East Side Teachers Association/CTA/NEA 888 So. Capitol Ave San Jose, Ca 95127 March 14, 2005

Don McKell, President Ralph Giannini, Vice President Jane Voss, Secretary Tom Richardson Treasurer

EstaPres@pacbell.net fax: (408) 272-7569 voice: (408) 272-0601 website: www.EastSideTA.org

HR Chief Bob Nunez announced at the March 10 board meeting that all 167 probationary teachers will receive layoff notices by March 15^th. Nunez added that perhaps an equal number (or more) of permanent teachers will also be "pinked", bringing the total number of layoff notices to between 300 and 400. That’s as many as 1/3 of all ESTA members. It is also obscene overkill.

The letters will probably have begun arriving at homes by the time this Update gets delivered.

In a very curious twist, Nunez further informed me that all Probationary teachers will also be "non-renewed". Even veteran ESTA members may not know the difference between getting what we call a layoff notice and getting non-renewed.

Most districts use the non-renewal process to keep what its principals have determined to be poor teachers from becoming permanent. Only probationary employees can be non-renewed; it is a legal way for a district to remove a teacher at the end of either of their first two years without having to give a reason. Districts can rescind non-renewal notices at any time, although our district has rarely done that. But then, our district usually issues only around two dozen non-renewal notices in any given year. Blanket use of non-renewals in the midst of a layoff is unprecedented in my admittedly limited experience.

Districts use the layoff process to reduce the size of the certificated work force. Contrasted against the non-renewal notices, layoff notices (or what we refer to as pink slips) can be served on any certificated employee, once the school board has resolved to have a reduction in force, regardless of whether they are probationary or permanent. Receiving a layoff notice confers certain rehire rights on the employee. If indeed a permanent employee is eventually pushed out of a job, that person is entitled to be rehired any time in the following 39 months into the first vacancy for which they are credentialed. With probationary employees, the rehire rights extend for 24 months. If two or more people on the rehire list are credentialed for a particular vacancy, their former seniority in the district is used to determine the order in which they are brought back.

Let me repeat: Issuing massive numbers of non-renewals and layoff notices gives the district the legal authority to separate certificated employees at the end of the school year, but either type of notice can be rescinded. Does receipt of a layoff notice or a non-renewal notice mean that you’re out of a job? Maybe, but probably not. There will be close to 40 retirements this year, and probably a much greater number of resignations. Even if the eventual needs of the district are for 100 fewer ESTA members next year, normal attrition may keep involuntary separations to a minimum. Sadly, we just have to wait and see. Some of us will understandably not be willing to wait in suspense, and will begin the search for a new job very soon. And never look back.

If you get a layoff notice, what should you do? First of all, when the Mt. Hamilton CTA office contacts you (and we will), read our letter, fill out the paperwork, and be prepared to attend a meeting or two. You will have seven calendar days from the date you receive your layoff notice to formally request a Hearing. That’s seven, not eight. A failure to request a hearing within seven days will waive your right to participate in the hearing, and you may lose your job as a consequence. ESTA will provide the necessary paperwork and vigorously defend its members against the layoff wherever we can. Any technical misstep the District might make could convert to saved jobs. Our attorney will need to meet with you and obtain up-to-the-minute information about your date of hire, your current status, and your credentialing, permits, and authorizations.

Should you just stay home for the rest of the school year to protest your layoff or non-renewal notice? No, of course not. Do nothing to complicate your situation in such a way.

But who could blame you for checking the want ads?

A crowd of a thousand or more educators and parents assembled at John Muir Middle School in San Jose on March 9 to rally against the Governor’s proposed state budget cuts. Were you one of them?

Remember: Pandas are on a fast track to extinction because even healthy mixed gender pairs with plenty of food are too unmotivated to do what is needed, and only they can do, to perpetuate their species.

So, what good does it do to drive yourself to a school you’ve never heard of and put up with the hassle of joining a crowd of strangers while listening to other strangers speak to the cameras? Well, folks, it’s how things get done. Our situation is so dire right now that every teacher in the state needs to be willing to stand up as one and demand that these so-called ‘reforms’ being promoted by the Governor get beaten down. Perhaps your first participation in an event of this kind will be what it takes to get you fired up. Believe me, I will keep you advised of future opportunities.

