ESTA UPDATE

East Side Teachers Association/CTA/NEA 888 So. Capitol Ave San Jose, Ca 95127 August 26, 2002 Don McKell, President Julie Pratico, Vice Pres Carla Holtzclaw, Secretary Ralph Giannini, Treasurer mckelld@esuhsd.org fax: (408) 272-7569 voice: (408) 272-0601 website: www.EastSideTA.org

WELCOME BACK

No matter how long it was for you, I hope your summer break provided you with the vitality you'll need to make this new year a great one. Our chosen profession will certainly pose no shortage of major challenges for each of us in the coming months, and tackling them is no job for the faint of heart. It is often said of teaching that few other jobs provide the sort of regular opportunity to begin afresh each year. So, try to put away the techniques and practices that didn't work so well in the past and capitalize on the ones that proved effective. We have important work to do, and there are many observers out there willing to weigh in on how well we're doing it. As always, some should be listened to and some should be ignored. This is a time for reflection, adaptation, and high energy. Have a terrific school year! By the way, there's a pretty good series showing up this week in the SJ Mercury News, written by a reporter who took a sabbatical from his job last year to teach school. After the first two installments, it appears as if he's got a handle on how tough this job can be. If you've got the time, read it.

SUMMER BARGAINING

Our current three-year contract with the district will expire at midnight on August 31. Despite numerous bargaining sessions last spring and during the summer months, no agreement has been reached on several important issues. Of particular interest to many: as of this writing, the district has responded to our salary proposal (COLA plus 2%) with an uninspiring counterproposal of zero plus zero. Neither side seems prepared to declare an impasse in bargaining at this point - a hopeful sign - but we can all put away any expectations that we could begin the new year with agreement on a new contract. ESTA's Bargaining Team will make a progress report to the ESTA Assembly on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 28. Amid all of the revelations last spring of the dire straits of the State's economy, it was natural to put off making major financial decisions until after the legislature had produced a state budget. Now, nearly two months after the constitutional deadline for passing it, we're still seeing alarmingly little progress in Sacramento. California's curious requirement calling for a 2/3 legislative approval on the state budget finds us stalled four votes short of the necessary margin. Cynical observers have begun to suspect that the four (Republican) holdout votes have some sort of agenda other than fiscal differences of opinion - like an attempt to embarrass the governor in an election year - behind their intransigence. Nevertheless, it appears certain that the Prop 98 guarantees of school funding will emerge intact, with a 2% COLA, once the budget is done. RETRO PAY All certificated district employees who earned salary in the 2001/2002 school year (7/1/01 - 6/30/02) will receive a one-time payout of around a quarter of a percent of all COLA-related compensation. The actual amounts will range from a low of around $100 to a high of around $200, depending upon one's placement on last year's salary schedule. The reason? At some point during the 01/02 fiscal year, the state finally released the so-called 'Equalization Aid' as a part of the approved budget. Our contract treats that sum as COLA, and it therefore passes through to us as salary. Unfortunately, that same Equalization Aid seems to be specifically withdrawn from the current year's Base Revenue Limit, and we are not likely to see it reappear until such time as the state's economy gets back on track. Thus, the one-time payment. The district will have to seek out every one of last year's certificated employees - including those who resigned, retired, or died - to make payment. STRS amounts will be affected, as will all pay categories affected by COLA increases. The computations are complicated, and will take a back seat to the efforts being made to place all employees on the proper step and column for this coming school year. Don't expect to see these funds until October. Very sorry, but if you are new to the district this year, this one-time payment will not apply to you.

STRS CHANGES IMPLEMENTED ESTA

members will feel the impact of changes in STRS rules as this year unfolds. The most noticeable feature will be an 8% reduction in net earnings for period substitute work, coaching, and other extra duty pay as compensation for virtually all certificated work now becomes subject to STRS withholding. As with salary amounts for many years, this diversion from our pay will be matched by the district. Unlike the Defined Benefit program we've all gotten used to, however, these funds will accrue as a Defined Benefit Supplement (DBS) - a separate account - which will be more easily accessible upon retirement. Payouts can be taken as a lump sum or structured as an annuity. Even if you aren't a department chair, never substitute, don't coach, avoid workshops, play all summer and skip the voluntary staff development days, you'll still be building a DBS balance. STRS found itself so well funded that the new rules now call for one quarter of the contribution to your Defined Benefit (2% of regular salary) to be automatically deposited in the DBS program. Annual STRS account statements will be changed to report on the balances in both your Defined Benefit and DBS.

EAST SIDE PARCEL TAX MEASURE ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT

Following a series of meetings, polls, and debates, the Board of Trustees has agreed - barely - to place a Parcel Tax (PT) question before the voters of the East Side Union High School District. The issue will appear on the November 5 ballot as Measure J, and will seek voter approval to levy a tax of a little less than $5 per month on every property parcel within the district's geographical boundaries. There are approximately 118,000 parcels in the school district; property owners 65 and older could apply for exemptions. If approved, Measure J would provide funding to the district of approximately $6 million. According to the ballot statement, all of the funding would be "to train faculty and students to use modern technology, to retain and attract quality teachers and counselors, and to increase student safety". The state constitution mandates that PT measures must pass at the polls by a vote of at least 2/3. The pathway leading to Measure J being placed on the ballot is an interesting one. Our board typically holds two meetings every June. Even though I had raised the issue of a PT in early May, both regular June meetings of the Board came and went with no agendized item directed at a discussion of a PT. Then, in an unprecedented (but welcome) move, the Board held a special third meeting in late June at which it unanimously voted to authorize the superintendent to carry out a feasibility study. The study was subsequently conducted in July: some 420 registered voters were polled by phone and asked their opinions on subjects related to a PT. The Board discussed the results of the poll at its regular August meeting, and voted 3 to 2 to move forward with placing the PT measure on the ballot. (The Board meeting was August 8; the deadline for filing the issue with the registrar of voters was August 9.) Board member Patricia Roach made the motion to place the issue; members Mann and Herrera also voted to approve. Members Ota and Ramirez were opposed. At some point during the discussion - prior to the vote - the district's General Counsel opined aloud that it would take a supermajority of the Board to approve placing the PT on the ballot. Thus, as the Board voted, it was under the impression that it would take at least 2/3 of its number - 4 members - to approve the PT. Since the issue only garnered 3 votes, the Board members left the meeting with the understanding that the measure had failed. Unconvinced, ESTA and CTA conducted furious research the following morning, drawing upon a great many sources, and could find no evidence of any law supporting the General Counsel's opinion of the need for a supermajority. Thus, we argued, the 3-to-2 vote was sufficient. The superintendent agreed, and moved to file the measure with the County registrar's office by the Friday afternoon deadline. The Board was made aware of all of this, and decided to hold another special meeting on August 13 to reconsider the issue. After a great deal of discussion, member Ota made a motion to direct the superintendent to pull the PT measure back off the ballot, which was seconded by member Ramirez. Members Roach, Herrera, and Mann voted against the motion, and it was defeated.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS

Three of the five seats on the East Side school board will be up for election in the November general election. Incumbents Manuel Herrera, Patricia Martinez-Roach, and Jeff Ota have all officially declared their candidacies for re-election, and are met with competition from two new hopefuls: George Shirakawa, Jr. and Khanh Tran. Thus, there will be a total of five individuals seeking election to three seats. All East Side school board members serve at-large four year terms. Shirakawa is currently a two-term SJ City Councilman who is limited from seeking a third term. Tran is a computer analyst and a former ESUHSD employee in Information Systems. The ESTA Assembly will hear a recommendation from the ESTA Political Action Committee (PAC) on August 28 regarding endorsement of school board candidates.

HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN THIS YEAR?

Since contract bargaining on the successor agreement has not yet finished, no one can say with any certainty what our 2002/03 salary schedule will look like. Even if the pace of bargaining picks up and we reach a settlement, both ESTA and the school board will need to bilaterally ratify whatever agreement is produced. If the school board hasn't ratified by its Sep 12 meeting, we'll have to wait until October. Taking all of this into consideration, it's a pretty safe bet that your September pay warrant will be based on last year's salary schedule. So also will any per diem for attending voluntary staff development, as well as workshops, period substitute rates, and extra duty pay amounts. Unless the expired contract has specific wording to the contrary, the terms and conditions set forth therein are extended to cover this interim period. If we ultimately reach a settlement which provides the types of terms we've seen in recent contracts, it is certainly possible that salary schedule raises will be retroactive to the beginning of the year. However, that "retro" aspect is not automatic, and is subject to the specific terms of the ratified contract. One thing that is still certain is the need to complete college coursework by August 31, and have the transcripts delivered to Personnel at the DO by October 31, in order to move to a different column on the salary schedule. Remember, if you have recently completed any degree, certification or credentialing requirements, it is not enough to have that fact recorded by the County or the District. It will still be your responsibility to get your transcripts to the DO in order to make that lateral move. By the way, Personnel works really hard to see that every employee is placed correctly on the salary schedule, but they can't take care of everyone in the first few weeks of school. It is possible, even likely, that initial per diem amounts for staff development will not take into account all step and column changes or recently-earned degrees. Report any discrepancy to me and I'll try to get a reasonable solution back to you. Don't yell at or berate the ladies in Personnel. As always, any mistakes or omissions made in pay amounts will be rectified on the next pay cycle.