The Teacher Lounge

California's 37% Majority. (Apparently in need of a math coach)

2011-05-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

It Comes Down to Four Votes

California law requires that two-thirds of both houses of the State Legislature must vote to approve new state revenues. Republican legislators, who represent 37% of California’s districts, have taken a vow of no-taxes. To pass a responsible budget which extends existing taxes, two Republicans in each house must vote along with the Democratic majority.

The following State Legislators are moderate Republicans who may change their position if they hear from enough of us. Please write as many postcards as you can. Thank You!

Assemblymember Bill Berryhill

3141 State Capitol,

California 95814-0026

Assemblymember Jeff Gorell

4208 State Capitol,

California 94249-0037

Assemblymember Diane Harkey

6027 State Capitol,

California 95814-0073

Assemblymember Mike Morrell

4102 State Capitol,

California 94249-0063

Assemblymember Jim Nielsen

6031 State Capitol,

California 94249-0002

Assemblymember Chris Norby

4116 State Capitol,

California 95814-0072

Assemblymember Cameron Smyth

4098 State Capitol,

California 95814-0038

Senator Tom Berryhill

3076 State Capitol,

California 95814

Senator Anthony Cannella

3048 State Capitol,

California 95814

Senator Robert Dutton

305 State Capitol,

California 95814

Senator Bill Emmerson

4082 State Capitol,

California 95814

Senator Tom Harmon

5094 State Capitol,

California 95814

Senator Robert Huff

5097 State Capitol,

California 95814

A Sample Postcard / Letter to State Legislators

“Dear _______________________,

As an educator, I am writing to urge you to support the governor’s budget proposal that would protect schools and other vital services. I am also asking you to vote for an extension of the existing temporary state taxes to provide desperately needed funding or at the very least, give voters a chance to decide.”

(Highlight one or two issues here. You may borrow from the list, or write about your own experience about the cuts our schools have faced.)

• K-12 schools and colleges have already been cut more than $20 Billion over the last three years -- $1,900 per K-12 student.

• Class sizes are soaring, programs are disappearing and entire school years are shrinking in many school districts.

• More than 30,000 educators and 10,000 other school employees have been laid off over the past 3 years.

• The governor’s plan to extend temporary taxes for five years will help prevent further cuts to school, public safety, health and other vital state programs.

• Without an extension of current revenues, public schools and colleges will lose at least $2.3 Billion more.

• The overwhelming majority of Californians have indicated they are willing to pay more in taxes to avoid deeper cuts to our schools.

“The sacrifices that our kids would have to face with an all cuts budget are simply too severe.

Sincerely,

2011-03-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Spinning our Wheels

2010-04-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Most Northerners can tell you some story about getting your car caught in a snow drift. Your first instinct is to hit the accelerator and power your way out. Only thing is, it doesn’t work. The car just spins its tires and digs its way deeper into the snow. That’s what it feels in the world of public education these days. The more we use the same broken reforms, the deeper our problems become.

I’ve only taught for 13 years, and I’ve already experienced one reform after another. From inquiry cycles to walk-throughs, from focus groups to focal students, studying data charts and viewing Pollyanna videos about how it might work if we had 20 kids in a classroom who each had their own laptop. Our school has gone from under-achieving to exemplary to under-achieving again to exemplary again and back to underachieving in my tenure. I used to like roller coasters, but now I get a little nauseous.

I’m not saying that there aren’t problems in the schools. It’s clear that our problems are significant. But it’s also clear that there are a lot of quality educational professionals who are dramatically underpaid, underresourced and under the gun who are going above and beyond the call. I am honored to work with a team of brilliant educators who are dedicated to public service. And it pisses me off when those dedicated professionals get blamed for the problems in our schools. Worse yet, I am deeply saddened when they start to blame themselves. We can’t keep asking our educators to do more with fewer resources. And yet, that’s the poisonous recipe that the media and the politicians are brewing up. The impossible results demanded by No Child Left Behind, the rip-it-all-apart mentality of Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top, and the increased class sizes and reduced calendar mandated by the Draconian state budgets which hurt our poorest, most diverse communities the most all combine for that destructive poison.

When it comes down to it, the two biggest problems that our schools face is a lack of money and a glut of blame-the-teacher politics. No amount of consultant speeches and beat-‘em-over-the-head-with-test-prep school reform will fix those problems.

The only way to get out of the snow drift is to stop spinning the wheels. Invest in a shovel and move the snow out of the way. Then you can get the car rolling. Start putting our resources into the kids who need it most and get the wedge-issue politics out of education, and we’ll get the schools moving again. But we better hurry, because there’s a pretty bad blizzard coming.

Four weeks Since March 4...

2010-03-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

Remember how back on March 4, we all threw down and had a “Day of Action” to protest the impending budget cuts? Well, there’s still no state budget for 2010-2011 yet, and that’s good news. But I’m worried about what the state legislators might be thinking, because it seems as though we protesters have gone away. So, what’s next, CTA?

Yeah, there was March 4, and that felt great. But it’s been four weeks since our grand day of action, and I’m wondering what the next big coordinated effort is going to be. After all, 25,000 more teachers have received their annual RIF letters. Most of us have given up salary, days, benefits, working conditions or all of the above, and the educational tailspin continues. It just seems like we need the next set of marching orders from CTA before another round of cuts get set in stone.

There are several efforts around the state that we can attach our energies to. CFT is still unrolling its “March for California’s Future” through the Central Valley. Between now and April 21, the marchers are holding rallies in critical communities that are jurisdictions of important republican legislators. The marchers are visiting the very communities where voters can pressure their home-town Senators and Assemblymembers into not letting our schools and public services get re-butchered.

California AFSCME continues to push for it’s alternate to the state budget, which identifies up to $40 Billion in new revenue that can be used to re-build our state. Where did the money come from? Mostly fixing loopholes that allow corporations to skate by without paying their fair share.

Or, CTA members could join the efforts of Californians for Democracy, the initiative effort which is seeking to eliminate the state’s dysfunctional two-thirds mandates.

All I’m saying is that any of these coordinated actions is better than doing nothing. And four weeks is long enough for our legislators to forget that anything ever happened.

March 4 rocked! Now what?

2010-03-08T06:30:00.000-08:00

Teachers, administrators, parents and students lining up on both sides of the school. Our school, the school down the street, every school in the district. Every community in the Bay Area. Every region of the state. Simultaneously defiant and celebratory. With a little leadership, great things can happen. That’s the lesson of March 4.

And CTA joined the fray. In their most significant organizing effort during the last four devastating budget cycles, CTA finally cranked out the resources and guidance to get every California community hopping around the theme of “No More Cuts.” CTA also scored well in the “plays nice with others” category, joining hands with the California Federation of Teachers and unions representing employees from UC, CSU, community colleges, the greater labor movement, and the rest of the education coalition. Gotta say, I was proud to be CTA.

March 4 may go down as one of CTA’s best days in the last 5 years. Not since the 2005 special election has the state's largest teachers union put it all together so well. With every staff person spending energy getting local leaders to pick up the ball, effective use of the Stand Up for Schools website, great coordination with sister organizations, and mostly, just using its geographical size and scope, CTA played an essential role in the success of the day.

Of course, it’s not enough. Not yet. The shouting was fun. It was great to see the headlines. But the budget crisis did not go away. The solutions (more revenue, majority rule, no more corporate tax give-aways) have not been enacted. And some horrible compromise, which will end up solving nothing, is just a few months away. The Republican minority will again have the opportunity to reject the majority call for new funding. CTA will be asked to “bless” the compromise because more is being cut from health and human services than schools. Our recent track record says that we will reluctantly agree.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. It is hard to see past the logjam that the Republicans have built in the state legislature around budgeting and taxing. But people are getting tired of legislative logjams led by a super-minority. And the iron is hot. CTA has a presence in the communities that elected those republicans, too. Those schools are hurting, too. Parents in those communities are also upset.

Step one: make it clear to our friends in the legislature that we won’t settle for another bloodletting, that their votes should be dependent on having some real structural change in the way budgets are decided. Step two: get in the faces of every republican in Sacramento until a few of them break. Fight dirty if we have to. Put up billboards across from their local offices crediting them with every layed-off teacher and closed school library. Make sure to name every closed school or shut-down essential school service after them. Get local teachers in the act with more public rallies, more forums about school budget cuts. Step three: repeat. In other words, CTA, please don't drop the ball!

Of all of the statewide organizations, CTA stands alone in having the capacity to run this type of campaign. And the alternative is far worse. The alternative is to is suck it up and watch our neighborhood public schools get dismantled piece by piece. And about a year from now, we can start planning another March 4.

Have San Leandro schools solved their money problems?

2009-11-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to see that the school district is financially sound. I haven't looked at a spread sheet recently, but the actions of school administration sure make it look like there's no money problem in the district.

Why else would the principal at Garfield Elementary have rejected a gift made by teachers to support the school crossing guard program? That's right, she returned the donation. San Leandro Teachers' Association, the Union representing San Leandro's 500 teachers, made a contribution to each of the elementary schools in the district to support the financially endangered school crossing guard programs. Most of the schools graciously accepted the gift, but apparently the Garfield Principal determined that the school has no need for the money.

At least I'd like to think that the contribution was rejected because of an improving district budget, because it's past time for teachers' salaries (among the lowest in Alameda County) to catch up with our neighbors. Although, I admit, the district has been sending out mixed messages. After all, teacher salaries were reduced last year by cutting a staff development day from the school calendar. And then, the district offered Muir teachers the opportunity to work that day for only 25% to 35% of their normal salary. (District to teachers: We want you to do the work, we just don't want to pay you for it.)

I guess it leaves me wondering, if the contribution weren't rejected because of the district's improving financial situation, then why would the contribution to Garfield be rejected? Could it be that the district now views teachers as social pariahs? You know, so despicable that they are unworthy of making charitable contributions? Akin to tobacco companies and alcohol companies? That doesn't seem like a strong basis for good staff relations and positive school climate.

I just can't believe that would be the truth. That would be a bit insulting. I'd much rather believe that a big offer for a pay raise to catch San Leandro teachers up with their neighbors is just around the corner.

We are all bystanders

2009-11-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else, I have been shocked by the story of the Richmond High School girl who was gang raped for two hours on campus during the homecoming dance. The more I read, the more angry I feel.

