With the City Council taking the week off, Monday night’s 7 o’clock School Board meeting does not promise nearly as much fireworks as upcoming negotiating meetings involving the Teachers Union.
(In the current state funding crisis, the School Board is meeting on a weekly basis, and Monday’s project will be the new year’s budget.)
To close out the present year’s bargaining, David Mielke, president of the Union, said he would like to clarify several remaining non-economic subjects before moving into hard money talks in the autumn.
“Next year is when the drama will occur,” said the 30-year teaching veteran.
He says teachers will be asked to take a cut by the School District, which says that, like virtually every other public school system in the state, it is starved for funding.
Mr. Mielke’s instinctive response is “no,” and he has a list of reasons, stretching from his shoulder to his wrist, for resisting.
Isn’t it bad enough, he asks, that Culver City already ranks near the bottom in six out of seven pay categories for 47 school districts in Los Angeles County?
But before plunging into those muddy waters, he wants to mop the floor clean of this year’s disagreements.
Both are in the housekeeping category.
“Neither will cost the District any money,” Mr. Mielke said.
One concerns the difference in class preparation time — elementary teachers have less than Middle School or Culver City High School instructors. The Teachers Union is seeking uniformity.
Similarly, upper class teachers work from a formal stipend scheduled and elementary teachers do not.
When upper grade teachers are asked to take on a non-classroom assignment, such as Student Council or the debate team, they know exactly how much they will be paid.
Lacking that protection, said Mr. Mielke, elementary teachers, as a group, almost always feel obligated to fulfill an administration request — “because the kids are so cute.” But, he added, the remuneration is not there.
There was one happy note at last Tuesday’s meeting.
Mr. Mielke was pleased that seven teachers and two counselors were restored to active employment status, leaving the fate of about two dozen teachers to be determined.
See ccusd.org
