[Editor’s Note: The union President updates negotiations with the Culver City Unified School District.]
Friends,
Your Culver City Federation of Teachers bargaining team (Amy Maldonado, Casey Chabola, Claudette DuBois, Natalie Gualtieri, CFT Field Rep Kevin Cronin and I) met on Thursday afternoon with the CCUSD Management team.
First, the good news. We reminded CCUSD that they had agreed in last year's settlement to provide us with an analysis of an early retirement incentive program by Jan. 15.
As we've shared with you before, they did not do a complete analysis. Their team agreed on Thursday to do that work and to provide it to us by Feb. 10.
This does not mean, of course, that CCUSD will offer any kind of retirement incentive. But we need to see the data. More than 25 percent of our teaching force is over age 55. This analysis should help the parties determine whether such a program can save CCUSD money, how much of an incentive can be offered and how many participants are needed for the program to reach “critical mass” and be implemented.
We will receive a second report a little earlier, by Feb. 4, regarding furlough day pay reductions. Many of you contacted us on Oct. 1 to report that the reduction for the five furlough days, pro-rated over 10 paychecks, did not seem accurate. What CCUSD did was to round off some of us to the nearest dollar and round others of us down, depending on the fractional amount.
We have proposed that CCUSD just round everyone up. We'll know the cost of that proposal by the Feb. 4. Again, this does not mean that CCUSD has agreed to do this, but we need the data before we can move forward.
We also spent time discussing inequalities in our stipend schedule for extra assignments and the ongoing concern of elementary teachers regarding the number and scheduling of conference days.
The elephant in the room, of course, was the latest financial figures. Please sit down.
CCUSD's projections show that, even if Gov. Brown is able to call a special election this spring and voters agree to extend certain taxes, CCUSD will be $5 million in the red by the 2013-2014 school year.
If the governor cannot get that special election approved, or if the voters reject his call to extend taxes, we'll be $11 million in the red by 2013-2014. That is 25 percent of CCUSD's budget.
These numbers are staggering.
CCUSD is planning a number of school and community events to explain just how bad things are. We've offered to participate with them in this process. All of us in this school community and in the community at large are going to have to work together to make it through.
Our AFT President Randi Weingarten has said: “Work with us. Don't do things to us.”
And that is how we hope to operate here.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Dave
Mr. Mielke may be contacted at davidmielke@ccusd.org
