OEA Sunshine Proposal      January 2008

Article 4 Non-Discrimination

Section 4.1.6    K-12 unit member salaries shall be considered as a district-wide expense and shall be allocated from a district-wide pool.

Article 9 Academic Freedom

New Section 9.3 Course Pacing Guides

Teachers shall be responsible for sequencing and pacing of material for any and all courses they teach.

Course pacing guides, where they exist, shall be recommended and optional guides, not mandatory timelines.

To allow teacher initiative and flexibility in sequencing and pacing, pacing guides will not be tightly coupled to mid-semester benchmark examinations. In particular:

District-wide formative assessments will be constructed modularly, so that teachers using alternative sequences may administer modules appropriately corresponding to their sequence.

There will be a maximum of one district-wide benchmark assessment per course per semester, and any such examination would come at the end of a semester.

Article 10  Hours of Work      (note: For ECE hours of work, see Article 22)

Reduced length of school day for Kindergarten

Adult Education preparation time.  Of the 1098 hours assigned to a full-time adult education teacher, 21 hours shall be planning and preparation time.

Add social workers to this section on the psychologist work year.

10.2.4  Add speech and language pathologists and social workers to this section detailing the psychologists’ work day. (8:30 to 4:30, including lunch.)

10.2.8 Hours Beyond the Duty Day

Delete paragraphs 1,2, and 5 and replace with:

Unit members other than TSA’s  shall set aside two hours per month beyond their regular workday as appropriate for parent-student teacher contract.  Other hours beyond the regular workday shall be both voluntary and compensated.

The union and the District will agree on a list of which additional duties are professional in nature and should be compensated at the per diem rate, and which are “extra duty” and should be compensated at the extra duty rate.  

New Subsection 10.4.510.4.5 Collaboration time

Collaboration time (by grade level, subject, or equivalent) beyond the monthly department or circuit meeting shall either be during the school day (without taking away preparation or conference time) or be voluntary and paid per diem. 

Section 10.5 Preparation Periods for Elementary Teachers

10.5.1 For the duration of this contract, the Employer shall provide each teacher with two (2) 50-minute preparation periods  per week which shall be staffed to provide intervention and enhancement opportunities as provided herein. Both Elementary Prep Periods should be staffed  prep, funded through the EEIP program.

New subsections in Section 10.6   Testing paperwork and procedures.

Additional hours required for added testing paperwork shall be carried out during the school day by providing substitute coverage for those hours. 

Teachers shall not be required to alter testing indications made by students or to use procedures not specifically prescribed in the testing manual. 

10.9 Academic Programs Outside the Normal School Day (new section)

10.9.1  Any and all academic programs in secondary schools occurring outside of the normal school day as specified in section 10.2 (for example, “after-school programs”) and not part of the Early Childhood Education Program shall  adhere to the model established in 10.2.2 for secondary “A” and “B” periods.  Academic programs shall be defined in secondary schools as courses for which students receive credit.  In particular:

10.9.1.1 Teacher participation in such programs shall be voluntary.

10.9.1.2  Compensation shall be at the pro-rated per diem rate for any and all additional work time resulting from teacher participation in academic programs.

10.9.2 In elementary schools, assignment in such after-school programs not part of ECE shall be offered first to teachers at that site.  Such assignments shall be voluntary.

Article 11  Leaves

11.16.1 Change “may be granted by the Superintendent”  to “shall be granted by the Superintendent or designee.” . 

Add: Such leaves may be extended beyond one day only with the consent in advance of the principal or other supervisor.

Article 12 Assignment/Transfer/Vacancy/Consolidation Policy

12.4.2.1(new) “No other procedures or factors, including budgeting factors or procedures, will contradict or circumvent this provision.” (regarding seniority in transfers in 12.4.2)

12.11  Change the Adult Education selection policy (in several places in Section 12.11) to give priority to current Adult Education unit members.

12.6 Voluntary Transfer Language  including language for Special Education teachers  

Consolidation Process

12.10.2 Secondary Preparations

12.10.2.1.4 and 12.10.2.1.5   Delete

12.10.2.2   Replace “a unit member shall be paid for more than two preparations as follows:” with “a unit member assigned more than two preparations will receive:”

12.10.2 .2.1 Replace with:  “For one additional preparation the teacher shall be assigned a second conference period.”

12.10.2.2.3 Delete

Adult Education

12.11Change adult Education selection procedure (12.11.1.1, 12.11.7.1, 12.11.8) to require priority for current Adult Education unit members.

(new) Possible remedies for the problem of split shifts.

12.11.10  Remove this section.

The minimum number of Adult Education contracted FTE’s who are classroom teachers shall be 70.

Article 15 Class Size and Caseloads

15.4.1  The maximum class size in elementary schools shall be 20. 

15.4.1  Kindergarten classes which exceed 15 students shall have an aide assigned.

15.6    Maximum student contacts per day for secondary teachers shall be 20  per period  except for  Music and Physical Education which shall be 40  per period.  In Business Education and Music classes, the number of students shall not exceed available equipment.

Combination Classes at Elementary Schools

Replace current section with “Combination classes in elementary schools shall be prohibited.”

New Section in Article 15: Class size maximums in decile 1 and 2 schools

In decile 1 and 2 schools, class size maximums shall be reduced to 15 for elementary schools and maximum student contacts to 15 per period for secondary schools..

New Section in Article 15: Special Education – Maximum Class Sizes

Special Education classes and/or specialist caseloads shall not exceed the following maximums which apply to all pupils for whom ongoing direct services or consultation is provided. No changes shall be made in Special Education job descriptions or job titles without negotiation with the OEA and input from affected teachers.

Special Day Classes – Class Sizes and Teacher Caseloads

Pre-school:

Intensive – 8 pupils

Non-intensive – 10 pupils

K-12:

Severely handicapped – 8 pupils

Language disordered – 10-12 pupils

Mild to Moderate/Non-severely handicapped- 10 -12 pupils

Emotionally Disturbed – 8 pupils

Hearing Impaired- 8 pupils

Non-categorical mixed – 8 pupils

Visually impaired – 8 -10 pupils

Autistic – 6 pupils

Inclusion—8-10 pupils

Resource Specialist

Resource Specialist Caseload- 20 pupils

Resource Specialist Class size- 12 pupils

(Replace Article 21.14.4 – RSP Caseload Limits)

Designated Instructional Services (DIS)

Language and Speech- 45 pupils

Adaptive PE – 55 pupils

Article 17  Safety and Security Conditions   New language is needed to cover:

Medical procedures performed by bargaining unit members

Standard District policy for rug cleaning/shampooing in Kindergarten and primary grades.

Availability of keys for all staff.

Article 21 – Special Services and Specialized Assignments

Section 21.2.1 – Counselors

Revise second sentence to read: The secondary site allocation for counselors shall be based upon a District-wide ratio of 350:1.  Add: Each secondary school shall have at least one counselor.

Section 21.8 All schools shall have a library and a librarian.

Section 21.9 - Nurses

The maximum caseload of a nurse shall not exceed 1:750 for the general population of students and shall be further reduced for populations requiring more intensive medical care.

 (Delete current first sentence of this section)

Nurses will be permitted sufficient time within their workday when they are not seeing students so that they can complete their reports, evaluations, paperwork and preparation.

Section 21.10 Psychologists 

Keep current 21.10 as 21.10.1

Move current 10.1.6 to here.

New Subsection 21.10.2 Psychologists shall be provided with adequate, stable work space established by the District and/or school principal to conduct student assessments, provide therapeutic support, and, if needed, to hold IEP meetings.  Such work space shall include a phone, desk, chairs, and a locking door and locking file cabinet because confidential documents must be stored.

New Subsection 21.10.3 Psychologists shall be provided with a laptop computer so that confidential records need not be left on unsecured school computers.

New Subsection 21.10.4 In classrooms in which a psychologist or social worker is assigned along with a teacher, and when that teacher is absent and no substitute is provided for that teacher, the psychologist or social worker shall have the option to work additional hours at their per diem rate to complete IEP’s, reimbursement forms, assessments, etc.

New Section 21.13.12 - Special Day Class Teachers shall be provided with coverage by the District to conduct student assessments and hold IEP meetings.

New Section 21.13.14 - The District shall equally distribute the number of medically fragile students with unstable and poorly controlled health conditions (such as seizure disorders, severe asthma and diabetes) assigned to Severely Handicapped, Special Day Class, Inclusion, or other appropriate special education classrooms across the District. For student safety reasons, there shall be no more than three students in wheelchairs assigned to any one special education classroom. 

Section 21.18 Substitute Teachers

21.18.5   Substitutes shall be eligible to purchase health care after the first day if they worked 45 days last year.  Substitutes who work a specified number of days shall have their medical insurance premium paid.

21.18.9.4     Re-adjust rates for long-term assignments.

21.18.9.4.1 Substitutes who have worked enough days in the previous year should start the new year at the higher rates.  The requirement for training should be removed.  The exclusion of STIP participants from this clause should be removed.

21.18.11   Changes in Eligibility and Selection for STIP program participants.

New section in 21.18 Due Process rights for substitute teachers

New sections in Article 21:

Driver’s Education:  Driver’s Education shall be offered at each high school and at least one summer school site.

Special Education Classrooms and Services – General Provisions (after current 12.9)

The OUSD recognizes that provision of necessary and legally mandated services to students with special needs is essential to its mission of providing quality education to all Oakland students.

The District shall provide not less than one full-time IA/AHC to assist each unit member assigned to a special education class.

Each unit member assigned to a Special Education classroom or program shall be paid a yearly stipend of up to $1000 to cover the cost of documented purchase of classroom materials.

Possible incentives to attract and retain credentialed Special Education teachers.

Local Plan Development:

When developing and/or updating a special education local plan (SELP), the District shall notify the Association of its intent to do so and shall inform the Association of the number of regular and special education teachers that need to be selected for the  Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Committee. The selection process for these unit members shall be conducted by the Association. Bargaining unit members shall be released from their regular duties without loss of compensation or compensated at their per diem rate of pay for purposes of serving on the SELPA committee.

When developing and/or updating a SELP, the SELPA Committee shall survey unit members whose duties would be impacted by the plan in order to determine their recommendations.

Unit members shall serve on the District’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The selection process for these unit members shall be conducted by the Association. Bargaining unit members shall be released from their regular duties without loss of compensation or compensated at their per diem rate of pay for purposes of serving on the Community Advisory Committee.

Social Workers:  (after current section 21.10)

Social workers shall be placed on the Psychologist’s Salary and Work Year Schedules.

(Add … Social Workers… to Articles 10.1.6 and 10.2.4 and 24.7.3 and to Psychologist’s Salary Schedule)

Social Worker intern hours shall be counted toward placement on the salary scale.

The District shall provide each social worker with a laptop computer for work related purposes.

The District shall provide each social worker with office space similar to that proposed in 21.10.2 above.

Article 22 Early Childhood Education Centers

Remove current language and replace with: "Unit members shall not be required to do work belonging to other bargaining units.

22.4 New subsection: A Special Education teacher shall be assigned any time there are Special Education students included in an ECE after-school program.

22.12. Unit Member Assignment

22.12.1  Unit member shall be given written notice of center assignment when the center program is completed in June for the ensuing year.  The unit members shall be so informed in writing, and upon request, the center administrator shall have a conference with the unit member.  The unit members shall be consulted regarding any change in the unit member assignment due to unanticipated circumstances after the initial assignment, and shall be so informed in writing.  Unit members whose hours of work are modified and/or required to provide split-shift services for the district shall be informed of the mileage reimbursement if applicable and provided other accommodations where the assignment has interfered with life plans that had been made prior to the abrupt change in working conditions. 

22.12. 2  Unit members who have been assigned positions where they are the only unit member at a site shall not be bound by requirements listed in Articles 22.13.1 or 22.13.1.1.  Unit members who are the sole unit member at the site to which they have been assigned shall be able to take their non-scheduled days as needed as long the days have been mutually agreed with by the site administrator. 

22.12.3  Unit members who are assigned as the only unit members at a site and have been assigned both an opening and a closing responsibility, shall be provided substitutes when they must be off for reasons listed in Article 11.

22.12.5    Unit members who are laid off shall be granted substitute opportunities where their services are requested.  To help ensure that the laid off unit member gets the substitute opportunities, the ECE administration shall provide a list of all laid off and rehired staff to the OEA President.

22.13.3.1 Increased compensation for unit members in ECE working without an assistant.

22.13.6.1 Unit members who are required to drive from one site to another because of providing split-shift services to the district, or because of being assigned to more than one site, shall be granted a monthly mileage reimbursement.

Article 23   Summer School

New Section on  Educational Facilities and Equipment

   Summer School teachers shall have access to basic educational tools such as a copier, overhead projector, TV/VCR, lab facilities for science, etc.  Classes and teachers shall have access to library facilities.

Add to 23.4  All written evaluations in the summer require a pre and post conference with rebuttal opportunity.

