February 25, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
This time of year can bring a lot of angst for teachers. But this time the entire district is feeling the same angst and pressure due to the state and federal economic crisis. I hope the following information will provide you with some understanding and VTA’s role in the process.
DISTRICT BUDGET COMMITTEE UPDATE
Tuesday’s budget meeting was met with good new…..let me qualify that. Donna Caperton, VUSD CFO, shared that instead of $16 million worth of cuts to the VUSD budget, the committee needed to come up with ‘only’ $11.7 million. While this is great news steep cuts are still warranted. Please see the District Home Page, Budget Update for the minutes from Tuesday, 2-24-09, for details of the meeting and the potential cuts.
These recommendations will be reviewed and decided upon by the School Board Trustees at Thursday’s Board meeting, 2-26-09, at Foothill Oak Elementary School, 7:30 PM. VTA encourages your participation by attending the meeting and speaking if you have a concern with any of the cuts. Please be sure to complete a "HOLD" card prior to the start of the meeting. A VTA committee member will present a Minority Report of which you will receive a copy Friday morning.
Any items that are contractual such as Class Size Reduction (CSR), K-12 class size and salary and benefit must be negotiated which can be a lengthy process. We are currently in negotiations yet no decisions have been made at this point.
The Addendum to the Board packet, Exhibit A, is a list of potential cuts and is strictly a precautionary measure allowing the School Board to have the flexibility to determine the final budget cuts.
VTA Budget Committee members are committed to preserving cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. Since early December they have dedicated countless hours preparing for the twice weekly meetings. JB Barton, Randy Wiens and Ron Ferreirae deserve our kudos for their active participation and leadership during these lengthy meetings.
PROBATIONARY & TEMPORARY TEACHERS
Probationary teachers may receive layoff notices. By law Districts must notify probationary teachers by March 15 of their intent. The District is calling this notification a "precautionary notice" in the event of layoffs. Should you receive a "notice" please immediately contact Diane Phillips, office manager, at the VTA office. I have received numerous emails and phone calls asking how far back will the District notice teachers. We will not know this answer until the Board votes on the District budget cuts. This is another reason for our members to attend the Board meeting.
Temporary teachers do not have recourse but to wait out the situation as they have signed a one year contract which expires with the conclusion of the school year. Please refer to your signed contract. I know this is not good news but try to be patient. As I hear of news I will inform members immediately.
BENEFITS TO BEING A VTA/CTA MEMBER
Several teachers have asked what benefits do teachers receive being a VTA/CTA member.
VTA LEVEL
Through negotiations we have an agreed upon contract. Some of the benefits of this contract are:
*Salary-step & column
*Class size limitations
*Duty free lunch
*Teacher duty hours
*Protection of teachers’ rights & privileges under district policy & state law
*Individual & group representation by leaders & professional staff
*Teacher safety conditions
*Site Based Decision Making
*Extra duty pay
*Evaluation procedure
*Promotion of economic & professional benefits
*VTA Scholarship Program (because of member contributions we award the largest financial scholarships in San Diego County!)
CTA LEVEL
*Legal services
*Represent probationary & permanent teachers during layoffs
*State consultants & individual representation
*On-the-job liability policy ($1,000,000) for each member
*Economic benefits in life insurance, auto insurance & leasing, liability insurance & investments (The Standard, California Casualty, CTA Well-Baby Program, CTA scholarship programs, Mission Federal Credit Union, CTA Life Insurance Plan to mention a few)
*Increased benefits through state legislation
*Protection from unfair legislation in education
*300,000 + members to support one another
*Whether you are a Temporary teacher, Probationary teacher or Permanent Status teacher as a member you receive these benefits.
Stay tuned for future updates!
Jan O’Reilly
VTA President
www.vistata.org