Will it be like old times or new times at tonight’s 7 o’clock School Board meeting back home in the cozy School District headquarters?
The quarreling Board and teaching community can’t possibly live up to the emotional mountain peaks of the last two Tuesday blockbusters, can they?
Nah.
Gov. Brown’s revised budget scheme is not due until next week, which means no movement on the potential layoff front, and tonight’s Board agenda is as skimpy as Old Mother Hubbard’s silverware drawer.
That means it will be up to the audience to create news.
Teachers Union President David Mielke has promised to deliver an update on bargaining talks, but that is not nearly all.
“The District has violated the bargaining law, again,” for the second year in a row, he told the newspaper. “I need to explain to them that we want to respect the process and follow the rules!
“You recall that last year they engaged in a violation called ‘direct dealing,’ which we took to PERB (the Public Employment Relations Board). They signed an agreement that, while not admitting guilt, indicated they would not do it again. That is the nature of settlements. To get an admission of guilt, we would have to have gone to trial.
“This year they have engaged in a violation called ‘regressive bargaining.’ Their original proposal to us, pay cuts, added up to about an $800,000 hit to our bargaining unit.
“Each of their successive proposals — 9 furlough days, 5 furlough days plus pay cuts, and, finally, 8 furlough days — was ‘worse’ for our bargaining unit, and thus regressive.
“It is,” said Mr. Mielke, “as if we offered to take 6 furlough days and then showed up at the table the next week saying, ‘We will only take 4.’”
