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Panorama | May 2010 |
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Panorama | May 2010 |
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President's View by Marisa Hanson
Recently,
I met with a reporter from the Associated Press and he asked me to
describe how the budget cuts have affected our district. Here are a few of the dramatic
changes I told him about: ? There
are no longer phone operators or greeters at any schools, sometimes it is
a student, but mostly it is impossible to get connected to someone at a
school site. ? The
libraries are open for only one hour a day with the Librarian. The Librarians are now teaching
the rest of the day. ? The
Career centers are now closed and used for storage at many
sites. ? Teachers
have 15 more students each, which is 10% more students. We
are all doing more with less! I
also added what it could look like next year if the proposed cuts go
through: ? One
counselor for over 2000 students, and at one site over 3,800
students. Group counseling is
proposed and no one knows what that really looks like. ? Students
with mental health issues will have no where to go, social workers and MST
coordinators would no longer be at our sites and no one would be able to
observe the interns from San Jose State, so they would be gone as
well. Hours of free service
no longer available! ? No
one to run student government, dances, and many important campus
activities. ? One
school janitor to clean the entire school. No
place to send a student who is not feeling well and no one to monitor
emergency information cards or respond to a medical
emergency. The reporter was amazed that we have already endured so many cuts and are expected to have more. I did have the opportunity to show him around Silver Creek High School and introduced him to the staff at that site, so he could see first hand what the current cuts look like at one of our schools. I am looking forward to reading his article about our district.I
did mention to him that the district did bring back the school
psychologist from the eliminated positions list, but they have not
reinstated any other positions.
As of May 15, layoff notices will still be sent out. At the May 10 board meeting, the
board approved the layoff of 42 ESTA members. The number has been reduced due to
nearly 30 members planning to retire, and around 10 planning to take a
leave of absence. Thank you
to all who have turned in your letter of intention so that laid off
teachers could be rescinded. I
hope to have a negotiations update soon. At this time, our bargaining team
has been working hard to get us a tentative agreement and they have had
several meetings with the district.
Once a tentative agreement is reached, it will be announced and two
weeks later there will be a vote at all school sites. As always, members will have a
chance to meet with their site President to go over concerns and
questions. It could happen
that once an agreement is reached, the district could decide to reinstate
some of the eliminated positions, but I’m not holding my
breath.
Attention Potential Board Members!!!
STA PAC will be interviewing possible ESUHSD board
candidates this summer. If you are interested in seeking an ESTA
endorsement for your campaign literature, email Wendy Stegeman at
wstege1042@aol.com with your contact information. Interviews are about
1/2 to 3/4 hour in length, and all candidates are asked the same
questions. The possibility
for financial assistance with filing fees and costs exists. If you have a great idea for
someone we should contact, please email Marisa Hanson or Wendy Stegeman
with contact info.
Independence
High School Athletic Booster Club 1st
Annual Golf Tournament San Jose, California – June 14th, 2010 –
All
proceeds benefit the IHS Athletic Booster
Club Independence High School is a part of the East Side Union High
School District, San Jose, California. Due to the state of
California’s economic situation, the school district is no longer able to
financially support the sports programs within the district. Each
school is now left to raise money to fund their own sports programs.
The IHS Athletic Booster Club was established with the sole purpose of
raising the funds necessary to keep the sports program going strong at
Independence High School. Join teachers, parents, staff and friends for a fun filled
fundraising day on the green! The Villages Golf & Country Club 5000 Cribari
Lane San Jose, CA 95135 Tee Time 1:00 p.m. ShotgunStart 4-person Scramble
Format $175 Entry Fee – includes Green fees, Shared Cart, Range Balls,
Roast Pork Loin & Jack Daniels Chicken Dinner and Tee
Prizes Donations are welcomed! Help make a difference and support IHS Athletics and your
community! For more information contact: Kathy Yao Email:
henryyao@comcast.net Telephone: (408) 272 – 2579 If you can help in any of the following areas, please let us
know: Play golf / Raffle Donations / Auction Donations / Volunteer /
Sponsor |
Ala Board Wendy Stegeman, AAHS, PAC
May
6, 2010 At the Board meeting: Many parents - especially the seven from Andrew Hill - spoke
passionately about keeping second language counselors. Other schools
represented included MP, PH and SC. Latino Parent Coalition and Vietnamese
parents spoke. Students came forward to ask the state and district to quit
messing with their futures and educations. But only four students
representing larger groups this time. Cougar Hall was apparently chosen as the site of this
meeting as they thought they would be finalizing lay-offs. Law judge
rulings due today, so probably a special meeting on Monday, then another
"regular" meeting on the 20th. The board voted to give back 10% of their $750 mo.
stipend after some discussion. Pat Martinez-Roach wanted to impose a $125
cost on retirees, admin and the board, with some furlough days. This
is bargaining as two or three units are represented in the request, and it
must be done at the individual bargaining tables. Frank Biehl commented
that good benefits and stipend attract good board members (wonder if this
applies to teachers and support staff???). They unanimously passed
Eddie Garcia/Lan Nguyen motion to reduce stipend by 10%. Admin will look
at the feasibility of charging them for part of their benefits.
