BURLINGAME – The following statement was released by California Teachers Association President Dean E. Vogel today in reaction to Gov. Jerry’s Brown’s May Revision of the 2013-14 state budget:

“We commend Governor Jerry Brown today for keeping public education a priority in his May revision of the state budget. Allocating $1 billion to help local school districts implement the Common Core State Standards is great and welcome news for California’s students. The money is much needed to provide training, professional development, textbooks and materials. The transition to the Common Core Standards will dramatically impact how teachers teach. Educators must have the support and resources they need in order for the new standards to be implemented effectively.

“CTA continues to support the goals of Gov. Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula as we believe that every student is entitled to educational equality and appreciate the recognition that it costs more money to educate students with higher needs. We will review the proposed changes and will continue to work with the governor and legislators to ensure all concerns are addressed, including accountability, use of accurate data in determining funding levels and timing of implementation. We look forward to having many more discussions in the next few weeks as the state budget is finalized.”

Scholarship application form for the Vacaville Teachers Association

If you didn’t receive one of these in your mailbox, please fill it out and send it to payroll!

The VTA and VUSD teams met on May 10, 2013.

VTA: Brenda Hensley, Kent Puddy, Kim Campbell, Gary Masterson, Todd Blanset,

Lynne Grow & Moira McSweeney

VUSD: Randy Henry, Ed Santopadre, David Robertson Christie Cochran, & Kari Sousa

The District responded to a VTA request for information related to the Local Control Funding Formula proposed by the Governor in January. The District provided information regarding this formula and estimated funding levels to the VTA team.

The teams agreed to meet after the May Revise, but did not set a firm date.

Rep Council meeting minutes

Jepson library

May 7, 2013  3:30-4:53

Members present – Ginny Miller, Julie Timmerman, Diane Dahl, Judy Schneider, Sofia Felix, Jennifer Brown, Debbie Cavanaugh, Moira McSweeney, Julie McGee, Russ Tucker, Stephanie Munzinger, Sharon Riehl, Helen Blood, Miranda Merino, Linda Phelan, Bob Blaine, Todd Blanset, Christine Williams, Cathy Valdez, Brenda Hensley, Sylvia Shepard, Lili Fisher, Gary Eisenberg, Kathleen Steiert, Carolyn Thomas, Katherine Epstein, Chris Fickes, Samantha Maunder, Mark Richardson, Tracy Begley, Sylvia!, Aja Cook, Corey Penrose, Larry Baker

Members absent – Lenore Hubal, Dawn Waid, Tom Kutz, Tom Buck, Suzi Morgan, Joy Holleran, Alyson Brauning

Site concerns:

Elementary – there were some questions about transfer language and contract proposals regarding prep time for parent conferences and report cards.

Junior High – none

High School – there were some questions about the shifting of meeting times once the current contract expires.

1) – Approval of the minutes – the minutes were approved.

2) – Approval of the agenda – the agenda was approved.

3) – Business – none

4) – President’s report – Moira reported on the following:

Transfer language – there have been some discussions with VUSD about contract language regarding member reassignments due to reconfiguration of grade levels at elementary sites.  Article 7.4 will be followed and a displaced pool will be held.  The process/procedures for this were reviewed by Moira.  The pool will likely be held on May 16th at the ESC.

Pay docking due to POL usage – is an ongoing problem. There are Labor Law regulations on this that are being discussed with the District.  Moira and Sylvia will meet with the district on Thursday in an effort to resolve this issue. Some questions about this process were taken.

Safety committee – suspension and expulsion reports should be coming to VTA members on a weekly basis.  If they are not being sent, talk with your site administrator and let Moira know.

Site administrators will also review student intervention protocols. There will be during duty day trainings on Crisis Prevention Intervention techniques for the 13-14 school year.  There will also be access to an electronic student yearbook for member access.  The report also finished with a reminder about reporting serious threats or injuries and VUSD reimbursement forms for member property which is damaged at school.

Day of the Teacher – is tomorrow at Murillos at four pm, come on by!

The report finished with a commendation to Fairmont for pulling together during their challenging time and some questions about Saturday School detention.  Members are eligible for comp time if you participate in this and other programs.  For more information, see section 3.8.1 of the contract.

5) – Treasurer’s report – Brenda reported on the following:

The treasurer’s report – was reviewed and approved.

The proposed budget – for 13-14 was reviewed and approved.

6) – Committee/Chair reports:

Action – covered the following topics:

AFL/CIO – VTA is entitled to six delegates in the Napa/Solano labor council and we’ll hold an election in the fall to fill the slots.  Corey will also be attending a conference this month on this topic so he’ll be able to do a better job of discussing this topic when rep council reconvenes in the fall.

American Cancer Society – VTA facilitated collaboration between the American Cancer Society and VUSD to use VUSD facilities for the ACS survey this fall.

Google glifs – will drop off once google updates our search entry.

Projects from the organizing academy – were reviewed and discussed.

Last VTA newsletter – the first article request will be sent on Friday and the last copy of the newsletter will be sent on May 17th.

Bargaining – Brenda, after reviewing the bargaining reports on vacateachers.org, reported that VUSD did not deliver a monetary proposal for the 13-14 school year.  She also talked about the LCFF changes and how they might impact this bargaining session.

Grievance – Sylvia reported that she’s been working on various personnel issues and reminded members to be sure to set an appropriate tone in the classroom and in conversations on campus.

Human Rights – none

Women’s Issues – none

PAC – none

Special Ed – none

Leave Bank – none

Membership – none

7) – Conference reports

Sylvia Shepard reported on the Organizing Academy.

Sylvia Aquino reported on the Redwood leadership conference.

8) – Other

The VTA WHO award was given to Christine Williams!

Richard Bammer received a journalism award from CTA, it will be given on May 31st.

Thank you to Larry Baker for your years of service!

9) – Raffle

25 dollar staples card – Linda Phelan

15 dollar subway card – Helen Blood

10) – Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 4:53 pm

Respectfully submitted, Corey Penrose

By Dean E. Vogel
Los Angeles Daily News
www.dailynews.com

Today, May 9, marks the 150th anniversary of the California Teachers Association. Between the time that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and the time he delivered the Gettysburg Address, John Swett founded the California Educational Society, which was to become the California Teachers Association.
It’s a long history and it’s a proud history. Since its inception in 1863, CTA has been at the forefront of every major victory for California’s public schools and colleges. You may be interested to know that:
In 1866, CTA secured funding to establish free public schools for all children in California.
In 1911, CTA led the fight to establish community colleges.
In 1927, CTA won a major legal victory when the state Supreme Court ruled that a school board couldn’t fire a female teacher simply because she got married.
In the 1940s, CTA emerged as one of the few “mainstream” organizations in California to protest against the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
In 1988, CTA drafted and won passage of Prop. 98, the minimum funding guarantee for K-14 education.
In 1995, CTA won Class Size Reduction for grades K-3 after a massive media and lobby campaign.
In 2005, CTA won a major Prop. 98 lawsuit against the state and created the Quality Education Investment Act, which used the settlement to fund proven reforms at lower-performing schools.
And in 2012, CTA was instrumental in the passage of Prop. 30, preventing $6 billion in cuts to schools, and for the third time defeated an onerous “paycheck deception” initiative.
For 150 years, with the help of their union, teachers have helped make sure all students have an opportunity at a quality public education. And we continue to do so today. As classroom experts, teachers know firsthand what works. That’s why the California Teachers Association has been championing proven reforms for all students, especially those who are struggling.
Through its internationally recognized and innovative Quality Education Investment Act, CTA is leading efforts to make sure at-risk students get the resources they need to succeed. QEIA uses research-based reforms like smaller class sizes, more counselors and better teacher training. The program’s success can be seen in communities across the state as it helps close the achievement gap for many lower-income students.
Under the umbrella of the CTA Foundation for Teacher and Learning, the Institute for Teaching is an incubator for educational innovation. Through its successful grants, teachers are able to propose and lead change based on what is working in their classrooms.
After years of effort, CTA members have created and are advancing a framework for fair teacher evaluation that puts the emphasis on constructive reform, not punishment. We believe the goal of any evaluation system is to strengthen the knowledge, skills and practices of teachers to improve student learning.
We are excited to be celebrating 150 years of advocacy on behalf of our profession and our students. We know there are many challenges ahead for California’s schools, but working in partnership with the public, we know we can meet them just as we have for the past century and a half.
Dean E. Vogel is president of the California Teachers Association.