I can’t, nor do I want to, imagine the mindset of the attackers. As troubling are the reports of up to 20 bystanders who witnessed the attack, but did nothing to stop it. While those twenty people may very well be tormented with the knowledge that they should have acted to stop this terrorization, the story doesn’t end with them.

Ultimately, we (our communities, our leaders, and we citizens) could have stopped this attack. Stories about a decaying community and crumbling schools in Richmond, and countless communities in California, often the poorest and most diverse communities, have been in the newspaper for 15 years. But the politics of marginalization and denial have allowed us to simply watch while these communities fall apart. And desperate people do desperate things.

Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Kevin Fagan describes the Richmond attackers as a collection of drop-outs, former students and “mediocre students at best,” who were in the middle of an on-campus drinking binge. He wrote about the cultural environment that made their rage possible, including “the poverty-driven frustrations of inner-city Richmond,” the 9^th most dangerous city in America where 18 percent of families live below poverty level.

This attack could have been prevented. The conditions that allowed for this attack were recognizable, and could have been corrected. If schools in “marginalized neighborhoods” were given appropriate resources, this attack may have not happened. During this era of slash-and-burn state budgets, there should at least be a re-direction of resources to support these most marginalized communities.

In a very real way, this attack was fueled by an under-funded budget. Our school communities at most risk should get more resources during challenging economic times, even if that means at the expense of better-off communities. But, instead, the budget gets cut. If they had more counselors, lower class sizes, more interventions, more security, or perhaps if they had just built a god-damned fence around the place and installed lights, this girl might not have been attacked.

According to all of the stories, the teachers at Richmond High are doing an extraordinary job helping students to pick up the pieces. Yet while I write this, West Contra Costa teachers are in the middle of an ugly contract fight. They already make $9,000 a year below the state average, and the district is asking for more cutbacks. Fagan’s article reported that one of the attackers had once thrown a flaming paper ball at a teacher in the classroom. Why would anyone want to teach in Richmond?

Are we really willing to stand by and watch districts like Richmond, Oakland, Compton and (name your community) blow up?

At some point during the next few months, we’ll start hearing about massive shortfalls in the state budget. Progressives will call for more revenue. Republicans will go hide in a cave, blocked by a sign that reads, “wake us up when the knives are sharp.” Democratic leaders will shrug their shoulders, and give in to another year of massive cuts, even though there are billions of dollars of potential tax revenue available. More communities will be destroyed. More lives will be shattered. More Richmonds.

And we’ll all be bystanders. Watching the attack but not doing anything to stop it. Again.

School Board President Mike Katz Responds

2009-10-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

On Oct 22, 2009, at 9:23 PM, Thomas Morse wrote:

> So I have two questions. Is the Superintendent still surprised
> because teachers don’t feel valued? And, does the School Board know
> about this?

The School Board became aware of the ticketing at the high school
sometime after it started. It is my understanding that the ticketing
has stopped at this time in order to review a variety of issues.

Mike Katz-Lacabe
in my capacity as President of the San Leandro School Board

Parking scandal at San Leandro High School

2009-10-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

After teaching long days at San Leandro High School, many of our school district’s valued teachers have been surprised to find school-district issued parking tickets on their car windows.

Apparently, the school district has cut a deal with a parking ticket vendor to administer a shakedown of people who park at the high school. The district has agreed to a cut of the revenue in exchange for this service. Tickets are $40, and if you don’t pay, the violations get turned over to the DMV. What’s even more surprising is that the parking tickets are being written by one of the assistant principals.

In other words, the school district is paying an administrator’s salary to an assistant principal whose job is to harass teachers by ticketing their cars. So, even after taking a salary cut, teachers are being fleeced further in this new parking ticket scam, and district resources are being wasted to make it happen.

So I have two questions. Is the Superintendent still surprised because teachers don’t feel valued? And, does the School Board know about this?

Thank You, Kathy Crummey

2009-09-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

The title on the program for Hayward Education Association President Kathy Crummey’s memorial service celebrated “A Life Well Led.” What an understatement.

Kathy picked up a picket sign as a strike leader in her first year of teaching back in 1974, and remained an integral part of HEA for her entire career. Alongside her husband, Dayton Crummey, the pair served as the core of a vibrant local, and as a strong voice for CTA in Northern California.

During the celebration, I couldn’t help but reflect on the dozens of ways that leaders in the teachers’ unions across the state and country serve the community. People like Kathy all over the state are community treasures because of their commitment to quality public education, and their persistence in assuring that our schools and students get every resource available. And while Kathy was a very visible leader, the truth is that most of what a Union leader does in not out in the open.

Of course, we hear the voices of our Union leaders most clearly when they are at school board meetings reminding elected officials to make a commitment to the classroom. We see the local Union president at rallies, and if someone from the media needs an interview.

But we don’t often see the hard work of Unionizing. Unions are the most democratic organizations in the country, and being truly democratic requires an enormous amount of communication. You’ll see the Union leader at countless meetings with multiple groups of people about the same issue. She’ll also write memos about tedious, yet important details, and create newsletters to explain the deliberations. He always has to keep in mind that anyone with an issue feels like they are being heard and involved.

Union leaders are hand-holders, sitting with teachers at their times of greatest vulnerability. Mediators during meetings with angry parents or unreasonable principals. Arbitrators during sit-downs between colleagues who are less than collegial. Clarifyers when the terms of employment suddenly change.

Because it’s often politically popular to attack Unions, the Union leader has to stand up and be the voice of reason when most others are being unreasonable. A Union leader always knows that someone is indeed looking over her shoulder, so every “I” must be dotted and every “t” must be crossed. The income and the outgo better match up, also.

We in CTA and other teachers unions have a special responsibility to defend our nation’s greatest treasure, quality public education which reaches all of our children, especially the most vulnerable. With the passing of Kathy Crummey, we have lost a giant.

How could a public health option be worse than what we have now?

2009-09-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

The right wing is right about health care. A government run program could never compete with the insurance companies. The insurance companies can deny coverage, preside over more “death panels,” and chase far more people into bankruptcy than the government could imagine. They already are.

In all of the right wing’s “sky is falling” predictions about health care, the main point is missing. What we have right now simply isn’t working. Premiums are going up at more than a double-digit inflation rate. Insured people are putting off care because insurance companies aren’t covering the extent of the needed care. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Monday that most people who are in debt from medical bills are insured. Their insurance just isn’t actually covering health care. The insurance companies will gladly take your money as long as you’re healthy. But the minute you get sick – deny, deny, deny. Sounds like a death panel to me.

I’m wondering, what exactly is the right wing scared of, more of the same?

I'm not going to present myself as an expert on this topic, but there are so many really obvious truths. First, In our system people can't even afford to pay the premiums. When I started teaching, a family premium was $500 each month. Now the rate has gone up to $1500. Every double-digit percentage January increase comes directly out of the pockets of enrolled teachers. Our salary structure hasn't kept up. So each January, teachers get an annual pay cut.

Secondly, those Canadiens sure aren't grumbling about their system. Third, why wouldn't any employer want to get into business without the added responsibility of finding and administering an insurance plan?

It seems to me that the only real beneficiaries of our current system are the health insurance companies. Their investors are making a lot of money, and they don't want to be put out of business. Neither did the folks in the auto industry or the ice industry, as far as that goes. But it's time.

Demand a public health care option now.

Hey CTA, Let's make this the year we fight back!

2009-08-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the political fights, CTA has a well-oiled machine for getting a candidate elected or filling the radio with sound bites. But for the purposes of winning a state budget fight, our Union tends to leave its biggest tool in the box. During the last three big state budget battles, CTA hasn’t used its most powerful potential resource, a loud and righteously angry membership base that stretches to every corner of the state.

That's why we're losing. But we don't have to be. It's clear that any effort to shake the state legislature out of its standard operating procedure will require a year-long campaign that builds from the ground up. CTA may be the only organization that's big enough and organized enough to get the job done. We just have to change the way we do business.

Here’s the deal. We know already that the next budget battle could be as ugly as the last three. CTA has stepped aside and allowed devastating cuts to schools and vital services without much of a fight. Without real reform in the state government, further cuts are inevitable. Why can’t we insist that our “friends” in the legislature hold out for a budget with progressive revenues or elimination of the two-thirds mandates? Why can't the majority be as stubborn as the "no-taxes-on-our-rich-friends" crowd that has held the state hostage since the passage of Prop. 13?

Our locals know how to fight their own contract fights, and CTA staff up and down the state know how to guide its members in those local fights. What if we just take that know-how and energy, and apply it to the state budget fight? None of our locals are going to have a lot of success with their own contracts until we win real reform on the state level. So what are we waiting for?

Here’s what it might look like if CTA fought a year-long fight on the budget by organizing its most important tool -- its grassroots base:

September/October/December: Member education and public education, network building and local legislative relationships. Local chapters, with the guidance of CTA organizers, use site meetings to get buy-in from their members for a year-long effort, host house parties and public forums to educate the community on how the cuts have hurt schools in the immediate community. Highlight some progressive tax reforms that could be made in California. Prepare a handy education video. Invite local newspapers, bloggers, radio personalities, legislators and their staff to attend. Make the case to people in the local community. End each of the sessions by plugging community members into the fight. Letter-writing, phone calls, all the fixings. Get commitments from people to join the fight. These steps help locals build a capacity to fight and recruit leaders and allies.

November/December/January: Pressure building. Turn up the volume. Statewide media and targeted local media. Local fights around the state should intensify here. Insist on a sit-down with the local Assemblymember or Senator. Create a presence at town hall meetings hosted by state legislators. Picket at local offices of targeted legislators (any Republican who might budge or Democrat who might cave). Firm up message. Focus on “No more Cuts” and “Real Reform” messages (shorthand for raise taxes on corporations and get rid of two-thirds mandates). Highlight impact of cuts on students and services. Keep up pressure on targeted legislators until they make a public commitment to the campaign. Then trumpet that legislator as a “Friend of the Schools” and move campaign onto the next targeted legislator.

February/March/April/May: Lobby day actions focus on “No More Cuts” and “Real Reform.” Local rallies at legislative offices. Radio and newspaper ads continue in targeted communities, then culminate in regional and statewide actions. The impact of these actions is made more effective by the strength of all of the local actions. Make sure that each local keeps its members engaged even into summer vacation. Encourage legislators who have committed to "No More Cuts" and "Real Reform" message to hold out until something gives.