Calero project will be going ahead at IHS Post-Senior and
continuation school. Kirsten King showed why and how new legislation makes
this more fiscally reasonable than a community day
school. Dr. June Rono showed the modernization plans to fit the new
Calero concept. Bob Nunez tried to present information showing that
Bloch Construction is no longer on the approved list although this
district continues to do business with them and they are overseen directly
by Facilities Head Garofalo instead of SGI like everyone else.( From
information provided, it looks like AHHS got so little construction out of
Measure G because Bloch got such a large cut...then there was the missing
$6M which I am still getting new info about. Things may not be as the district presented them in
our little library meeting a few years ago.) Bob Nunez would have
provided the board with more [relevant] information, but Board President
Garcia kept interrupting him to ask if this was relevant, using a good
part of the exactly 3 minutes he was
allotted. The Board voted to keep the election as at large instead of
by district - and when Pat Martinez-Roach asked about the wording, was
told it just authorized the election of the three seats. She was not
able to get the truth until after the vote. Harry Houdini, call your
office... it was a distasteful piece of
deception. John Ambrose, suggested a 7.2% pay cut imposed on everyone -
especially teachers and support staff. Don't know if it is true, but
I have heard his name mentioned in a running for board
context. Contracts for Alan Garofalo and Jerry Kurr put forward to
next meeting. Pat questioned expanded facilities for KIPP Charter School.
She has valid worries about the impact of independent charters on our
public schools. She was shushed by those board members who indicated this
was just a legal requirement. Julio Pardo spoke eloquently a couple of times, and Angie
Nunn, the acting prez of CSEA, invited the board to come during the week
of Day Of's... and see what we all really do. May 10, 2010 Board Meeting Number 2 of 3 for May 2010 started
at just after 6:30. Flag
Salute was normal. That was
the end of normal or sane. No public speakers.
The Board voted to accept the Law Judge's rulings.
Latino and Vietnamese parents and students made signs and
spoke passionate about the connection between counselors and parent
communities! Marisa spoke for ESTA and reminded them that ESTA
members HAVE been giving back to the district in the 6ish million
saved with +3 last year. The board has tried hard not to mention to
parent groups how much the bargaining units have been giving up
during these bad years. The board voted 4-1 to accept the layoff list. The
dissenter was Pat Martinez-Roach who said she tried to convince Dan Moser
to employ skip criteria for bi-lingual counselors last March. The
other board members seemed amazed that there was such a possibility.
Counsel confirmed the possibility. The Acting Supt elected not to act on
it. The board members reassured themselves that they were being
responsible and voted 4-1 for the lay-offs. Still no conversation about
possible cuts other than people-chopping. Eddie Garcia wanted to
explain the hard words in the conversation to the audience. Anyone
know the definition of patronizing? Alan Garofalo's contract was renewed for one year in spite
of the Expensive FCMAT report of irregularities in his sphere. One
year, 60 day buyout language. Pat voted Nay with a statement of lack of
confidence. The boys circled the wagons and voted
yes. Rerun of the Alan conversation for Jerry Kurr's contract,
but for 6 months or December 2010. 4-1 with no confidence from Patricia
Martinez-Roach. Still 60 day buyout
language. Dan Moser said he is encouraging cabinet to take a voluntary
3% decrease. Where was the
word voluntary when it came to the worker bees? Everyone of
conscience listened in great distress.
It’s
About Time! Mike
Brennan, Editor It’s actually very simple. A bunch of very intelligent
college educated men at financial firms lost a whole lot of money. Well that’s their business. All the government has to do is
find the people who made all the money that the intelligent college
educated guys lost and ask them to fund Government services by taxing
them. Government officials
need to control businessmen not the other way around. The money ends up in the hands of
the people who make the rules.
Government officials and citizens need to recognize this. We’ve been letting businessmen
make the rules for too long. All our endeavors, since human beings have worked to
raise quality of life with tools and technology, have been to mitigate
natural fluctuations in resources. Humans invented farming so the food supply would be
stable. We invented dams so
water supplies would be stable.
We invented boats and planes and trains so we could trade and make
our supply of goods and services more stable. We invented heating and air
conditioning to keep the temperature in our homes
stable. Much of our energy as a society is spent on bending the
natural world to our will and insulating ourselves from extreme scarcity
with regard to the materials and commodities that make our lives
possible. I’m really amazed that it’s taken this long for citizens
to stand up and raise the objections to this fabricated scarcity of
money. Schools, police, and
hospitals shouldn’t be withering on the vine in a society with the amount
of resources that ours controls. We have not lost crops, we have not lost property, we
have not been invaded by foreigners, we have not suffered a plague. Our bankers made some mistakes,
lost some money, and now we are being told that we can’t get up in the
morning and go to work and earn a
living. Our children can’t go to school and learn to play
musical instruments, be on sports teams, or sit in a library. These hardships, we’ve been told,
are something we have to
endure because we’re having a crises of credit in our economy. The latest crop of dollars has
failed.
