Despite recovering from recent surgery, I attended two important meetings last week.
The first was the special School Board meeting that was minimally advertised and scheduled for 4:45, a time guaranteed to produce minimal attendance considering most people still are at work or at home preparing dinner.
The School Board meeting was, of course, the more important of the two for me since that meeting produced a cut list that was so deeply and obviously a personal attack on our Assn. of Classified Employees that it took my breath away.
In saying that, I do not simply mean that the loss of 32 positions and the reductions in hours and/or months worked for many other positions was an incredible blow for our members.
Or that the proposals would have an incredibly detrimental effect on the students of our District.
The list was apparently prepared by District administration, with no direct input from the Board, and without consideration of the many suggestions made by either the bargaining units or members of the community.
Here Is the Evidence
What was obvious to members of our unit is that several items on the list were included by design as a way to punish employees for their union activities.
To name just a few, the District locksmith (who serves as the shop steward/site rep for Maintenance, Operations and Transportation, is the 1st Vice-President of the Assn. of Classified Employees in charge of Grievances. He serves on our negotiations team. He was targeted because we filed a grievance against the District last year for their failure to follow established Board policies in handling an unfounded complaint and because he has been vocal in making sure that the rights of the employees in his department are not violated by the Director.
The HVAC Technician had the temerity to stand up for himself when mistreated by this same director and brought his concerns to the union.
The Secondary Instructional Materials Clerk previously served as A.C.E.’s 1st Vice-President and has been an outspoken member of our negotiation team for the last several years.
Lo and behold, these three positions show up on the cut list this year. We are not foolish enough to believe that this was mere coincidence.
It is clearly retribution for their union involvement.
Look Who Went Untouched
It is also important to note that while the bargaining units suggested that perhaps as a cost-saving measure administrative positions could be reduced from 12 months to 11, or 11 months to 10, not a single one was touched.
Instead, the District administrators decided to target 7 classified positions and reduced those from 12 months to 11 months each.
So here I am, sitting in the audience of this meeting, and I can see that the School Board is looking at the list but apparently does not notice the inequities in the sacrifices being asked of the administration, the classified support staff and the teachers in this financial crisis.
It concerns me deeply, not just as the president of my union, but as a constituent of these elected officials that no Board discussion of the cut list ensues.
When I see that no one asks why certain positions appear on the list, why those particular positions were chosen, how the work of the eliminated positions will still get done, what the cost comparison is between keeping a position “in-house” or subcontracting the work of that position “on an as-needed basis,” as Mr. (Ali) Delawalla, the Assistant Superintendent, put it, I just don’t understand the Board’s complete lack of interest in these specifics.
Scott Zeidman, President of the Board, solicits questions from the audience.
Jackie Lee and I try to frame questions and comments that will inspire the Board to ask their own additional questions of Mrs. (Patti) Jaffe, the Superintendent, or Mr. Delawalla.
As a Board member, Prof. (Patricia) Seiver graciously comments that our questions are good ones, and Mr. (Karlo) Silbiger comments on the inadvisability of giving the Security Supervisor a raise in view of the District’s current financial situation.
He is quickly slapped on the hand by Ms. (Kathy) Paspalis. She feels that the raise is justified and that the supervisor is needed 12 months a year to keep our students safe.
However, when Ms. Paspalis, in the security supervisor’s absence, was encouraged by Mr. Zeidman to explain the proposed restructuring of the Security Dept., and just how it would keep our students safer in view of the reduction in the Security Dept.’s work force, she was unable to elaborate other than to briefly mention the theory behind “peak” times of the school day (this week’s new “sound bite”).
Perhaps there was nothing more that could have been said because, as Ms. Paspalis has been known to say, “It just doesn’t translate.”
I hope my concerns are shared by other members of the community — especially as they relate to the safety of our students and staff — and that they will take the time to share their concerns via e-mail with the members of our School Board (boardmembers@ccusd.org) and/or come to the next Board meeting on Tuesday, April 26, at 7 o’clock, in the Board Room of the District Office, 4034 Irving Pl.
Ms. Hamme, President of the Assn.
of Classified Employees, may be contacted at antiquer01@aol.com