For the last three major budget fights, CTA’s members have been waiting for a real place to get involved. The people of California are desperately waiting for someone to step up and fight on behalf of the majority – in favor of a government that works. Let’s not miss another opportunity.

Fix the State, Now!

2009-07-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Vote No on the Deja Vu Budget!

2009-07-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Just like in the Matrix, if you get a sense of déjà vu, you’re in real trouble. Legislative leaders, along with the blessings of the governor and CTA, are trying to push together another “compromise” budget, which does nothing but guts our schools and state services.

Please contact your legislator before tomorrow and ask her/him to vote no. Thankfully, the California Federation of Teachers has a link that will allow you to send the message to your legislators.

The new budget doesn’t appropriately fund critical state services and doesn’t fix the long-term structural problems in the state government. In fact, it digs a deeper hole for the future.

Any discussion of the $7.5 billion we could gain each year if we change Prop. 13? No. Any discussion of oil severance taxes? No. But the oil companies do get to drill off shore. Any deal on the two-thirds requirements for the budget and new-taxes? No. Vehicle License Fee? You guessed it… no discussion. Where’s the compromise in this compromise?

The irony is that the republicans might torpedo the deal because it cuts too much… from prisons!

Steve Miller, a high school science teacher in Oakland for 25 years and long-time building rep. for OEA, highlighted the corporate tax breaks written into the budget deal:

“So what was accomplished? If you are a corporation, you are rubbing your hands with glee.

“1) Secret negotiations in February now permit these special breaks: Corporations can choose to be taxed on ANY ONE of these categories: property, sales or payroll. Not all three – they get to pick one. Remember Prop 13 has left corporate property valued at close to the 1978 level.

“Then corporations that have maxed out their tax credits can share them with a family of corporations. This means you set up a phony corporation to fail and give them some of your tax credits, so you can get some more. Lastly, corporations can claim tax refunds early on taxes they have already paid.

“The banner headlines are not going to present these little details, but you can read them in the Oakland Tribune, July 11, 2009.

“2) Negotiations last Fall put in place a series of upfront and backdoor loans to corporations in exchange for some early revenue.

“A) The first gimmick suspends corporate ability to carry forward net operating losses to offset future profits for two years. Sounds good, doesn’t it? What a deal this was! Corporations could take today’s losses and use them to reduce future expected profits. Good that it was eliminated.

“Except now corporations can carry back losses against past profits and claim tax refunds from prior years. According to Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee (Oakland Tribune, October 6, 2008), this deal will produce about a billion dollars a year during the suspension, but means the state will be paying back a half a billion a year forever – “another extremely high=interest loan from business to the state”.

“B) Gimmick #2 allows a second corporate tax break: Businesses received in the past certain income tax credits to encourage certain kinds of investment. These will be suspended for a couple of years, producing about $600 million a year in revenue for the state. Then It allows corporations to transfer those unused tax credits to affiliated companies in the future. This will produce revenue losses in the future that will be many times the mere 3%+ of the budget deficit this fixes.

“State Treasurer, Bill Lockyear, had this to say about that, “This giveaway makes the budget a massive corporate boondoggle that does nothing to fix our structural debt, and, in fact, will make it substantially worse.”

“Schemes like these mean that corporations will pay less and less. It is already pretty bad. In 2001, profitable corporations, over half the state’s profitable corporations paid only the $800 fee to register their corporations’ existence in the state. Those were the good old days!

“California already subsidizes corporations in a wide variety of ways. There is no budget crisis at all even if these giveaways were simply cut in the same proportion with social services. Once again, the budget does not impose a severance tax on extracting petroleum (though it does open the door to the highly unpopular off-shore drilling near Vandenberg Air Force base near Santa Barbara). The state’s water is provided to agribusiness at something like 1/400 the cost that consumers pay. Insurance companies that control the state’s health care pay zero income tax. The state’s constantly growing system of jails subsidizes all sorts of business, while giving the state the highest rate of incarceration in the world.”

So, once again, we have to watch as local school boards are forced to shred our schools, knowing that county governments, senior care and health care services are getting cut even more dramatically.

In addition to all the corporate give-aways, we also know that there is money out there... ACLU's current research has shown that there's $12 billion savings available from over-incarceration, $7.5 Billion available each year if we fix the Prop. 13 corporate loophole, potential income from oil severance, vehicle license fee, and billions of other potential revenue if corporations are simply asked to pay a fair share.

I'm caught up with the realization that, again, CTA barely put up a fuss. And, the democrats were partners in the deal. How do we get our Union to fight back? How do we get our "progressive" state legislators to act on behalf of the majority of people in the state?

CTA: Turn up the LOCAL Heat on the State Budget

2009-07-17T17:10:00.001-07:00

It’s been great to see CTA stepping into the fight on California’s budget. With 9,000 teachers marching to the Governor’s office in San Diego, or joining our sister Unions in the series of rallies on Wednesday at the Governor’s five regional offices, there is finally something to cheer about. CTA’s website is also becoming a little more user-friendly for writing a letter to the governor and state legislators about the state budget.

Of course, news from Sacramento is still deeply disturbing. If the only question is whether or not to suspend Prop. 98, we’re still going to lose. Status quo keeps us behind. For the future of California schools, we have to lend our voices to efforts to close the Prop. 13 loophole, end the two-thirds budget approval mandates, and build a progressive tax system. Ultimately, we won’t win the state budget fight unless we bring it home into our local communities. Legislators need to feel the heat from the people who will work to re-elect or un-elect them.

This is the time of year when our local CTA activists are planning their Union activities. We all know the strategies that work when we fight our districts for our contracts. We use these strategies because they work, so we should use the same strategies for fighting our legislators that we use when we’re fighting for fair contracts. Here are a few grassroots strategies that CTA locals can use to have an impact in the budget fight:

1. Letter writing/ Phone campaigns (Very Easy): Use leadership meetings and site meetings to write letters to legislative leaders and local media. Start with a sample letter and addresses. Then encourage each of your leaders to repeat that activity at their school sites.

2. Picket/protest/lobbying meeting at your legislators’ offices (A little more planning): Host a picket/protest at your legislator’s home office. Democratic legislators should be encouraged to harden their stance on the need for more revenue. GOP legislators should be cajoled into giving up their “no-new-taxes” pledge. Invite the local newspaper, radio station, TV station or blogger.

3. “State Budget Crisis” forum (More planning… but really effective): Invite teachers, parents, media, community leaders and legislative staff. Find a few teachers for the “panel” to talk about how budget cuts have already hurt “our” school and “our” community. Make the case that more budget cuts will hurt more. End the meeting by recruiting audience members to get involved with ongoing campaigns coordinated by CTA, the California Labor Federation, Close the Prop. 13 Loophole, and your local Union efforts.

4. House Parties: Find members to invite neighborhood folks into their homes. Share local stories about how the cuts have hurt our students so far. Show CTA commercials and UTLA radio spots. Raise money that can be used to air these ads in cities with targeted legislators.

Ultimately, the fight has to be fought at home. The only way that legislators will move is when they feel the heat from their local community members. But our locally fought efforts will be more productive if they are coordinated by a strong state organization.

Governor is still in character!

2009-07-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that Governor Schwarzenegger believed the people were standing behind him while he worked to destroy California; and he would continue to dismantle schools and social programs. It looks as though his days as a steroid-popper have created some deeply delusional side effects.

The Governor claims now that “fixing” California is why he was elected. He conveniently forgets that most of California’s debt comes from his revoking of the vehicle license fee, the debt from his bond measures, and California’s ever-increasing prison costs due to mandatory sentencing. He’s also forgotten that the only real reason that he was elected is because he is a rich movie star. We didn’t know that “Terminator” would be more than science fiction.

Unfortunately, the Governor has stayed in character far too long. He can’t discern fact from fiction. The November elections saw gains for democrats in both houses of the state legislature. Sixty percent of the legislative districts in California voted against Republicans because the “let’s burn down the state so our rich friends don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes” message wasn’t working for them.

And he’s listening to the wrong people. The anti-taxers always complain that the tax rates are too high, but they fail to mention that the loopholes for California’s biggest corporations are even bigger. More than 40 California corporations with income of more than a billion dollars pay less than $1,000 in taxes each year. That’s less than you and I pay.

His aides talk about “the nuclear option” of suspending Proposition 98’s minimum guarantee of subsistence education. Those 9,000 teachers who showed up at the Governor’s San Diego office last week weren’t there to express their support. CTA’s raucus action in defense of Prop. 98 voiced the outrage felt by millions of Californians who are at risk of losing schools, community centers, libraries, senior care and community health centers.

The real legal roadblocks to a functional state government are Prop. 13 and the two-thirds budget approval mandates etched into the state’s constitution. The majority of Californians don’t want to see their communities dismantled. Can we please, for once, try to fix the real problem.

Take Action Now: Close the Proposition 13 Loophole!

2009-07-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Finally. Someone is taking on Proposition 13. Led by San Francisco Assessor Phil Ting, a new organization called “Close the Loophole” packed the house with more than 100 activists for its first organizing meeting in San Francisco last night.

The Close the Loophole campaign seeks to change Prop. 13 so that corporate land owners are forced to pay their fair share in taxes for the first time in 31 years. The idea is to split the property tax roll so that grandma next door isn’t taxed out of her house. But land owned by old monster corporations who never sell and never die will be reassessed so that they are forced to pay taxes at a level which is fair in 2009 dollars.

It has almost become monotonous to talk about the impact of California’s budget crisis, but the devastation of our social programs has already begun. The Split Roll change would raise at least an additional $7.5 Billion every year for California public services, which is a step in the right direction.

Many important Unions were there, including CNA, AFSCME and SEIU. There were also a lot of community organizations. And while there were a number of teachers in the crowd, California Teachers Association was notably missing.

While teachers and students across the state are sweating out yet another devastating budget, CTA is still waiting to jump into the fight. The good news is that there are a lot of allies who recognize the need to change California’s unfair tax policies, and they’re already doing the groundwork. All CTA and its local leaders have to do is get on board.

