep, that seems about right.
What a waste of 600 payed substitutes. I bet that money could have went to something else…
Or all those guards, blocking the “unruly” or “potentially harmful” teachers. Over $100,000… What a waste. Could have been given to a group of people I know… Hmmm.
But then again, this is not a “common sense” issue. No, that board of stubborn mules have no common sense. Wouldn’t listen to a fact finder. Wouldn’t accept a clear-cut negotiation offer. Nope. They just wanted to be bullies. Big bullies. Now the little guys are standing up for their wrongdoings.
I support my teachers. No one can persuade me otherwise. Especially people who probably have not been in school for so long, and do not have the teachers that I have been blessed with.
Life is unfair. I do understand that. But seriously, they should just make this temporary. That all they have to do. We can revisit it June 2011, and if the economy is still the way it is, then the teachers will be willing to wait another year and come back to the table again. But to make it permanent is just wrong, stubborn, and foolish. Especially with all of this opposition.
Vern Nelson- Thanks. You will have a good story. 🙂
Austin.
Have you addressed the SVUSD Board at any of their evening meetings?
It will be a good opportunity for you to engage them in this stalemate. While you may not get the answer you seek, being an activist takes considerable dedication and perserverance. Having been an activist for many years, I can tell you that it is honorable to stand your ground even when you will surely get your share of hits as you try to mitigate and resolve the issue.
Question- How does the compulsory attendance laws work during a strike?
Just a quick note. I will be off line for the next few days. Therefore I am not dodging any future questions.
When we return I will address all of your questions or comments to the best of my ability at that time.
A letter to Anna Bryson, CUSD Board President…..April 26
Dear Mrs. Bryson,
I saw your interview on television this evening. To put it mildly, I was shocked. Did you REALLY say that the “ball is not in our court”? Did you really mean that? As the President of the Board of Trustees could it be that you do not even understand what your “court” is? How do you think that looks to us as your constituents? You simply throw your hands up and say there is nothing you can do? The ball is not in our court! Are you kidding? My goodness, what has our school district leadership become? If educating children, working out an agreement with your teachers and caring about running a quality educational program is, as you said, “not in our court”, then maybe it is time that you are benched….for good. I can’t believe you actually used that phrase and obviously feel the way you feel. Sad….very sad and very disappointing for an elected official. Shame on you!
Dick Campbell
Former CUSD principal who spent today working with his 7 year old grandchild on a school project that is due soon, if school ever reopens.
Mr. Campbell.
While we encourage all sides to comment on our stories, I do not know if Ana will see your remarks.
That said I do have her email address and may send her a hard copy off-line.
As the strike is over it may be a mute point.
Further, she may not respond
I sent it to her….trust me. I posted here so that perhaps others might recognize, as I did, her apparent dereliction of duty.
Dick. While you are directly impacted by any school closures there will always be two sides to every argument. Let me also point out that I am a taxpayer in the CUSD.
Austin Taylor, you have a lot to learn about the “real” world. You’ve been sheltered and protected from many of the harsh realities of life. However, that will end soon. Maybe when you have to make a living to survive and you have to pay bills and balance a budget you will have a better perspective of the real world. As for the teachers’ strike, it didn’t have to happen except that the teachers’ union wanted and needed a strike. Remember, before the strike was even called the CUSD board stated it was willing to put in restoration language. What did the teachers get for three days of striking besides three days of lost pay and benefits? There is no ending date for the 3.7% paycut; the revenue that CUSD has to receive before the resotration language kicks in is so high that restoration is very unlikely to occur; if sufficient funds come in for the restoration language to kick in, the teachers only get 50% or 60% (reports vary on this number); if resotration kicks in, the instructional furlough days get reimbrused first. Please tell me what provision in the tentative agreement could not have been worked out or negotiated without a strike. The simple but sad answer is every term and condition in the tentative agreement could have and should have been worked out without a strike. You my young naive student (alsong with the rest of the CUSD students) were used by the teachers’ union for political and financial gains. The truly sad part is you don’t even have a clue that this occurred. Good luck in the future.