So, what else can you do? Well, there’s one thing you can accomplish by not doing something. Don’t sign the Governor’s petitions. Don’t make it easy or cheap for our foes to use the initiative process to their advantage. Don’t sign petitions named "Put the Kids First Act", or "Prohibition on Defined Benefit Public Pensions", or "Redistricting. Initiative Constitutional Amendment". Paid signature gatherers, with absolutely no ideological stake in the election, will tell you almost anything to earn their $4 to $5 per signature. We have reports of people being told that "teachers support this" as the petition is offered for signing. Don’t be fooled. Don’s sign. And keep the faith; we can win this one.

Attorneys representing a public school student named Williams brought suit against the state nearly four years ago. The suit alleged that the state was failing to fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide schools that were uniformly staffed by qualified teachers, supplied with appropriate instructional materials, and physically functional. The suit went on to allege that problems in meeting all of these three criteria were more often found in schools of low income students than in their wealthier counterparts.

The state argued that its school funding mechanism was adequate, but that it was individual district who were failing to properly channel their dollars into these areas. The plaintiffs countered that the state constitution makes it clear whose ultimate responsibility it is to see to the needs of students.

In a settlement agreement signed by our newly-elected Governor last year, the Williams plaintiffs won much of what they had been seeking.

Now it will become the duty of County Offices of Education to monitor school sites, making sure that the facilities are safe, clean, and conductive to learning. The CoE will also now conduct audits of textbook sufficiencies and of teacher preparation.

Initially in our District, the four sites in the lowest three deciles of API scores (AH, WO, YB, JL) will receive the bulk of the attention. Next school year, the focus will broaden to all remaining sites. One portion of the settlement calls for adequate preparation for teachers of English Language Learners (ELL). Beginning as soon as April 8 of this year, the dictate states that the teacher of any class which has 20% or more ELL students in it must have specialized training in the teaching of ELL students. Two modalities for demonstrating that kind of specialized training are called CLAD (Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development) and SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English). Certification in these teacher preparation modalities has been available for a number of years, and nearly all new teachers are earning a CLAD certificate along with their credential. Veteran teachers have been able to earn certification under the Hughes Bill and SB 395 for several years, but generally not required to do so.

Significant numbers of veteran teachers in the East Side have not pursued CLAD or SDAIE training, and may now be faced with "requirements" that they go out and get it. In reality, if a teacher achieved permanent status without the need for a specialized certification like CLAD, the only way the District can make it a condition of future employment is to provide the training during the work day and pay for it. A second and more sinister method of coercing teachers to obtain CLAD certification is to use possession of CLAD as a factor in a PKS layoff. There may also be the looming possibility of involuntary inter-school transfers in order to allow the District to meet its needs.

The District has announced that plans are in the works to make available CLAD/SDAIE certification in one or more local workshops. This Update does not have sufficient space to include all of the bewildering details that come to bear on the issue. Any of these factors may influence the requirements applicable to a particular employee: date of hire, date/state first given tenure, credential type, and department in which classes are taught.

ESTA’s Benefits Committee chair Bill Mustanich is in the process of setting up meetings at each school site to discuss the current situation and answer questions that pertain to our benefits package. As soon as I have the schedule of those meetings I will publish it.

A look back over the costs of medical benefits to the District in the last five years illustrates a disturbing trend, as summarized in the table below.

The data on this table was provided by David Wiesner with Gallagher Benefits Services, and I believe it to be at least accurate enough to spark conversations.

The so-called ‘Willie Brown’ provision has been available to qualifying East Side teachers for a dozen years. Named after the former Speaker of the California State Assembly who assisted passage of the underlying law, the phrase refers to section 44922 of the Ed Code. Applicants who are accepted work less than full time (generally either 60% or 80%, or on occasion 50%) but are credited by STRS for a full year’s work.

Applicants must have been employed full time in the District for at least ten years, and be at least age 55. See Article 19 in our contract for further details. If you meet the qualifications and want to apply, notify the District (HR office) in writing by March 31. Give me a call or send me an email if you have any questions.

CTA’s third in a series of pro-Prop 98 radio ads has hit the airways. Below is the text of the message: