While encouraging like-thinking Democrats to join him in urging a recall of Gov. Schwarzenegger, Teachers Union President David Mielke last night sounded a far more conciliatory note toward his contract negotiating colleagues within the School District during a panel discussion at the Culver City Democratic Club meeting.
In related developments, former Mayor Alan Corlin met some resistance when he introduced an absentee voting plan that would allow all Democratic Club members to participate in future candidate endorsements, and the club is hoping to keep the heat on the City Council to bring back the Entrada Office Tower project for further examination.
Mr. Mielke, who often has spoken harshly of the administration in the past, has been considerably more charitable in his comments toward the District since Dr. Myrna Rivera Cote became Superintendent 16 months ago.
He has said on a number of occasions Dr. Cote deserves credit for changing the mood from gloom to sunshine.
Whacking Sacramento
Alluding to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s most recent plan for resolving the state’s deficit and the financial hit schools are taking, Mr. Mielke talked freely of the governor’s “craziness.” He said that “what is going on in Sacramento is criminal.” Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger even suggested a physical showdown. He said schools should send off busloads of students, teachers and parents to Sacramento to confront legislators and convince them to avoid shrinking the education budget. “Getting in their face is all they seem to understand,” Mr. Silbiger said.
But the tone of the Teachers Union president was far milder when he re-shifted focused to his hometown.
“We know that we all need to work together to get through this budget-cutting crisis, and that is what we are doing,” Mr. Mielke told his vitally interested Democratic Club audience.
“The Union and the School District are all in the same boat here. But we do have different sets of priorities.”
Keeping Both Sides Even
About half of the projected $3.5 million in budget cuts throughout the District already have been executed by the School Board.
In a notable departure from previous Union strategy, each time that Mr. Mielke veered toward criticism of Dr. Rivera or the School District, he would counter with a laudatory remark.
He chided the administration for failing to strike a balance between releasing teachers and trimming the salaries of managers. “If this were me, and I was in a cutting mode,” Mr. Mielke said, “I would say the cuts should start with me. When I am talking to teachers who have received notices, it is difficult for me to say ‘Yes, the School Board did cut you, but no, they are not cutting their own health benefits.’”
Staying in Touch
Forty-six teachers throughout the School District received layoff notices earlier this spring. “We are working on this issue every day,” Dr. Cote said. One by one, teachers gradually are being recalled, she said, as ever-shifting monies and other variables, such as retirements, allow.
Mr. Mielke commended Dr. Cote’s administration “for doing a great job of staying in contact with individual teachers to keep them current, to give them an idea of how it looks for being brought back.”
What irritates the President of the Teachers Union more than almost anything else is the ongoing presence of a Director of Security and his perceived fat salary.
“The District spends a lot of money on a manager of security,” Mr. Mielke said. “This has long been a bone of contention. The Union is not interested in compromising security. My daughter is in the ninth grade at the high school.
“But the Director of Security makes ($120,000) more than the highest-paid teacher, and he supervises 12 guards. Districts our size don’t have a Director of Security.”
Corlin’s Idea
Perhaps surprisingly, former Councilman Corlin’s idea for widening the base of club voting for candidate endorsements from, typically, 45 members to all of the approximately 325 members, traveled a bumpy path before advancing.
Electronic voting was mentioned, and Lee Welinsky wondered about the club constitution that allows a second vote when an endorsement-seeker fails to reach the 60 percent threshold.
Since 280 of the dues-paying members do not participate in the monthly meetings, Mr. Corlin’s plan calls for allowing them to vote absentee, by post card.
Mr. Corlin made a motion, seconded by Joel Forman, for the board of the Democratic Club to devise a method for the all-inclusive scheme. The board is to report back at the June 11 meeting when the program will be a discussion of a prospective animal control officer for Culver City.
“If the board thinks this is not a good idea,” said Mr. Corlin, “we can debate it at the next meeting.”