At last, community leaders are pointing this ironic
dysfunction out. After we
have stabilized crops, and goods, and services with technology and
communications, we are injecting instability into our own society because
we can’t control ourselves.
After we tamed nature, we are losing our quality of life to the
lower aspects of our own nature. How could it have taken so long for people to realize
that our quality of life is something that we control. When some people say that there is
no money for teachers, and cops, and doctors and nurses, we have to turn
around and tell them that money is available for things that are important
to us. The foundation of our
society is a legal system that is just and an educational system that is
fair. We spend 110 billion a year on fast food; we spend 40
billion a year gambling; we spend 5 billion a year on ice cream. No, we don’t have a lack of money,
what we have is a lack of purpose.
ESTA Endorsed Candidates!!! Your
PAC has interviewed many candidates in races that are important to
ESUHSD staff and students. The
Assembly voted the support the following
endorsements: San Jose City
Council District 5 - J. Manuel
Herrera Sheriff -
Laurie
Smith Assembly District
23 - Nora
Campos County
Supervisorial District 1 - Teresa
Alvarado Judge -
Julia
Alloggiamento We
interviewed but did not endorse in the District Attorney race. | |
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Classifieds
Get
Ready for Spring: All Clear Window Washing and Gutter Cleaning, Paul
Foley, owner and operator, honest and reliable. Call 408-506-0138. Mary Metz-Foley AH
x74143. Notary
Service Discount
to ESTA members and family. Contact Chris Tsuji, 408-226-0674,notarychris@cheerful.com. Fancy
a nice cuppa tea? Invite
family and friends to enjoy an English tea in the comfort of your home!
Contact Jan Treadgold (IH, ret.) at 916-691-9725 or email: jteatime@frontiernet.net
for
details. A
REUNION FOR
THE INDEPENDENCE H.S. CLASS OF 2000 For
Staff and Students
Join
us in a 6-day cruise of the Bahamas
June
26, 2010
Per
Person rates start at $435!
Call NOW: Sally
Lussier, 408 209-2482, sallylussier@earthlink.net
Marian
Dotson, 831 588-8483, cgctravelpals@yahoo.com For
Rent: Hawaii
condo-1 week, 1 block from Waikiki Beach, sleeps 5, kitchen, Air
conditioning, TV, pool free parking.
Good rate to ESTA members and friends. Nick
(408-377-3956) TRAVEL: Traveling
to New York City. Call the
expert. Flat fee for 2 hour
consult on all things NYC (cheap eats, sights, shows, etc). Call Silvia Amico for appt at
510-552-2276 or e-mail at gregandsilvia@sbcglobal.net. Evandro
Brandao granitehomedesign@gmail.com
408-858-4605 For
your painting, cement
and electrical needs call Armando Mendoza at (408) 937-7381 or (408)
422-2867. Special discount for ESUHSD employees.
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Granite
Home Design Corporation, specializing
in Granite, Marble, and Tile.
License # 748938 Greg
Boyd PHHS boydg@esuhsd.org
408-406-1470
Room
Needed -
May 1 to June 13 Teacher
needs a room for 6+ weeks. Private bath, closet, shared kitchen,
wireless, and parking are necessities. Will be bringing few
belongings: clothes, a few books, coffee pot, computer and papers to
grade. ; ) Can pay $450.00
per month or $700.00 to total
Barbara
Castleton - Overfelt Summer
Camp for Kids! For
Pete’s Sake Studios is offering our 10th
year of exciting weekly summer camps for kids ages 6-12. Jr. Journalism, Cartooning, Who’s
Who in Art, Astronomy, and the “Super ‘60’s” are just a few of the
creative academic and art programs that we offer. For complete information or to
register, please call us At 408-269-1210 or visit us at www.forpetessakestudios.com We are conveniently located in San
Jose and our summer program runs daily from July 5- 30, 9 am – 3 pm. 20% DISCOUNT TO ANY ESUHSD STAFF
MEMBER!! 406-4405
Ground
floor 1
bed/1bath condo for rent $1200 available in middle of June. Washer
and dryer in unit.
Car port. 4 bd, 2.5 bh home, large
living room. den, great light, 2 car garage easy access to 87 at
Curtner. Quiet friendly
neighborhood with many school age children. Willow Glen middle and high
schools. Fresh paint, new
light fixtures with energy saving bulbs, new toilets. Central air and heat, energy
efficient windows with blinds, fridge, washer and dryer, dishwasher. Very large yard with lots of room
for garden and many mature fruit trees. NO SMOKERS. Small pet
considered. $2300 per month,
1 year lease, first, last and deposit. Call
833-8619. |