Add to 23.5  When teachers are assigned additional duties beyond those of teaching the summer school class(es), these shall be voluntary and shall be compensated at their per-diem rate. 

New section: Consolidation of Summer School Teachers

Article 24   Compensation

24.1 A 20% increase on all rates and schedules, in line with the increased K-12 per-pupil reimbursement from the state of California since 2001.

         Reduction of the number of years required to reach the top of the salary schedule to ten.

24.1.3 Use the same salary schedule for Adult Education as for K-12.  (Currently they are identical but separate.)

24.1.5  Change basic rate for K-12 substitutes to $150/day, ECE to $130/day, and corresponding increases in long-term rates.

24.2.5  A unit member with fully verified non-certificated previous non-teaching experience in a field directly related to his/her certificated assignment shall be granted salary schedule credit.  Credit will be granted on the basis of one (1) step  for each two (2) years of acceptable experience, up to a maximum of five (5) years on the salary schedule. Application for such credit may be made upon application for initial employment, or at any time during the unit member’s employment.

*24.6.1  Add to the end of this section  “in lieu of 45 units beyond the Bachelors”

24.7.3 Add social workers to this section regarding the psychologist’s work year. 

24.8, 24.9, 24.10, 24.14, 24.16  and others. Health Benefits.  If proposals on these sections are submitted through the Health Benefits Improvement Committee, those will be deemed to be OEA’s proposals for these sections.  If no proposals are submitted through the HBIC, the following are the OEA’s proposals.

24.8.1.11  Unit members shall not pay any portion of the health insurance premium

24.10.2 Dental Plan maximum per enrollee shall be $3000 annually

Article 28   School Site Interventions

Add provisions from the proposed OEA/OUSD Memorandum of Understanding regarding schools participating in the Quality Education Investment Act to this article. 

Also note proposed new section 15.8 requiring 15:1 in decile 1 and 2 schools.

Housekeeping Items

2.1.10  & 2.1.13   “Head teachers” in K-12 only, not EC.  Language change only

Article 3  Definition of “per diem” is needed

10.1 & 10.1.2  Eliminate and/or change “Buy Back Days” to “Professional Development Days”

10.1.2.1 Insert at end “ECE unit members’ participation in these days is voluntary.”

23.4  Remove “The Summer School programs and”

24.4 Add to first sentence “as shown on the salary schedules.”  Remove the second sentence requiring notification.

Article 24.20 Programs for Personal Growth.  New subsection

24.7 Any application of this section is suspended if the State Commission on Teacher Credentialing  does not currently require  professional growth hours.

 

Click here for the OUSD Sunshine Proposal in PDF:

ousd-sunshine-proposal.pdf

 

 

Teachers Propose Real Reform for Oakland Schools

The Oakland Education Association is proposing real reform for public schools in our city. Teachers in Oakland realize that it will take more than District reorganizations, school choice, and catchy slogans like “Expect Success!” to make Oakland Unified School District “world class.”

     Educators want the best for our students. We know that small class size, a balanced curriculum, and recruiting and retaining great teachers is the key to students in Oakland getting the education they deserve.

     District officials will doubtless use California’s budget issues as an excuse to shortchange the students that they are supposed to serve. The District has consistently thrown money
away on feckless programs to further the agenda of proponents of privatization and competition in schools. OUSD spent millions in recent years, for example, on new software programs like Edusoft that organize test data in slightly different ways than it was organized previously.

     Then there was Action Learning Systems, Inc, a company hired last school year for seven figures to formulate benchmark assessments in math and language arts. Teachers at several sites pointed out that these benchmarks were inconsistent with the curriculum and District administrators then privately acknowledged that the assessments were invalid.

     The money is there. It is simply being foolishly spent. Teachers are demanding real reforms like a class size maximum of 20 to 1 at all grade levels. We also want guarantees that early childhood education will be preserved, that enrichment classes at elementary schools will become more common, and that every school has a staffed library.

     Oakland teachers also believe that our schools have to stop being a training ground—teachers need to want to stay in Oakland and not just start in Oakland. In light of this, the people in the classroom are demanding a 20% pay increase and fully paid health care. In order to attract and retain excellent educators our District needs to be competitive in salary and benefits with other Districts and with other careers where a similar level of education is required.

     The teachers are demanding real change in Oakland and we need your support! Come with us to the January 30 school board meeting when we will be presenting these proposals.

Schwarzenegger Refuses to Tax Corporate Pals – Calls for Cuts Instead

There is a lot of talk right now about the fact that the California economy is “in crisis.” While our economy is experiencing a downturn, it is really our tax system that is in crisis.

     While middle class homeowners in California generously vote to tax themselves for local schools again and again, 46 corporations in California with an income of over $1 billion pay less than $801 a year in taxes (CalPIRG Education Fund). While working class people fork over millions of dollars a year in sales taxes, corporate taxes amounted to just 4.9% of state revenues in 2002, com-pared to 9.7% in 1980 (Chronicle 4-15-04, adj. for inflation).

     Can slashing the education budget even be described as a “solution” to our budget problem? The future of our city, our state, and our country is at risk. Do we want our children to grow up to be successful in life and competitive in the global economy? Do we want excellent, experienced teachers to keep inspiring generations in Oakland and in California? 

    Our elected representatives in Sacramento need to know that we do not support the governor’s proposed budget cuts. There is plenty of money out there. Reinstituting the 11% income tax on those who make over half a million dollars a year and reinstituting the vehicle license fee repealed four years ago would raise a combined $9 billion. Contact your representatives today (see front) and demand that they don’t make our kids pay for the budget shortfall.

 

Vote Yes on Measure G

     In March of 2004 Oakland voters passed Measure E by a more than two-thirds vote. Measure G is a permanent renewal of this measure. Since it is merely a continuation of an existing parcel tax, it will not raise taxes. Low income households can apply for an exemption from the tax.

     Although Measure G will not raise taxes, it will provide a continuation of an important source of revenue for Oakland Public Schools.  This  revenue is used to retain and recruit excellent teachers, keep school libraries open, run art and music programs, and make reduced class sizes possible.  

     Some have argued that a District that often makes poor choices when it comes to spending money should not be given any extra funding. However, the specific word-ing of Measure G will allow the District to be held accountable as to where the money goes. However we feel about our lack of a voice in how our school district is currently run, the fact cannot be argued that our schools need Measure G. 

     Very few school libraries in Oakland would have stayed open in recent years without Measure E. In the test-score-driven educational climate of today, music and art would be totally starved of funding without Measure E. We need Measure G to pass to continue these programs.

     Measure G must be passed by a two-thirds vote. Register by January 22. Vote on February 5. YES ON MEASURE G!

 

Call Our State Representatives - Demand They Fight Governor’s Budget Cuts

Don Perata
Sacramento Office:
Ph: 916-651-4009
Fax: 916-327-1997

Oakland Office:
Ph: 510-286-1333
Fax: 510-286-3885

Sandre Swanson

Sacramento Office:
Ph: 916-319-2016

Oakland Office:
Ph: 510-286-1670
Fax: 510-286-1888

This Month’s Quotation: “A 10% across-the-board cut … [would be] the same as laying off up to 110,000 teachers, shutting down every school in the state more than a month early, or increasing the number of students in every classroom by 37%. We can’t keep asking our students, teachers, and schools to do more with less.”

– California Teachers’ Association President  David Sanchez

    

This Month’s Number: $44 Million–the unspent surplus in OUSD’s 2006-07 accounts.

 

OEA Members!

Let the District Know

                                    We Support Our Bargaining Team!

Join us Wednesday, January 30, 2008

                                          4:00 pm: Rally

 4:30 pm:  School Board Meeting

District Headquarters - 1025 2^nd Ave.

What we are asking for:

Lower class sizes. 20:1 at all grade levels. 15:1 at schools with greatest need.

Reduced caseload for counselors, and for teachers and nurses working with students with special needs

Compensation that will retain and recruit excellent teachers – 20% pay increase and restoration of fully paid health benefits

Academic freedom that allows teachers to teach, rather than follow a regimented, prepackaged, scripted curriculum

We are making some bold demands with real school reform in mind.

We will present these proposals for our new contract at the School Board Meeting.

If we demonstrate strength in numbers now, we have a better chance of making real progress.

(For more information call OEA at 763-4020.)

 

January 30, 2008
4:00 pm	to	7:00 pm

Support your OEA Bargaining Team and our Sunshine Proposals for a new contract! 

OEA Press Conference to Announce

Contract Proposals

Betty Olson-Jones, OEA President

January 17, 2008

Like all of you, I was stunned and horrified by the shooting of the fifth grader last week while he took his piano lesson. I had been at his school that very afternoon. I was a fifth grade Oakland teacher before taking on this role, and it hit hard. I can’t say that I’m shocked or surprised by the continuing level of violence in Oakland. More than anything, I am angry. As long as we don’t  seriously address the underlying causes of violence in our society, and put the crisis in public education squarely in that context, this cycle is bound to continue. We’re here to say the conversation about reforming public education has to be changed from one of scarcity to one of how are we going to solve this problem!  If California can’t afford to educate its kids, yet can continue to build prisons, what are we saying about ourselves as a society? Our proposals for a new contract need to be seen in that light.

The Oakland Education Association represents nearly 3,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, librarians, and substitute teachers. Our current contract with the OUSD expires in June. We are presenting bold proposals, what some might call “unrealistic” in the current budget crisis. But we have no choice! If we don’t set our expectations high, we’ll be accepting the status quo, and the next time around we’ll be told the same thing. “There’s not enough.” As we remember the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., let’s remember some of his words: “to repair the damage of centuries of denial and oppression means appropriations to create jobs, job training…and equal education.” He warned us not to be satisfied with “limited reforms…at bargain rates for the power structure.” We’re long past the time for bandaid solutions to systemic problems.

The right to a quality education is a civil right. If we are talking about real reform, if public education is to survive, we have no choice but to advocate for our students and our profession.

Our Bargaining Chair, David de Leeuw, will elaborate on our main demands shortly. In brief, they are:

1. Lower class size;
2. Reduce caseloads for counselors, teachers and nurses working with students with special needs;
3. Compensation that’s adequate to recruit, support, and keep good teachers;
4. Academic freedom for teachers

Before he does, let’s go back to basics for a minute. First and foremost, every student has the right to a quality education. We are talking about helping our students – all students – grow up to be lifelong learners: thinking, caring, critical, creative, responsible members of a democratic society. This won’t happen by simply pouring facts into them and then measuring their achievement by their test scores. It won’t happen if our students don’t feel safe, and if they don’t feel engaged and cared for. For each child to have a quality education in Oakland, we can’t just expect success. We have to create the conditions where students can be successful and where teaching is honored and respected. OEA’s Vision for Public Education lays out ways to ensure student success, including:

A stable, caring teaching force where new teachers are supported and mentored so they choose to stay in teaching as a long-term career, not an entry-level position into the business world;

Small classes that allow teachers to provide individual attention to each student;

Time for teachers to collaborate and plan;

Ample resources, materials, and support staff;

Relevant, engaging curriculum;

Excellent early childhood and adult education programs;

Clean, safe, sustainable schools;

The power to make democratic decisions about the most important priority in our society: educating our young people.
 

Our contract proposals are meant to move us in that direction.

We know what conditions are like in Oakland schools. I taught for 14 years in Oakland schools, and now in my role as President I visit them regularly. We know that there are wonderful schools and excellent teachers throughout Oakland, and that students are demonstrating in a thousand different ways that "education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." (W.B. Yeats) But we also know that many students—particularly students in flatlands schools—aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. Our students come to us with such a range of needs that we are constantly trying to do the impossible. You cannot build a system of school improvements on the back of heartsick teachers and children without hope.

Since the state took over in 2003, and with the financial backing of wealthy patrons like Eli Broad, OUSD has experienced wave after wave of destabilization and change in the name of efficient business practices and educational reform. We’ve lost hundreds of great teachers — up to 30% a year — and over ten thousand students. Essential programs have been cut back or eliminated, custodians and other support personnel laid off. Of the 98 traditional schools that existed in 2002, 42 have been closed, reconstituted, incubated into new small schools, or turned into charters. There are now 32 charter schools in Oakland, which remove students and income from the district, feeding a vicious cycle of cutbacks, closures, destabilization of communities, and student and teacher flight. And far too many teachers are being forced to focus on raising test scores by using one-size-fits-all materials and following a script instead of doing what experienced teachers do best: building a genuine relationship with each student and tailoring their teaching to each child’s needs. All in all, the state takeover has made public education in Oakland worse.

Now we’re told that the state budget deficit will require even greater cuts in the funding that goes to education. But we can’t keep doing more with less! As a community, we cannot allow this manufactured crisis to be borne on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. Our neediest students are the ones who suffer. Students with special needs, students who come from poverty, students whose first language is not English, have additional needs that must be met for them to learn.

If the district, as currently run by the California Department of Education and wealthy patrons like Eli Broad is truly interested in fulfilling their obligation to educate all – not just some — of our children, then we challenge them to find the resources for doing so. California is the fifth largest economy in the world, and yet California schools rank near the bottom in per pupil funding. Oakland is not a poor city. Clearly there are resources available, and these need to be redistributed. For instance:

• 46 corporations in California with an income of over $1 billion pay less than $801 a year in taxes (CalPIRG Education Fund). Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill reported this week that eliminating tax credits or closing tax loopholes could bring in billions a year;
• Reinstitute the 11% income tax on incomes over $500,000 (a policy during the Republican administrations of Governors Reagan and Wilson) – $3 billion
• Restore the vehicle license fee repealed four years ago — $5 billion
• Reverse some of the damages of Proposition 13 by implementing a split roll tax (reassessing commercial property while leaving residential property alone) — $4 billion
• Locally, the Port of Oakland and other corporations need to pay their fair share.

Even a severe economic recession doesn’t have to lead to automatic spending cuts. It was in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930’s that Americans were able to win the greatest increase in social programs by demanding that social priorities be reordered.

Teachers are the key to providing students with a quality education. How can we expect to recruit, mentor, and then keep qualified teachers if we cannot offer them sustainable conditions of work or fair compensation for the critical work they do? How can we stem the growing number of drop-outs and push-outs if we are forced to measure our students only by their test scores and not by their unique gifts and talents? How can we stop the increase in violence in Oakland if we’re not giving young people a real alternative to gangs and the streets? We cannot continue to blame students, their parents, and educators for the refusal of our state and nation to live up to their obligations.

In this contract proposal we set out to boldly address the conditions in Oakland’s schools and to fight for what’s really needed to improve them. Our district must return to local control, and corporations must be taxed both locally and statewide on a regular, sustained basis— not just as “charity” with strings attached—to help us all achieve our vision: to provide and maintain quality public education, controlled by the community it serves.

As Frederick Douglass once said, "A man who will NOT labor to gain his rights, is a man who would NOT, if he had them, prize and defend them."

 

On February 5th voters in Oakland will decide whether or not to make the $195 parcel tax (formerly known as Measure E) permanent. Without Measure G, Oakland schools will lose $20 million in funding each year.  

Measure  G will renew existing local funding to:

• Attract and retain qualified teachers
• Keep class sizes small
• Maintain up-to-date textbooks and instructional  materials
• Preserve after school tutoring programs
• Maintain school library, music and arts programs

We need your help — this measure must be approved by 66% of the voters to pass! What you can do:

• Volunteer to put a lawn sign in your yard; ask your neighbors to do so
• Talk to your PTA/PTO about Measure G
• Take lawn signs to your PTA/PTO
• Make a donation to the campaign

President’s Report to Rep Council

January 7, 2008

 

Welcome to a New Year and new challenges as we prepare to begin contract negotiations again. Next week on January 14^th Mayor Dellums will give his first “state of the city” address. He will most likely call on all of us, as he has so often, to think of solutions that fit the size of the problem and not limit ourselves to what is. In that spirit, I offer these remarks on the state of our union as we enter 2008.

 

Sunshine Proposal for Bargaining a New Contract

Public education continues to be under attack from those who seek to privatize it. And although the defeat of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind was a victory given the unacceptable content of the draft revision, this is not time for complacency. Similarly, although we have regained some measure of local control, what that will mean in practice remains to be seen. OEA and community pressure played a role in keeping Burckhalter and Sankofa schools open, despite the District’s attempts to close them. And we have the School Board’s verbal support in making sure that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers are not allowed on school campuses again, as they were at Melrose recently. But clearly we need to keep the pressure on.

 

It is in this context that we are preparing to release our sunshine proposal for a new contract. Ours is a bold proposal, set firmly in our OEA vision, “Create Success!” It is not a proposal that seeks to limit our vision to what can be, but rises above that to what must be, in order to create the conditions for success for our students, and recruit, train and retain excellent teachers who view education as a craft rather than a script and a long-term vocation rather than an entry-level job into the business world.

