Sanchez: State is having a meltdown
The state  budget, or lack thereof, was very much on the minds of delegates and CTA President David A. Sanchez when State Council met in Los Angeles April 1-3.
Unlike the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanchez told Council that the emergency we’re facing is very much man-made, “and that is a state budget that could result in another 19,000 educator lay-offs and the further erosion of our public schools and colleges. It’s like our state is having a meltdown right in front of us.”
Although CTA and Californians throughout the state supported Gov. Brown’s budget plan of $12.5 billion in cuts and $12.5 billion in revenue extensions, it became clear that Republican lawmakers “have no real interest in solving this budget crisis without destroying public education and other public services,” Sanchez said in his remarks.
Instead of striking a budget deal that would have allowed the public to vote on tax extensions, the lawmakers presented a list of 53 different demands, some of which made the deficit even bigger.
“Their other demands included a host of so-called education reforms and attempts to dismantle the secure retirement system for teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other public employees. Governor Brown said NO.”
He continued, “We are in a state of emergency, and we need to take bold action that sends a crystal clear message to Sacramento. “We aren’t going to sit back while the negligence of some lawmakers bankrupts our schools, closes our parks, abandons our sick and elderly, and puts entire communities at risk.”
 
Heins in as vice president-elect, Cichocki is new secretary-treasurer
CTA board members Eric C. Heins and Mikki Cichocki, were voted vice president-elect and secretary-treasurer-elect, respectively, Saturday, April 2. Along with CTA President-elect, Dean E. Vogel, they begin their term of office June 26.
Heins is currently District C board member, representing Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
A resident of San Francisco, Heins has taught elementary school in the Pittsburg Unified School District for 20 years and is a member of the Pittsburg Education Association. He has served as a board member on the CTA Board of Directors for 4 years.
Cichocki (pronounced “chuh-husky”) is a resident of Riverside, and is a youth services teacher in San Bernardino City Schools. She has served as president of the San Bernardino Teachers Association and is a member of the CTA board of directors, where she has represented San Bernardino area teachers for almost nine years.  She has a daughter, Olivia.

Council Takes Action
In other action, Council:
Elected Greg Bonaccorsi NEA Director, District 3 and re-elected Elizabeth Ahlgren as NEA Director, District 10.
Did not make a recommendation between Len Paolillo and Earl Wiman for NEA Executive Committee member as neither received 60 percent of the vote.
Gave a standing ovatin to three of the five California Teachers of the Year – all of them CTA members – including Beverly Gonzalez, a member of the Baldwin Park Education Association and a fourth grade teacher; Darin Curtis, a Lakeside Teachers Association member, eighth-grade physical educaiton teacher; and jennifer Kelly, Middletown Teachers Association member and eighth-grade physical science teacher.
Also gave a standing ovation to Miguel Ruiz, the 2011 CTA Education Support Professional of the Year, vice president of the Redlands Educations Support Professionals Association, and a warehouse delivery worker for the school district.
Heard a presentation on pensions from Maggie Ellis, chair of the State Council Retirement Committee, and received a new brochure.
For more actions, see Report of the Board of Directors, Committees and Items of New Business in members-only section of the CTA website under State Council.
Carolyn Doggett talks about attacks on Middle Class
On the day before the marking of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett used her own Sunday morning address to talk about how some of the things King strived for are eroding today.
“We in California and throughout the nation are in the middle of a perfect storm,” Doggett said. “State budget cuts are denying our students the opportunities they deserve and are ultimately destroying the very fabric of our local communities. The attacks on public education, teachers and organized labor are well orchestrated and very well-funded. And, we have a set of tax policies that are destroying the middle class while letting Corporate America take a pass.”
Doggett made note of a few inequities including:
The average CEO earns 185 times more than the average worker
The richest five percent of Americans claim nearly 64 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 80 percent hold just 13 percent
The corporate share of our nation’s taxes has fallen from 30 percent of all federal revenues in the mid-1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009
General Electric, which had a profit of $14.2, billion paid nothing in taxes in 2010.  
 “At the same time, 14 million Americans are without a job. Child poverty rates and homelessness are at an all-time high. Students can’t afford to go to college and public schools are shutting their doors,” Doggett said. “This is not the America I want for my nieces and nephews.”
Doggett summoned the words Dr. King said to sanitation workers in Memphis:
“You are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages.  The best anti-proverty program for a worker is a union.  Now, our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality.  for now we know that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters.  What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t earn enough money to buy a hamberguer and a cup of coffee?”
Doggett further urged Council members to turn out with their colleagues to We Are One rallies that were to occur on April 4 all over the country, as well as to share information from the CTA website on tax fairness.
“We are under attack like never before.  The sharks are circling and waiting for us to flounder.  It is why we must continue to have a STRONG CTA.  A strong voice for our students…for our schools…for our colleges…our union…and our future,” she said.