Like all historic movements, it looks like this one has to start at the grass roots. So, local Union activists, go to www.closetheloophole.com, and sign up. Get the word out to the members in your local. Facebookers can get recruit their friends by becoming a fan at www.facebook.com/ClosetheLoophole. Then, encourage your CTA staffers, board members and state council representatives to take up this fight on a statewide level!

Many of you remember how powerful CTA was when working with the Alliance for a Better California to stop the Governor’s attacks on public services. If so, you can imagine the incredible impact that we could have with a coordinated statewide effort to plug our members into this campaign. It’s the right fight, and with 27,000 RIFs looming, it’s time to jump in.

Dear Progressive California Legislator

2009-06-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

California desperately needs a few courageous progressive legislators to take the “no more cuts” pledge. If the Republicans can hold the whole state hostage and threaten to scrap our social fabric with their “no new taxes” pledge, then it’s time for a few equally stubborn progressives to refuse to play their game.

The last budget compromise was a disaster. The cuts were devastating, and the proposed solutions were so deeply laced with poison pills (like the spending cap) that they didn’t have a chance. Without a fair tax policy, one that features progressive taxes and cancels the loopholes that allow corporations to be virtually untaxed, the only California dream will be a recurring and deepening nightmare.

So, dear legislator, please… take the “No More Cuts” pledge. What have you got to lose, anyway? When you ran for office, you promised your constituents that you would protect their well-being. You talked about education, health care and the environment. You talked about building bridges between our diverse communities. If you support the budget that’s being promoted by Democratic Leadership, all of those things will be torn apart.

That’s not why you ran for office. It’s not why we voted for you, and it’s not the legacy you want to leave when you’ve been termed out. So, dig your heels in and stand up for California. Your constituents (neighborhood folks, teachers, nurses, bus drivers, parents and their children) are paying attention. Don’t agree to any budget that doesn’t significantly raise revenue. Or at the very least, don’t agree to any compromise which doesn’t alter California’s undemocratic two-thirds mandates or the inequities of Proposition 13.

The money is there, even though the media, the Governor, the Republicans and the compromisers want you to believe that it’s not. California AFSCME found creative ways to raise $44 billion in more revenue. Sure it won’t be easy to get it. Yes, you need to somehow come up with two-thirds of the votes to pass a budget. But THEY also need two-thirds of the vote to pass an almost-all-cuts package. Without your vote and the votes of like-minded colleagues, it will be equally difficult to pass a cuts-only package. That’s right, the rest of your legislative colleagues have to listen to YOU. So hold out for a real solution. And be loud about it.

I know what’s on the line. The government will likely go through a partial shutdown when things don’t get neatly resolved by the end of June. It can honestly be said that lives are on the line. As a teacher, I know my paycheck is on the line. And, you might lose a few legislative perks when the party leadership is trying to sell out the state on another doomed compromise package.

But if the leadership doesn’t come to grip with the need for more revenue, fairly extracted from the Californians who can afford it the most, then what are you, dear progressive legislator, in store for? More years with more cuts. California losing its once proud public education system. Walls, both real and metaphorical, separating rich from poor. More kids without the skills to join the workforce or pursue college dreams. More people dying because health care services were cut. A very ungreen environment. Every year, again and again. Until some group of progressive legislators finally stands up and says, “NO MORE CUTS!”

Fight the Big Fight, CTA

2009-05-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

You and I pay our taxes dutifully whether we have a good year or bad year, but California corporations only pay meaningful taxes (more than the minimal franchise tax) if they show a profit. And it only takes a few accounting tricks to erase a profit. Angry? Me, too. Now, let’s organize.

With estimates of this year’s budget deficit soaring to $24 Billion, state legislators are already shredding every bit of human decency and good government that is left in the state budget. California needs a fair tax policy and a new budget process. CTA is the organization that must lead the fight.

We can almost repeat like a mantra the things that are wrong with California’s political process: two-thirds budget requirement -- two-thirds local property tax approval requirement, Prop. 13, and no taxes on internet sales -- all wound up in an impossible constitution. The truth is that CTA can’t defend public education unless we fight for fair taxes and a fair budget process in California.

Of course, the anti-tax crowd is big and powerful. Beyond the Republicans in the legislature and the Howard Jarvis people who brought us Prop. 13, California corporations have been benefiting from our broken budget process and maligned tax policies for years, and won’t give up their legalized thievery willingly. San Francisco Assessor Phil Ting wrote that the property tax contributions from corporations have declined steadily and dramatically since Prop. 13 was passed. Meanwhile, the California Budget Project shows that both corporate income tax collections and the state sales tax collections have been steadily declining.

CTA might be the only statewide organization that has a strong enough core of local activists and staff in every community to take on these anti-taxers. With the strength of this grassroots base added to its powerful media and lobbying machine, CTA can move a political agenda like no other organization in the State -- if the fight strikes a chord with members.

The good news is that we have the moral high ground here. How can a state with so much accumulated wealth fail to provide quality education, health care, housing and transportation to all of its people? But we have to act fast to solidify our base of supportive legislators, then go on the attack and expose every indecent loophole and dysfunctional mandate in California’s budget process. One thing that is clear, there are a lot of outraged CTA members who are willing to fight this fight in their local communities. That is the most important asset we have.

Our state does not have to be broken. The fundamental fight on California’s tax policy is more important to teachers in California than any policy-wonk assessment-and-curriculum discussions being heard by any legislative committee.

For the sake or our schools, as well as our transportation systems, hospitals, senior care networks and the well being of our environment, the people of California need CTA to lead a fair tax and good government fight.

An Open Letter to the San Leandro School Board

2009-04-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

Don't be THAT School Board

As you may know, the San Leandro Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources are maneuvering to reduce the traditional staff calendar by one day. The impact of such an action would effectively lower teachers' pay by more than one-half percent, finally making San Leandro teachers the LOWEST PAID IN ALAMEDA COUNTY.

They pulled the old "bait and switch" on the SLTA's bargaining team, coming to a deal with us at the table; then pulling the deal out from under our noses. The Assistant Superintendent explained that you, the Board, had instructed him to pull the 186-day calendar, and negotiate a calendar that had one less staff development day. When we asked him about the Board's decision, he admitted that you, the Board, had actually not taken such an action. These tactics are arbitrary and capricious. The administration is trying to shove a pay cut right down the throats of teachers.

No other neighboring school districts have enforced a furlough day for teachers. And with School Services telling districts to restore services, they're not likely to. The Assistant Superintendent has already told us at the table that he expects to withdraw most, if not all of the R.I.F. letters. In addition, there is enough money coming in to restore cuts to the counseling programs and restore Class Size Reduction to 20-1 in K-3. With the $1.6 million that the Superintendent found, the $2.25 million available in Tier 3 sweeps, and the $800,000 coming in from the federal bailout package that can be used to protect programs and jobs, you will still have a budgeting cushion in this difficult year.

Ultimately, however, the Administration cannot take this action without your approval as a Board. Do you really want to be the board that cuts staff development and knocks San Leandro teacher salaries to the lowest in Alameda County?

As the Board, the decision is yours.

Prop. 1A -- Frog Soup, Anyone?

2009-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

You know the story of the frog who is thrown into a pot of water. If the water is too hot at the beginning, the frog jumps right out. But if the water is comfortable enough at the beginning, but then the temperature is slowly increased, the frog will stay in the water until it is boiled alive. That's exactly what Californians will be doing if we vote for Proposition 1A -- slowly, but permanently destroying public education and public services in California.

Proposition 1A, and all of the little attachments, is bad for our schools and bad for the people of California. Whatever short-term benefit we get from the state's budget-rescue package pales in comparison to the long-term disasters that await education and other important programs which are supported by the state.

I'm having a hard time getting the "spending cap" to make sense in my mind when I also realize that there's no "human-dignity floor," or a level of human-needs services that we also agree never to go below. We've already cut many of our state programs so severely that the next step is to eliminate many vital programs altogether. The state budget is already rigged so that it's impossible to get new revenues and new programs in place, so every cut is permanent.

The other dynamic is that the fastest growing part of the budget is prison funding, carrying with it a host of mandated funding increases. With mandatory sentencing laws and 3-strikes laws on the books, along with federal court mandates to dramatically improve its abysmal prison health care program, the prison-funding part of the budget can only increase. Which means that with a spending cap, the rest of the budget can only go down.

And, we're locking in the spending cap at a shockingly inadequate funding level. Our schools are already the most poorly funded schools in the country. Sure, the temporary pay-off in Prop. 1B will keep us at 48th or 49th out of 50 states for a few years, but that's as good as it will ever get! Mental health programs have already been decimated, and Prop 1E will take more. Prop. 1D is going to tap into children's services. We're robbing our own kids, and this is the best we can do?

I'm also deeply dismayed that my own union, CTA, is endorsing this package. Remember the good ole' days when CTA used to fight against Schwarzenegger's hare-brained ideas. Thankfully, the California Federation of Teachers is opposing Prop. 1A, and so is the California Nurses Association, SEIU and an expanding group of other wiser labor unions.

California needs a better deal. Let's scrap California's budget process altogether, with its un-democratic two-thirds majority requirement for new funding, get rid of Prop. 13, and write a new state constitution.

Please vote no on 1A.

Racial Impact of RIFs

2009-03-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

Lost in the outcries over the state budget and the painful cuts to our schools is the racial impact of those cuts. If the youngest teachers in California are given pink slips, who will the students see in their classrooms?

Teachers of color are more likely to lose their jobs than white teachers. San Leandro is not unlike most districts in California. More than 70 percent of the students are people of color, but more than two-thirds of the teachers are white. Yet, at a CTA-hosted meeting of San Leandro teachers receiving RIF (reduction in force) notices, 23 teachers showed up, more than half (12) were people of color and 21 were women.

Of course, the RIF lists are determined by a combination of factors, especially seniority and appropriate credentials for the teaching assignment. But older teachers are more likely to be white, and teachers of color tend to be younger, with less tenure. So after the cuts are finalized, our kids of color (the majority throughout California) are more likely to see teachers in the classroom who don’t look like them.

The bad news is magnified when you consider that the schools likely to see the greatest turnover are the schools with the least-tenured teachers. Those schools tend to be more urban, more diverse, and more impoverished. The bigger the district, the bigger the impact.