 

Our decision to propose what many will call “unrealistic” if not “impossible” is born from the belief that to do otherwise is to continue to sell our students and our members short. We want the state, who still holds financial control over the district, to be forced to say publicly to our members and to the community – “No, we can’t afford to provide what we know (and research shows) is necessary to guarantee an excellent public education for allour students. We can’t afford your demands for lower class size, especially in schools with the greatest need.” We want Jack O’Connell and his wealthy patron Eli Broad to be forced to say, “No, we cannot afford your demands, even though we live in one of the wealthiest economies in the world, and your biggest corporations and Port pay next to nothing to support this most fundamental democratic right, the right to a quality education.”

We are setting ourselves squarely in opposition to those who would “reform” public education by killing it through high stakes testing, punitive sanctions, narrowed curriculum and slavish adherence to arbitrary standards. In contrast, we are standing up for academic freedom, relevant curriculum, authentic measures of learning, and genuine respect for educators through increased compensation and fully paid health premiums. This is not just a battle for a better contract; it is a fight to defend quality education as a civil right. But publicizing our demands alone will get us nowhere, as just as those demands may be. We need to seek out our natural allies in the community and educate them about what we know to be true – that NCLB’s high stakes testing is short-changing their children and robbing them of the kind of broad education they need to be critical, thinking citizens.

 

Bargaining Health Care through the Health Benefits Improvement Committee

Part of our necessary alliance with the community will continue to grow if we take the unprecedented step of bargaining collectively with the other OUSD unions around health care. Of course there are risks, and there are no guarantees. But our entire sunshine proposal is a risk – our only hope of being “David” to the state’s “Goliath” on any of our demands will depend on the strength we can build within our membership and with the broader community. Barack Obama’s upheaval in the Iowa caucuses last week is a good illustration of what can happen when the choice is made to disregard the voices preaching caution and fear of the unknown. We have the option of stepping into uncharted territory and bargaining with our fellow OUSD brothers and sisters, or we can choose to go it alone, thereby risking the fragile alliances being built. As your President, I have weighed both sides of the health care debate, and talked to hundreds of teachers. In the long run, there’s no doubt that we must continue fighting to secure universal health care coverage. In the meanwhile, I remain convinced that our best hope for winning the best possible health care package – and overall contract – lies in bargaining health care through HBIC with the other unions.

 

Hold These Dates!

January 17^th (Thursday) at 4:00 pm: Press Conference on the steps of Castlemont High School to present our Sunshine Proposal.

January 30^th (Wednesday) at 4:30 pm: Meet at the School Board to present our Sunshine Proposal.

 

Measure G:

As you know, your Executive Board voted to endorse Measure G, which will make the $195 parcel tax currently known as Measure E permanent. Along with Mayor Dellums, I am one of five signatories on the voter’s guide, and have been meeting regularly with the Measure G Committee. In your packet is a flyer put out by the campaign, containing talking points for use in talking to voters. We are on a very short timeline here as Measure G will appear on the February 5^th ballot. The Campaign Committee is focusing on distributing lawn signs, targeting voters with an automated call and several mail pieces, and putting a banner at 51^st and Telegraph. OEA has been asked to help with the following:

1.      Distribute yard signs through school sites and PTA’s

2.      Distribute yard signs in neighborhoods

Please sign up if you are able to help. There are yard signs available tonight, along with yard sign scripts and instructions.

 

Mayor’s Task Force on School Finance

Ward and I have been meeting with this task force for the last few months. The focus is on looking at ways to increase funding for schools. We are presenting a draft of our initial ideas to the Mayor for (hopefully) inclusion in his State of the City address. At OEA’s urging, these include looking at ways in which the Port of Oakland and other large corporations and developers can be made to pay their fair share.

 

In unity,

 

Betty Olson-Jones, OEA President

 

 

Date:    January 7, 2008

To:       OEA Representatives

Re:       CTA Scholarships and Awards

Every year CTA offers scholarships to members and dependent children of members.

Name                                                                             Deadline for Submission

1. 2008 CTA Scholarship for Members                                  February 8

2. 2008 CTA Scholarship for Dependent Children                    February 8

3. 2008 L. Gordon Bittle Memorial Scholarship for                   February 8

    Student CTA (SCTA)

For more information and to download a copy of the applications, please go to www.cta.org. Remember that Chapter Presidents must sign the Membership Verification Form.

 

In memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., CTA also offers

scholarships to aid members of ethnic minorities in

preparing for teaching-related careers in public education.

Scholarship application forms will be available

at cta.org this month.  

 

2008 CTA Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Education

Awards Program                                                           February 29

 

Please share this information with OEA members at your sites!