Below are the results of the interview team recommendations:

GOVERNOR: Edmund G. Brown Jr.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Gavin Newsom
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Neutral
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Dave Jones
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: Tom Torlakson
State Board of Equalization: Second District: Chris Parker
State Board of Equalization: Third District: Neutral
State Board of Equalization: Fourth District: Jerome Horton

State Council representatives will be voting on these recommendations at the March 27-28, 2010 State Council meeting.

If you have not already done so, please register on the MyCTA website.  You need your membership number from your membership card or your last copy of the CTA magazine.  If you can’t find it, please call the office. 

Major Policy for first reading.  If you like these policy statements, great.  If not, or if you would like to suggest any changes, please send them to me or Jan and we can carry your concerns forward.  At the next meeting these policy statements will become part of the organizational handbook and used by our staff in fighting for, against, or to change legislation. 

Page 51 (labeled L-1) Teacher Evaluation and Academic Freedom concerning Dismissal Procedures and Reduction in Force 

Page 58 (O-1) Professional Rights and Responsibilities concerning Permanent Status, Instructional Excellence (This one is marked as Immediate Action, but it is First Reading) 

page 60 (P-1) Civil Rights in Education concerning Health, Welfare, and Safety 

page 66 (R-1) Credentials and Professional Development concerning Administrator Effectiveness and Professional Development 

Items of interest from Committee Reports 

A-6, 7 – Lists out three NBI’s that Jan and I put forward at the previous meeting.  It looks like they are going to try to make these happen. 

Page H-2 

Co-consultant Jim Schlotz reported on health care reform legislation and led a committee discussion on bargaining strategy during the current economic conditions. The Negotiations Committee, without objection, forwards the following guidance to Council, local associations and their bargaining teams:
A. Local associations should continue to use the Protect, Mitigate, Restore strategy by:
a. Carefully and independently assessing the true financial condition of the
district;
b. Agreeing to changes only if they are necessary, appropriate, temporary in
nature and with built-in restorations when the economy improves;
c. Working closely with staff and Coordinated Bargaining Councils in all
aspects of bargaining;
d. Developing a bargaining plan to accomplish these goals while avoiding
using PERB and the impasse procedure. 

Census.gov has lesson plans for all ages concerning the census 

Pages E-6-8 have an important message from the state controller on the budget.  E10-11 is a letter from the Education Coalition in response to the Governor’s budget proposal. 

On K-1 (45)  There are 5 initiatives that are expected to be on the state ballot.  CTA is opposing the first three and supporting the last two. 

T-2,3  

Please review section A, Y, Z and any committee reports that interest you.

There is a list of positions CTA has taken on legislative bills in section Z.

You can review the New Business Items in section Y.  These are ideas proposed by individual representatives.

Each committee reports on new policy language, referrals to the board, and matters pending.

If you have any questions or concerns about any of the information in the book, please let us know and we will reply to your questions and take your concerns forward.

This is the policy handbook for CTA.  Any lobbying or other activities CTA Staff engages in must be supported by the policies in this handbook.  State Council Committees and Representatives work on updating this language at each State Council meeting.

Please post any thoughts you have on the contents of the handbook.

Thanks,

Hank

State Council voted to replace Dan Vaughn as Secretary/Treasurer.  Our new Secretary/Treasurer is Gail Mendes.  You can read her campaign statement in the back of the last California Educator.

There is a dues increase scheduled for next year.  The increase in CTA dues is $22/year (from $599-621).  We have expressed your concern about the dues increasing in a year when many members are facing salary cuts, but the fact is that CTA must spend more money during these hard times to try and save jobs and fight for better funding for us all from the state.

I would like to draw your attention to a few pages from the State Council Report. I suggest you skim the book for anything that catches your particular interest and read carefully the committee reports that concern your particular interests in education.

The NBIs are listed on the Y pages.  Individual committees also bring forward NBIs and policy language.

CTA takes positions on bills that may effect our students or our members.  Those positions are listed in the Z pages of the booklet.

The body voted to support all of the initiatives on the state ballot.  If these initiatives are not approved by the voters of California, the budget situation becomes worse and the legislature will most likely make further cuts.  Since education took over 50% of the cuts in the first place, it is likely that we would take a good percentage of the increased cuts.  There was much discussion of possible unintended consequences of these initiatives, but the current situation has education backed up against a wall.

M-3 The Civil Rights in Education Committee is asking that members show their support for AB 132 regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on school property.  The names and e-mail addresses of the Assembly Education Subcommittee are listed there.

M-4 Washington D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee is working toward a program for merit pay that would include teachers giving up tenure.  More pay without job security seems like a risky proposition.