So in schools where talented young teachers of color have stepped into leadership roles, many of those students will now see older, whiter teachers fill those classrooms, teachers who haven’t established relationships with the students or their parents.

The truth is that students will be seeing less of whichever teacher they have, with the dramatic increases in class size that are coming from the budget cuts. No surprise, that impact will also be greater in schools with more kids of color.

The New Debate on Merit Pay

2009-03-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

It seems like everybody is crying out for this teacher merit-pay idea, if only it weren't for the big, bad teacher Unions who are in the way. Apparently, the Unions' only real interest is in protecting a bunch of miserable older teachers who can't teach, and only show up because they're after the free money.

Well, I'm not buying it, mostly because I don't know any teachers who are like that. The truth is that most miserable teachers who hate kids and hate teaching get out of the profession. It's not exactly a low-stress job. I think the life span on a bad teacher tops out at about one year.

Too Little, Too Late?

2009-03-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

CTA President David Sanchez called me last night. He wanted to make sure I got his invitation to one of the "Pink Friday" events being coordinated throughout California, a series of vigils to mourn the loss of public education in the Golden State.

I didn't get to speak with him because I hadn't arrived home yet, so he just left a message on the answering machine. All right, I know it wasn't actually the real David Sanchez, but I appreciated the robo-call reminder. It was the second big reminder. CTA had sent me a pretty pink sticker advertising the event a few days earlier. They must have spent a lot of time and money putting this series of events together.

I guess CTA has the money to spend now because they saved up so much during the actual budget fight, when the Union basically didn't show up while legislators were taking the wrecking ball to our schools. Okay, I'm being a little harsh and bitter. There were those nice holiday cards I dutifully sent off to assembly people and senators when our CTA staffer came to one of our local meetings. CTA paid for the cards and the postage. Then there were those radio ads. And I noticed the TWO pages of the "California Educator" magazine dedicated to saving Prop. 98. That must have taken hours for a CTA organizer to write and edit.

But the truth is that I heard more about the fight to save our schools from the school administrators association. They at least coordinated a series of legislator visits during the last months of the budget fight. I mean, where were the teachers? Where was the largest, strongest political organization in California when the impact on its own members would be so devastating?

CTA should have been targeting the districts of those Republican assholes who were leading the "no-new-taxes" fight. They should have been running ads in all the local newspapers about what the cuts would mean to public education -- with the intent being that we would never let the cuts happen. They could have created an ad campaign so that voters in every Republican's Senatorial district would see what 50 kids in a classroom might look like with no books and supplies. They could have led a series of "work-to-rule" days throughout the state to demonstrate what it looks like when our schools lose all that funding.

I guess CTA was too busy to do all of that because they were planning the "Pink Friday" vigil. I love a good funeral.

My only hope is that it's not too late to get started on our fight to ward off the next round of budget cuts.

Deep-Fried Schools

2009-02-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

Last night, the good people at the San Leandro school board meeting pledged allegiance to fried chicken strips. Most of us didn't even notice. It was the most rational thing that happened.

Mike Katz, the school board president, called the meeting to order and people stood for the pledge. Only, the meeting place had changed at the last moment. The location ended up being the high school cafeteria. So we dutifully rose for the pledge, turned to face the spot where everyone assumed a flag would be if there were a flag, and said the pledge of allegiance. To a cafeteria advertisement for "Sunset Strips." From the picture, they were delicious, crispy, golden brown, deep-fried chicken strips.

Deep-Fried, like the future of California. I guess when music programs, physical education, librarians, counselors, days of school, and even lawyers and consultants (the most important people in the school community) are on the list, no absurdity seems all that unusual.

These meetings have taken place all over California. In many places, the potential cuts will be far deeper. Even the schools in the wealthier communities will have to dig into their reserves. The Senate Republicans have just fired their leader, Dave Cogdill, because he is seen as most likely to "give in" on a tax increase. That's right, they want deeper cuts. This budget won't smash enough dreams and kill enough people for them yet.

They must have pledged allegiance to deep-fried chicken strips a long time ago.

The 8th Amendment doesn't cover this!

2009-01-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

Let me see if I have this straight. $8.5 trillion dollars. How can they possibly dream up that much money? That's 16 Iraqi Wars. That will double the national debt. That's $28,333 per American, or $113,000 for a family of four. I had to do the math by hand because my on-screen calculator won't let me have enough zeroes.

All of the bailout packages, loan guarantees and stimulus packages are adding up to $8.5 Trillion so far. And the worst part -- where's it going? The banks happily took their first $300 billion, and didn't do anything with it. It was supposed to get passed into the economy to ease everybody's way as a solution to the credit crunch. But our modern day robber-barons, the same banking executives that drew up all of those junk loans, took the money and gave bonuses to their executives.

And so much for the auto bailout helping workers. Even though the auto kings got some of their cash, they’re still laying off workers and closing dealerships. How exactly does that help working people?

Let’s send the bankers, the insurance executives, the auto czars and our Congresspeople to greed-aholics anonymous. Step one, admit you have a problem. Our economy doesn't work. Our economy has become history’s greatest ponzi scheme. Bigger than Madoff, bigger than AMWAY. It starts with bad debt, and adds on more debt. And the victim of a ponzi scheme is always the person who buys in last. That’s where those junk loans came in. You could almost hear the echoes of the bankers from not-too-distant radio ads, “oh, please, buy in! Keep it all afloat! 5-year APR at 1.5%, and we’ll schedule your foreclosure for 2008.”

It hasn't been working for years. The people who’ve been making the billions don’t actually produce anything. They’ve been presenting pictures of the good life with smoke and mirrors while we’ve been sending manufacturing jobs out of the country. We’ve been using the federal credit card to finance the whole scheme, and asking the military to kick in and keep global markets open for exploitation. Two-thirds of American corporations don't pay taxes. We’re going to bail them out?

I don't mind the idea of taking action to "fix" the economy, and I imagine that it would have to be substantial. But they're bailing out the wrong half of the economy. I pretty much don't give a rat's ass about the bankers or the auto executives. But I do care that people are losing their homes, that schools are eliminating services to kids, and that people can't afford to see a doctor when they're sick. What if we had a plan that started with the concept of protecting peoples’ needs. No matter what, let’s make a commitment to securing housing, health care, schooling and food for everyone. How much would that cost? It won’t take $8.5 Trillion, that’s for sure.

And then, any part of our economy that’s not working might just wither away (isn’t that what Marx said?). If it was never working in the first place, why waste money trying to fix it? When the next business collapses, sure there will be an impact, but if we focus on the needs of the people who are affected, housing, food, health care and education, then at least those people will have the ability to get through it.

The parts of the economy that are solid get the boost of not having to carry the dead weight around, and new economies can develop which are based on the fact that we are emphasizing peoples’ needs.

Do I look powerful to you?

2008-11-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

I've always thought of CTA as one of those big competition body builders -- always interested in looking powerful, but often fearful of using its power in a substantial way.

While California's state legislature meets in emergency session to solve California's budget woes, I'm still wondering when CTA is going to step up to the plate. In the governor's "good" scenario, the mid-year budget cuts are going to amount to about 3%. Because districts have already spent half of the year's money, that will feel like a 6% program cut; which will fall most directly on the services that support the students which need the most support. The good scenario is tragic. The bad scenario -- if the state legislature can't come up with some new revenue, we're looking at trimming more than 10% of the educational program -- is impossible to imagine.

Unfortunately, the state legislature is also broken. A 60% majority of both houses is held hostage by the legislature's minority. And despite the political shellacking that conservatives received in the election, they still "own" the state's budget process. It's virtually impossible to raise revenue.

So I've been dreaming up some hard-ball tactics that my Union could take:

• Imagine a coordinated work action, like a work to rule, a sick-in or a strike aimed just at those legislative districts where the legislature refuses to raise revenue. How will the people of those communities feel about their no-new-taxes-promising legislators when their whole communities are shut down.

• Imagine a statewide one-day strike. It's kind of difficult to find 300,000 scabs on the same day.

• Imagine a statewide extended strike. Daycare options would be a little challenging for families who would normally bring their kids to school. The state would functionally shut down. How quickly would the legislature react in those circumstances?

• Imagine if CTA uses its relationships with the other state Unions whose workers are in the crossfires of the budget mess. Time to start demanding that new state constitution.

Sure, there are more marginal responses. I really only believe in using the amount of force that's necessary to allow our schools to serve our kids. If writing letters works, I'm good with that. It just hasn't worked with this legislature yet.

And what's the point of having all of those muscles if you're not going to use them?

Equity: Courageous Redirection of Resources!

2008-10-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

Like most school districts, San Leandro Unified is facing the challenge of closing the “achievement gap” and helping students be successful regardless of race or gender.

San Leandro's administration would like you to believe they have taken an aggressive approach, hiring consultants who have focused their work in two directions -- having "courageous conversations" among staff about perceptions about race and student achievement, and developing "culturally relevant" teaching strategies. The focus of the work has mostly been on what happens at staff development meetings and what teaching strategies teachers use in the classroom.

Most of the teachers that I know have chosen to teach in San Leandro because of the community's diversity, even after considering the unfortunate promise of lower pay. They enter San Leandro's classrooms deeply committed to guiding all of their students to success, and reversing the trends of hundreds of years of racism. Despite this commitment, there has been a great deal of grumbling lately about the district's approach to equity. Teachers complain about too many meetings at which we talk about the same things over and over again and reconsider a handful of already-presented teaching strategies. It's time to have real courageous conversations in our district about the limitations of their approach.

The district's approach is not misguided, it's just not enough. While focusing on miracles that sometimes happen in the classroom, it doesn't consider or address many of the real causes of inequitable achievement. I agree with the district’s approach as a part of the solution. Teacher perception of student ability is important. Race absolutely matters. There's too much evidence to conclude otherwise. If a student is attending a classroom where she doesn't feel valued, encouraged, or a sense of belonging, she will likely not do her best work. So the work on culturally relevant teaching strategies is important.

However, we will fail our students unless we examine the other, more significant roadblocks to student success for our kids of color.

Most of the racism that keeps kids of color from achieving is not the racism of perception, stereotype and cognitive filters. Most of the racism that inhibits achievement is the racism of resource allocation, family support, and community support for student success. The only way to confront those challenges is by making changes to the educational program. We have to meet our kids where they are, and put more of our resources in the direction of the kids with the most need.

Issues of race, class and opportunity intersect on so many levels that it is foolish for school districts to take one-dimensional, consultant-driven approaches to closing the “achievement gap.” If a kid doesn’t go home to a place where there is parent or guardian who can sit and monitor homework, that kid is at a disadvantage. When English isn’t the first language, and the kid is pushed out of an ELL program too quickly, the kid’s at a disadvantage. Students with parents who didn’t complete college or high school are at a disadvantage. Kids in families that can’t afford college don’t as easily envision their own future as a college student. Unfortunately, these characteristics tend to be more often true for our kids of color.

To meet students where they are, we need to invest our resources in a way that gives teachers opportunities to work more directly with their students and families:

• More opportunities for after-school mentoring by teachers. The one-meeting-after-another approach to staff development is actually getting in the way of teachers meeting with students. Imagine if instead of attending all of those meetings, teachers could actually spend their after-school time working with students. Add a mechanism that encourages students who are struggling to take advantage of teachers who can stay after school to work with them, and you can finally reach students who don’t have sufficient academic support at home.

• Revitalize the ELD Program. ELL students need smaller class sizes with more individualized vocabulary work and more opportunities to communicate, much more support in their primary language, strengthened bilingual education program, and significantly more parent outreach. Since Superintendent Lim has been at the helm in San Leandro, the cuts to ELD (English Language Development) Programs have been dramatic, despite the fact that the population which requires the program keeps increasing in size. This year, the program was practically gutted, though a few ELD coaches still exist when budgeted for by school site funds. What used to be a team of eight great teachers is now a team of four, serving an increasing number of students.

• Better investment in real college-bound mentoring programs, like AVID. Give the program coordinators the necessary resources to expand the program, which focuses on kids who might often become the first generation from their family to attend college.

• More aggressive community and parent outreach efforts, directly connecting parents to the classroom, and expanding the school’s role in the betterment of the community.

Each of these strategies comes with a price tag. We’ll never have real success unless we’re willing to invest. But the potential future cost in lost opportunities for our students and our community is far greater than the real expense of any of these strategies. And sharing a vision is the first step towards realizing it.

Charter Blues

2008-08-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

A writer on “San Leandro Progressives,” a Yahoo group that I hear from, has posed the question of whether San Leandro should develop another charter school. Here we go again. What masquerades as educational reform in the guise of a charter school really rips away at the fabric of public education.

In California, charter schools can only really exist at the expense of “mainstream” public schools. Every time a kid goes to a charter school, the neighborhood school loses money. The inherent difficulty is that every student does not cost the same to educate. But California’s emphasis on ADA doesn’t adequately fund the “more expensive” students (students in resource and ELL programs.) Also, neighborhood schools don’t often have the flexibility to easily shift students, teachers and classrooms. Unexpected shifts in attendance rip little holes into the district budget.

Charter schools get to pick and choose which students fit their charter. In other words, they can leave any kid behind. And they don’t usually accept the kids that cost more. Students with learning disabilities and physical disabilities, and students who are ELL (English Language Learners,) cost more because they require more staff support. (“We’d love to take Junie, but we just don’t have the facilities to accommodate her.”) Charter schools don’t have to take these kids. “Mainstream” schools do. The result is that the “mainstream” school is left with a higher percentage of students who cost more to educate, but are not compensated fully for the additional expense.

Charter schools often have required parental-participation responsibilities in order for their kids to attend. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of encouraging parent participation. But what about the families who are simply unable to fulfill these obligations? Parents in single-parent, double-job families, or families where someone requires long-term care often don’t have the option of meeting a charter school’s participation requirements. So, their kids won’t have the same school opportunities, and they end up being stuck in the school where there are no such requirements.

Finally, charter schools lean hard on their teachers and parents. Without Union approved contracts, teachers are often asked (expected) to work 50 - 60 hours a week, must often be available for evening phone calls or extra tutoring sessions (without compensation), and survive without a whole lot of administrative support. Sure, fresh-out-of-teacher-school, school-reformer-type teachers are often anxious to take on the challenge. They just don’t last very long.

For a school to have long-term success, there really needs to be a good balance of new teachers and veteran teachers. If teaching is a career, you have to find some out-of-school balance in your life. It’s hard to find that balance when you’re working 50-60 hours a week. Call me lazy, but I actually believe that I can do my best teaching if I have a life outside of the classroom.

And finally, there is the problem of administration. Somebody has to watch where the money comes from and where it’s got to go. Each school is a little different, so there’s not really a how-to manual. The same person has to be the boss (no favorites, please), politick the parents and keep everyone smiling. In a charter school, that’s usually one person. And that person is probably looking for another gig. When that person exits stage right, the new challenge is finding a worthy replacement, and maintaining a sense of school identity and organizational memory.

In the end, I can’t help but seeing charter schools as a means for the slow disintegration of the neighborhood public schools. I lump them together with No-Child-Left-Behind, vouchers, and the crisis of pathetic funding as direct attacks on our kids. But despite all of the attacks on our schools, I still believe that the public school is perhaps (or should be) the last great institution – the only place in a multi-racial, multi-cultural community where we can all come together with a common cause and support each other.

So, What should we expect from a school administrator?

2008-07-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd follow up on two of my previous entries, and start posing some questions that should be considered when evaluating a school administrator. I'd be glad to hear anyone else's thoughts.

These are in no particular order.

1. Does the administrator do a good job hiring quality staff?

2. Does she/he hire staff which reflects the diversity of the student community?

3. Does she/he do a good job retaining the proven/quality teachers already on staff?

4. Does she/he facilitate a school-wide effort on developing a positive school climate in which all students feel safe and welcome?

5. Does she/he facilitate a school-wide effort to create a schoolwide climate where all students can excel to their best level?

6. Is staff development meaningful?

7. Are staff meetings well-used (as opposed to being wastes of time)?

8. Are meetings with parent groups well-thought-out to encourage parent participation?

9. Does staff feel like they are connected to school wide efforts?

10. Do teacher concerns get adequately heard and dealt with?

11. Do parent concerns get adequately heard and dealt with?

12. Do teachers get adequate support for their initiatives?

I know I'm missing some really important questions, but this is a start.

A Way Through the State Budget Crisis

2008-07-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Progressive State Legislators,

So I understand that you folks in the State Capitol aren’t having any fun. Budget stalemate, $20 Billion deficit, Republicans swearing not to raise taxes ever. State programs already cut to the bone. You need 60% of the votes to pass a budget, and you’re looking for a way out right about now.

Well, how about playing hardball. If the Republicans won’t allow you to approve some new revenue sources (there are lots to choose from) then pass legislation changing the way that school districts are funded, stressing equity between districts. You should be doing this anyway.

The way school districts are funded, you’ve got more money going to richer communities that have FEWER needs. Meanwhile, more urban, diverse, working-class school districts are left trying to figure out how to do more with less revenue. The difference is compounded when you consider a wealthier community’s ability to raise more money locally. Wealthier communities are more able to pass local parcel taxes and bonds, and usually have very substantial community foundations that also support their schools.

Here are some Bay Area examples from 2006-2007. Pleasanton, a suburban district with only four percent of their students on reduced lunch and only five percent of their students classified as language learners, received $6,199 per student in base revenue limit from the State. San Leandro, also in Alameda County and adjacent to Oakland, has 50% of its students in the reduced-lunch program and 26% in a language learner program, yet only receives $5,517 per student. The difference between how the state funds the two districts is $682 per student. Add in other sources of revenue, and the Pleasanton USD is able to spend $800 more per student than San Leandro USD.

Not surprisingly, Pleasanton teachers make a lot more than San Leandro teachers, anywhere between 12 and 17 thousand dollars per year per teacher. If you’re an experienced teacher with proven classroom success and you’re district-shopping for a new job, where do you apply?

So, dear state legislators, here’s your mission. If the Republicans aren’t willing to approve some new revenue, then change the way the money gets spent. Fix the disrict-by-district inequity.

Here’s the new piece of legislation you should champion. Rank districts by state revenue received through the last 10 years. Flip the rankings. Give more money to the districts that have received less. Then, give bonuses for the number of language learners, the number of resource students, and the number of students who qualify for reduced lunches. Of couse, you should allow for regional variation (obviously it’s more expensive to operate in the Bay Area than in Fresno). In other words, give more resources to the schools with most need. Dare anyone to tell you why this shouldn’t be the way that it works anyway.

At the very least, float this idea. Use it as a bargaining chip. Imagine the reaction in those rich Republican enclaves when they find out that their school districts are going to be sacrificed if their legislators don’t approve some new revenue sources.

It's the "Principal" of the thing!

2008-07-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, when a friend told me that he was going to get his school administration credential, I remember saying that was great, we need good people becoming prinicipals. But I also told him he was out of his mind, that I would never wish the job on any friend.

Being a principal is an impossible job. You get all the responsibilities of running the school, including student achievement, school climate, employee relations and community spokesperson, but very limited power. Long hours, low budget, and everyone expects you to live up to their very specific expectations.

So, what qualities make a good principal? How can we measure success? In my head, the answer is we need some combination of circus skills in your basic principal – some combination of juggler, high wire act and ringmaster. However, it’s best to avoid the people who see themselves as lion-tamers and dart-throwers. Those are the types that can run a staff ragged.

I believe that a principal can do more harm in a school than good. A bad principal can easily marginalize parent groups, divide a staff or shove students into a box. Then run. And leave Pandora’s box open for the next unlucky person to come on in and take the job. But a good principal’s best gift to a school community is to simply encourage the good things that other people are doing.

With all that said, I think it’s the duty of people in a school community to expect and demand good principals. I actually believe that experienced staff members need to take it on themselves to train principals how do their jobs, which is awkward, because the principal is the “supervisor” in the relationship.

Awkward, but necessary. The teachers, office workers, counselors, aides and custodial staff are the folks who have been in the school community the longest, and also the people who will last the longest. Teachers carry school culture and remember school history. Staff members develop working relationships with each other that last long past the principal’s tenure in a school.

A good principal should inspire the people around her or him to add their talents to a mosaic – which becomes a shared vision for how the school should be serving the community. That’s the basic job description for a quality principal. The more you impost, the more the staff, parents and students resist. The principal who recognizes this basic truth about the way a school functions is the one who fits the school the best.

Evaluate Your School Administrator

2008-06-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just before the end of the school year in a survey monitored by the San Leandro Teachers' Association, ninety percent of the teachers who participated voted "no-confidence" in the Superintendent. The results didn't come as a surprise to many people, including some of the board members. Our Superintendent has been in her position for five years, and has never been a staff favorite. But this is the first time we've actually quantified how 'un-favorite' she is.

I generally think that school administration is an impossible job, with pressure from too many interest groups. Every good administrator has to piss off someone with almost every decision, whether you're answering to state mandates, parent relationships, board relationships or Union relationships. But when ninety percent of your staff won't follow your leadership, it's time to look at what you're doing that isn't working.

What's the lesson from this? I think it's time for school districts to institute staff evaluation of their administrators as a normal part of the cycle of the school year. Superintendents, principals and program directors could all benefit from a bottom-up evaluation. In the education community, administrators often play musical chairs, moving from position to position frequently, and often burning their bridges as they go. The teachers are often far more experienced than the administrators, usually much more firmly established in the school community, and an evaluation can lead to a better vision of where the school community has been and where it ought to be going.

Think about how teachers' insights could improve an administrators' performance in these areas: the quality of internal staff communication, staff (stakeholder) involvement in school-wide decisions, leadership development (remember that teachers usually last much longer than principals and superintendents), school climate and discipline, even new teacher orientation and support.

What's the catch? Administrators might not go for it. Why would they ever want to give their employees that much power? Because it makes for better schools. I wouldn't stop there, either. I would also ask for leaders of the parent community to conduct an administrator evaluation. These are the voices (teachers, faculty, parents) we say are important, yet they are excluded from the process of determining who runs our schools, and how our schools are run.

What happens when an administrator refuses to be evaluated? Conduct the evaluation anyway! Union leadership at a school should conduct surveys and share the results with the administrator (or the school board if the administration won't listen). What message would be sent if the administrator didn't want to participate in such an exercise. Think of the benefit to the school community of organized groups of people regularly meeting to talk about whether a school or a district is being well administered.

Here are the questions I have, which I invite your comments on. What performance areas should a school administrator be evaluated on? Which people should be involved in the evaluation? What should be the process of dealing with the evaluation?

Every administrator gives lip service to involving parents and staff in school and district decisions. An annual evaluation of administrators by teachers and parents would give a school community another important opportunity to talk.

The Blog is Back!

2008-05-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

Shockingly, I have readers! A few people have actually asked me when I’m putting something fresh on my blog. Now that our contract is ratified, and the 7^th grade research papers have been read, I have no other excuses.

While I’ve been busily diverted, I’ve been thinking about how I want this blog to function. I’m actually hoping that it serves as a forum with multiple participants on public education issues. In other words, I’ll float a topic idea, then give folks a few days to think and comment, sharing experiences and opinions with each other. Also, feel free to propose topics for future blogs.

I’m developing a series of future topics. Please e-mail me (mistermorse109@yahoo.com) if you have a knee-jerk reaction for any of these ideas. One of the ideas I’m working on is what should a Teachers’ Union be working on after the contract has been ratified for the year. For another piece, I’m worried about the impact that the Federal Government’s ICE immigration raids in our schools will have on whether children attend class.

I’m also thinking about the role that schools should play as the center of a community as keepers of culture, which might become a critique on cultural relativism. In other words, I’ve heard arguments recently that we ought to just look the other way when black kids use the “n-word” while talking to their friends on campus. Funny how none of the black teachers agreed with that viewpoint.

Meanwhile, I’d like to divert your attention to three links.

Raleigh McLemore sent me a connect to the Educator’s Roundtable comment on “closing the achievement gap:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVmPKvhsNVk

Tammy Johnson sent me Chela DelGado’s comments about testing:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90167642

Gina sent me a piece from www.racewire.org about the ICE folks using a school’s database to get information which would help them in immigration raids.

Pick up that Picket Sign!

2008-04-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

The picket signs have been going up all over our district again. Well, some of them. We had a few loud and raucous events, but now that the fight is rolling into Act II, the angry expressions of fury have dissipated a little. I think we had 12 of our 50 teachers at the last before-school informational picket.

People often think that Unions are old-fashioned and irrelevant. I get asked almost as many questions about car insurance as I do about the contract. And damn, they sure take a lot of dues! When people discover how much they need a Union, it's often too late. One of the problems with teachers' Unions is that every member is college-educated. That means that almost every member grew up in a family that had the capacity (i.e. - upper middle class) to send them to college. And they didn't grow up in a Union household.

I guess that makes me one of the lucky kids. I grew up in a Union household, in a Union town; and I still managed to go to college. Even though the Unions were being blamed for all of the economic woes of the entire midwest, I got to hear what my Dad was thinking about. If you work hard at the factory, then you deserve the basics: a house, a retirement, a vacation and health care. And if you save up your money, you should be able to send your kids off to college.

While I'm writing, I better give equal time to my mother, who was not in a Union, but worked hard and also made sure I was going to get all of those things. Her ethos was a little bit more conservative. She believed that if a company treats you right, you don't need a Union. And when Dad was layed off or on strike, it was Mom's paycheck that kept us in chicken noodle soup.

But here's my truth. Without the U.A.W., I don't go to college. Well, maybe community college, but no way can my parents pay for the University of Michigan. Without the Union, I don't get to see the rest of the country with my family (family vacation = camping trip through some little corner of North America.) And mostly, without the Union, my Dad's cancer bankrupts my Mom. Its hard enough watching a spouse die. But getting the bills ...

All these basics were brought to us by a Union. They're all being slowly eroded because the Union movement is losing its momentum. We've already lost our grip on health care. And those of us who have it find out that it doesn't cover half of what we might get. Now people are losing their ability to keep their homes.

Look, I know life is expensive. But in the end, my Dad was right. You work your whole life for a school community, there are some things you ought to get from the deal. A house. a retirement. A vacation. See the Doctor when you're sick. And send your kids to college.

Pick up that picket sign so we don't lose the basics.

I can leap tall textbooks in a single bound!

2008-03-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

I’m going to have a difficult time teaching this week. My superhero cape and tights are at the cleaners.

It's almost staff development season again. Our school district loves to pay these miracle-worker education consultants thousands of dollars to come and speak to our teachers. They come armed with videos and graphic organizers, and they model their lessons. Each consultant advertises a gimmick -- some bottled miracle that they can make happen in your classroom. The last few years, it's all about the achievement gap.

A few years ago, one of these educational consultants showed a documentary about Erin Gruwell, that energetic, "idealistic" young teacher who started the Freedom Writers project in her Long Beach School.

The gist of her story is that if you can find a way to connect to the kids in the classroom, any student can learn no matter the hardship. In her first year of teaching, her given-up-on students transformed themselves into college-bound kids. Gruwell wrote a book about her miracle year, then she was featured on Oprah and Rosie O’Donnell. Now Hilary Swank is playing her in a movie.

I’m all for miracles and connections in the teaching and learning business. I even believe that they’re possible. Could be Jaime Escalante, Coach Carter or that Dangerous Minds woman. I just don't think that they are sustainable. And I resent when administrators and politicians expect miracles without putting the required resources into our schools. For some reason, I resent it even more when some carpet-bagging consultant pockets thousands of dollars to tell us how to make the miracles happen.

Here’s the downside to Erin Gruwell’s story. As a first-year teacher, she had to work a second job just to pay for all of her classroom expenses. She had to work ridiculous hours, and didn't seem to have a life outside of school. She made a noble commitment, and I applaud her dedication. But real humans who want to make a career out of teaching have to recognize that superhero teachers burn out. Erin Gruwell doesn’t teach anymore. She quit. She actually cashed in. Now she is an education consultant.

Some Erin Gruwell character teaches in every school. Usually more than one. The principals love them. “Join the equity team… How would you like to coach volleyball? … We really need your energy in the PTA… Maybe you could do a staff briefing to show others what you're doing.” For a couple of years, she is everywhere; but then something changes. She becomes exhausted, overwhelmed, or simply disillusioned when the hard work doesn’t seem to get her anywhere.

Every teacher wants to make a difference. Many of us have even bought into the superhero notion. You can put all the superheroes together and make a committee. The committee can be the driving force to ensure that the education consultant's plan is put in place. What's the strategy? Give teachers collaborative preparation time. Be available to students one-on-one at lunch and after school for hours, and visit homes of students when it’s required. These are the strategies that do work miracles.

But nobody can make those kinds of commitments to our classrooms year after year for a career. If every teacher in the school is expected to work sixty-hour work weeks, then most of them will be out of the classroom within a couple of years. These strategies have to be planned-for and funded, and scheduled into a regular human's life. More prep time for teachers, smaller class sizes, or community liaisons.

Without the funding, we’re simply hoping for superheroes who work for free.

Substitute Blogger: Starla Mason

2008-03-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

Testing Craze

What is it about teachers that makes us believe we must follow the rules at any cost, even when we know those rules are not in the best interest of those we are entrusted to teach and protect while they are in our care? Today teachers throughout the state administered a state writing assessment to ALL 7^th grade students. I mindlessly went into this bothersome exercise that was taking away time from my ability to actually teach my students. As the day began, the assessment was like a pesky fly that continues to buzz and land on you; frustrating but tolerable.

My first class to be subjected to this NCLB nonsense happened to be a class of English Language Learners. Fortunately, this group is nearly proficient in English, and was able to take the assessment with confidence. My frustration came as a result of students who took the test with my class. The teacher for our "newcomers" (students who, for the most part, have been in our country/speaking English for less than a year) needed a 7^th grade English teacher to administer the test to her seven 7^th grade students, and since I had the room to accommodate these students, I welcomed them into the fold of our community. I read, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, the scripted instructions for students; noting the blank stares of the newcomers as vocabulary to which they had not been exposed was read aloud. I did my best to explain the directions for completing the assessment in a comprehensible way before having the students begin the independent work of reading the prompt and writing a persuasive letter to the editor about "lengthening the school year." Reading the directions did not include reading the "prompt" which contained challenging and unfamiliar vocabulary, even some of my native English speakers asked the meaning or pronunciation of certain words throughout the day.

As the testing began, I moved around my classroom to encourage and motivate students. When they asked about a word, I reminded them to break it into smaller parts they could understand or to use the context of words and phrases in the passage to better figure out the meanings of these unfamiliar words and phrases. Most of the seven visiting students worked quietly and independently to complete the writing task to the best of their ability. Early in the testing period, however, I noticed one boy whose personal information had been filled in manually by the teacher rather than preprinted, telling me he had been in our school community for less than an academic quarter.

This boy sat and stared at the blank lines of his test booklet for the entire testing period. I realized that he was the student who had come from China two months earlier; a true "newcomer" in our country. Yet there he sat taking the same assessment as every other 7^th grade student throughout the state. Will the person who looks at his blank booklet realize that this boy did not stubbornly refuse to participate? Will they understand that he did not understand what he was supposed to be doing? Will the damn lawmakers that continue to reauthorize this flawed legislation called "No Child Left Behind" ever see beyond their ivory towers and look into a real classroom and see real students that suffer the consequences of their thoughtless testing rules? And most importantly, will we, the teachers of these young human beings, ever stand up and say, "enough is enough!"

As I watched this boy silently stare at the empty lines of his test booklet, my rage and resolve grew. I contemplated teaching him to write "FUCK YOU." Fortunately I regained my composure and resolved instead to speak out against the craziness of these test mandates. It is time that we teachers, the people on the front lines, stop playing nice and doing what we are expected to do. It is time for us to: stand up, speak the truth, refuse to subject our students to harmful legislation. If we don't speak for the students who can't speak for themselves, who will? It is time to pull our heads out of the sand, to stop feeling powerless and to start acting on behalf of our students. As the testing frenzy of spring approaches, we need to be prepared to do what is best and right for the students we know and work with each day. If they do not speak English, why should they be expected to take a test that is incomprehensible to them? The lawmakers are not going to change their minds, but if we stand united against this inhumane treatment of our students, perhaps we can make a loud enough noise to be heard or at least noticed. The conversation about test mandates must include the voices of all stakeholders, and we, the teachers of these "newcomers," must help those who can't speak for themselves to be heard.

Teachers on Steroids!

2008-03-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a little jealous of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Cameras follow these guys wherever they go. Government agencies want to hear from them. Congress holds hearings. But teachers can't even get local school boards to listen.

I keep wondering what it's going to take. This week, 250 teachers (more than half) in my school district showed up at a board meeting - asking for a little attention. It seems as though they were all fed up about the same things... low pay, low morale, low respect. The crowd cheered support for speaker after speaker.

Official Board Response... A couple of smirks.

Clemens has been the recipient of moral outrage and righteous indignation. Congresspeople were tripping over each other trying to ask the next question. The media is having a field day. Don't get me wrong here, but Clemens is just a baseball player. It's not like the future of our children is depending on anything that might have happened in those hearings. Why aren't people all up in arms about the state of education?

Desperate times deserve desperate measures. So, it's time for me to make some startling revelations about what goes on in our schools.

Teachers are using performance-enhancing drugs. That's right, after numerous interviews from multiple sources, it's time to leak this story -- Teachers are on steroids.

A veteran teacher, who only spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, "The pressure is too high. We face impossible test score expectations. They're threatening to shut our school down."

Said another, "Those No-Child-Left-Behind expectations - every student above average - this isn't Lake Wobegon!"

Yet another teacher who was interviewed for my story talked about the pressure of paying bills. "I have to work two jobs just to pay the mortgage and health care. I turned to steroids because I have no time to sleep."

These revelations bring every AYP and API ranking in the entire country under scrutiny. It's unclear who is supplying our schools with steroids, though one teacher speculated that educational consultants who wander from school district to school district with their power-point staff-training presentations might be the source. It's unclear the role that superintendents are playing in this, but it seems as though they have been knowingly looking the other way, hoping that those test scores would get the boost.

To do the important research for this story, I had to guarantee my sources that I would never release their names. Subpoena me if you feel you must, but I will remain true to my word.

Anyway, Bring on the cameras. Schedule the hearings. Call up the talk radio people.

Maybe our school board will pay attention to us now.

Show Your Legislator the Money

2008-02-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

I thought It would be helpful, when you write your state legislator, to remind her that there is money out there which can be used to solve the state budget "crisis". Depending on what day you ask, the shortfall is between $14 Billion and $16 Billion.

CTA's Alcosta Service Center put together a handy guide to the budget crisis which included these potential sources of restored revenue:

• Reinstitute an 11% tax on people with incomes of more than $500,000 (a policy during the Republican Governorships of Wilson and Reagan) - would amount to a $3 Billion increase to the state coffers.

• Restore the Vehicle License Fee - $5 Billion. (Beware those tax gifts that governments like to give out. They're like those free vacations. They cost you later!)

• Reverse Proposition 13. I'm not suggesting going after the granny who lives on a fixed income, just go after businesses who have owned their land since before the 1970s and who will never die. - $4 Billion.

• CalPIRG's Education Fund reports that 46 Corporations in California with an income of more than $1 Billion pay less than $801 per year in taxes. Closing those loopholes and special privileges for rich people could add billions every year!

Return these sources of income to the state, and "poof," the crisis goes away.

Show those potential sources of income to each voter in California and ask them if they would rather restore these sources of revenue or suffer un-imaginable loss to the lives of Medi-Cal recipients, and the well-being of schools and local governments.

Honestly, I can't see where the crisis is. A "crisis" is an unfixable problem. The only crisis in Sacramento is a crisis of character. The legislators have to get up the courage to ask the rich people to return the money that they have stolen from the state coffers over the years in special tax-cuts.

Why is the San Leandro School District Attacking Its Teachers?

2008-02-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

(An open letter to the San Leandro School Board of Trustees)

As a 10 year teaching veteran of the San Leandro Schools, I am horrified by the district's recent attacks on its teachers and on our Union.

The biggest insult is the continuing saga of our pay scale. The district has been dragging its heels at the bargaining table, despite knowing that teachers in San Leandro are among the lowest-compensated teachers in Alameda County. The district has made no effort to improve the status of our pay-scale. While neighboring district (Castro Valley most recently) have passed on COLA increases to their workers, our District has refused to make a commitment to its teachers.

Several other districts in the County have lower revenue, but still manage to pay their teachers more than San Leandro. As a Board, please examine how those districts succeed, and then instruct our Superintendent to make it happen.

Unfortunately, the disrespect shown to teachers by the District does not stop at the salary scale. These recent events show the District's motives:

* Reduction of permitted release time for SLTA officers, and reneging on the agreement of how the release time should be compensated. The district recently informed SLTA that it would significantly reduce the President's release time, and eliminate the release time for the Vice President altogether. This is clearly a Union-busting maneuver. The district has nothing to gain by this decision other than silencing the voices of teachers. As a Board, did yoiu approve of this anti-teacher tactic?

* The Budget-Cut process, in which teachers (at staff meetings) were forced to state which vital student programs we could live without. (District Office administrators' positions, perks, expense accounts and salaries were not listed in the menu of potential cuts.) The Union's bargaining team represents teachers. Talk with us at the table. (That's the law.)

* Discouraging Union Input. The SLTA President was given notice of his "invitation" to address the Board about budget cuts on the afternoon of the meeting that was scheduled later that night. It's clear that his voice really wasn't wanted at your meeting.

While a cynical person might be able to dismiss some of the bargaining and budget-cut shenanigans as "business-as-usual" for a District that has never shown an interest in fairly compensating its teachers, the next insult from the district is unfathomable.

* Denial of Bereavement Leave. A teacher whose spouse died was denied bereavement leave. After the leave was denied, the grievance was rejected. And now the district is going to fight this case all the way to arbitration. Is the District really going to spend the $40,000 it takes to send a case to arbitration just to avoid spending a few hundred dollars? Do you, as a member of the School Board, really approve the District's effort to deny leave for a grieving spouse no matter what the cost? This is a dedicated, well-loved teacher in our District!

In the past, I had heard it said that even though teachers in San Leandro have always been under-compensated, that this was a good district to teach in because people are treated with respect. Clearly, the spirit of respect has changed. As Board Members, ultimately, the way the district treats its employees is your responsibility. The Superintendents answer to you.

Sincerely,

Thomas B. Morse

Wrecking Ball or Dynamite?

2008-02-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago, George Bush's Department of Education drew up the demolition plans for our schools with "No Child Left Behind." The crane with the wrecking ball in now in place, but now there is a race between Bush's "slow-death-by-testing" and Governor Schwarzenegger's dynamite, the proposed 11% across-the-board budget cut to our schools.

This month, teachers at my school sat through a briefing where got a doomsday glimpse of how Schwarenegger's budget mandates would tear our school apart, should the state legislature allow him. In general, 80% of the cost of a school is paying for the people who work there. An 11% cut would be almost entirely realized by eliminating the jobs of the people who work directly with our kids, especially teachers and support providers.

I teach in one of the most diverse communities in the nation. The demographics span the American experience. The income disparity runs from quite wealthy to very poor. Along racial lines, we have roughly equal numbers of Latino, African-American, Asian and White students. There are nearly 20 different primary languages spoken by students who attend our school.

Our principal was instructed to present the budget news to us as a menu of potential cuts. We were asked, what programs could we live without? For instance, we could cut library services. (Libraries are so old-fashioned, anyways) or counseling services (middle school kids will just have to learn maturity on their own). We could cut educational aides. These are the people who give one-on-one support to English Language Learners (25% of our school population) and kids with learning disabilities (5% of our population).

We could choose to live without campus security. After all, by middle school, a thousand kids eating lunch with each other really should know how to be nice to each other. Never mind that our campus security folks also serve as tutors, backup counselors, big-brother or big-sister, and sometimes provide the first smile of the day.

I suppose if we wanted to, we could increase class sizes a little more (35 teenagers in one classroom isn't already enough), or reduce prep periods for teachers. The test-performance mandates which threaten to have our school taken over haven't been amended, but nobody's telling us that we get a free pass on that.

All I know is this. The politicians love blaming the failure of our schools on teachers. They love writing "accountability" measures into the law. But where is the accountability for the politicians who would force our schools to even consider such institutional devastation?

Wrecking Ball or Dynamite? Make way for the strip mall.

Thanks for Visiting!

2008-02-24T15:28:00.000-08:00