O-3 The Credentials and Professional Development Committee is encouraging all CTA members to complete the online feedback survey on the changes being considered for the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), which is the criteria our evaluations are based on.

BTSA teachers and Consulting Teachers may find some interest in reading the committees findings on FACT, found on page O-3 and O-4

O-6 has a chart showing the changes in 8th grade algebra from 2003 to 2008 as schools prepare for mandatory 8th grade algebra testing.

P-4 The Curriculum and Instruction Committee is encouraging members to go to the CDE website for an application to participate in the focus groups for teh revision of the Mathematics Framework as it relates to the possibility of requiring algebra in the eighth grade.  These focus groups are starting at the end of April, so please check it out soon.

Q-2 The Retirement Committee recommends that members be cautious and aware of the misuse of the CalSTRS name and logo on advertisements, promotional materials, and solicitations.

R-1 The Alternative, Career and Technical Education Committee is reminding locals that school boards must hold a hearing before closing programs in CTE and Adult Ed.  The body passed two NBIs that direct CTA to work to get Adult Ed and ROP programs removed from tier 3.  For those that may be unaware, the way the current budget is designed, districts have been given complete flexibility to use funds that would have been earmarked for certain categorical programs for anything the district wants, even if that means closing those programs.  Adult Ed and ROPs are included in this “most flexible” tier and are being wiped out in some districts.  There is also much concern about the fate of CTE programs as they are being cut across the state.

S-3 Financing Public Education Committee has released the NOD Departments Funding Advisory.

T-1 The Assessment and Testing Committee is asking all members to contact Senate Education Committee Members and urge their support and co-authorship for SB 800 to eliminate STAR testing in second grade.  The committee members and their phone numbers are listed on page T-2

T-2 / Z-23 The Assessment and Testing Committee put forward an oppose position for SB 742 (Romero) which would require the State BOE to identify the 10 historically lowest performing  schools in the state and take one of three actions including restructuring the internal operations of the school, reopening as a public charter school, or operating under the oversight f a nonprofit management company.

U-1 A new version of The Green Book: Guidelines for Specialized Physical Healthcare Services in California is available from the California School Nurses Organization (CSNO) website.

Again, please take some time to review the committee reports, NBIs, and legislative positions.  If there are any that you would like to discuss or draw attention to, please do so here.  If you have any questions or concerns about the policy for first reading, please share your thoughts.  If there is anything you would like to see CTA working on, let us know.

Here are my personal highlights:

• The council voted to support New Business Items (NBI) that would direct our Legislative Analysts to develop initiative language to change the 2/3 majority rules for passing a budget or raising taxes in California and to raise taxes to support education (by giving education a more stable revenue source).  There was some debate as to whether the new tax initiative should include other social services, and while there seemed to be support for other services there was a prevailing desire to limit the scope of such taxes to our funding needs at this time.
• There was some debate concerning a motion to support Proposition 11 (the redistricting proposal).  While many members believe in the idea of redistricting, the debate was focused on the process of redistricting called for in this proposal.

If you have any questions regarding any decisions that were made at State Council, please feel free to contact Jan Thornhill or Hank Mollet (or e-mail addresses are linked to our names at the left).

Respectfully Submitted,

Hank Mollet

The item that was most contentious on the floor was the reverse dues check off.  As we discussed at rep council, the reverse dues check off is a method of collecting funding for CTA’s legislative and scholarship programs.  The reverse dues check off was approved (60%-40%) and will go into effect at the beginning of the school year.

If you would like to view the minutes from each committee and the new business items that were discussed, please visit CTA.org to download.

You may have seen the CTA rally on the news.  Jan was one of the teachers on stage representing the reduction in force numbers for our area.  She also attended the second stop of the bus tour in Rialto on Monday.

State Council voted to endorse NEA Candidate Recommendations for:
Dennis Van Roekel for NEA President
Lily Eskelsen for NEA Vice President
Becky Pringle for NEA Secretary-Treasurer
Princess Moss for NEA Executive Committee
Len Paolillo for NEA Executive Committee

We also voted on endorsements for Assembly Districts, Senate Districts, and Congressional Districts.

There were some changes to policy language that State Council voted into our policy handbook and there were some recommendations for policy language distributed for first and second reading.

The issue of a reverse dues check off was brought up again. CTA is looking to start using the reverse dues check off next year. The reason for this extra assessment is to ensure that we are prepared for future attacks on education and will be able to fund the various scholarships CTA gives out each year. Members who do not wish to have their money spent on political action will have the ability to designate the entire $20 for scholarships or vice versa. Any member who does not want to give any funds will be able to opt out entirely.

Please feel free to examine the State Council report which can be found in the MyCTA section of CTA.org. If you have any questions regarding any of the decisions that were made, please leave a comment or e-mail Jan or me directly.