• Category Archives district budget

  • 2017-2018 Bargaining Update #3

    Posted on by Brian Guerrero Comment

    On Tuesday, August 15, the LTA Bargaining Team, led by veteran negotiator Lisa Rubio (Huerta) and including Priscilla Avila (Moffett), Justin Catalan (TOSA), Gary Moore (LMS), Jim Nadler (LMS) and Andrew Staiano (CTA staff), met with the LSD team, made up of Hiacynth Martinez (Personnel), Kevin Franklin (Fiscal Services), Eddie Garcia (Pupil Services), Lissett Pichardo (LMS principal) and Steve Andelson (attorney). This was the second meeting between the two teams this cycle. The district’s bargaining team presented specific language proposals and counterproposals to LTA’s June 14 proposals. District team member Kevin Franklin was unable to attend this session, so the teams did not discuss salary or other “cost” items like class sizes, but the teams were able make progress on several language items.

    LSD Proposal Highlights:

    ARTICLE 3: ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

    • District proposes providing all new teachers with a LTA membership form and an LTA-created new member packet at orientation [in response to the recently-passed SB 104 guaranteeing unions access to prospective new members].
    • District will also provide LTA with new teacher contact information within 30 days.

    ARTICLE 6: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

    • Clarify definition of a full work year for the purpose of determining what 75% of the work year is and when teachers receive credit for working a “full year.”
    • Update the “relative salary position guarantee.”

    ARTICLE 7: WORK YEAR & HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT

    • Modify language to specifically permit voluntary after-school meetings on Fridays. [DROPPED]
    • Add AM and PM transitional kindergarten dismissal times to the contract.

    ARTICLE 8: ASSIGNMENTS & TRANSFERS

    • District accepts some language clarifications on voluntary, principal-initiated, and superintendent-initiated transfers proposed by LTA, but rejects date changes giving teachers earlier notification of new assignments.
    • Eliminate the contractual requirement to fly TOSA and certificated administrator vacancies.

    ARTICLE 10: LEAVE PROVISIONS

    • Update parental leave language to be consistent with current EdCode. [TENTATIVE AGREEMENT]

    ARTICLE 11: EVALUATION

    • District accepts some language clarification regarding who is to be evaluated and when, but rejects extending the evaluation period of veteran teachers to up to every 5 years.

    ARTICLE 17: PRIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL FOR COURSEWORK

    • Modify current practices for requesting prior approval for coursework for advancement on the salary schedule, making the timeline more strict and eliminating retroactive pay adjustments for courses approved after completion.

    download the full text of the district’s proposals

     

    LTA Counterproposals:

    ARTICLE 3: ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

    • Establish a ½-day (paid) new teacher orientation on the day prior to the first day of the regular work year; LTA would have a guaranteed time to meet with new teachers on that day.

    download LTA’s counterproposals on Article 3

    download LTA’s counterproposals on Article 8

    download LTA’s counterproposals on other articles

     

    The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Monday, September 25 to continue exchanging counterproposals and to discuss proposals for salary increases and more costly items like class size. The district will present the final (unaudited) 2016-2017 budget and reserves at the Tuesday, September 12 School Board meeting, so the teams will be looking at the most current budget numbers at the September 25th bargaining session.

    download Bargaining Update #3


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  • 2017-2018 Bargaining Update #2

    Posted on by Brian Guerrero Comment

    The 2017-2018 negotiations cycle continues! On Wednesday, June 14, the LTA Bargaining Team, led by veteran negotiator Lisa Rubio (Huerta) and including Jim Nadler (LMS), Gary Moore (LMS), Justin Catalán (TOSA) and Andrew Staiano (CTA staff), met with the LSD team, made up of Hiacynth Martinez (Personnel), Kevin Franklin (Fiscal Services), Eddie Garcia (Pupil Services), Lissett Pichardo (LMS principal) and Steve Andelson (attorney). This was the first meeting between the two teams this cycle. The LTA Bargaining Team presented specific language proposals that we feel will greatly improve the learning conditions of students and the work conditions of teachers.

    LTA Initial Proposal Highlights:

    ARTICLE 6: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

    • No proposal on salary yet due to continuing developments in the state budget.
    • Establish a fixed enrollment window for benefits open enrollment ending Sept 15 of each year.
    • Add “dependents” to retiree benefits eligibility.

    ARTICLE 8: ASSIGNMENTS & TRANSFERS

    • Clean up and clarify assignment and transfer definitions.
    • Clean up and clarify processes for voluntary, principal-initiated, and superintendent-initiated transfers.
    • Increase release time given to teachers for room changes, assignment changes, and transfers, adding one additional day to each scenario, and permitting (by mutual agreement with principal) paid overtime rather than release time.
    • Eliminate “under most circumstances” from language pertaining to flying TOSA and certificated administrator vacancies, requiring the district to fly all such openings.

    ARTICLE 9: CLASS SIZE

    • Include students with IEPs in the class-size calculations of their general education teachers to prevent bloated classes when students with IEPs “mainstream.”
    • Clarify that special education classes, intervention classes and other classes with artificially low class sizes should not be used when calculating the overall class-size average for LMS.
    • Calculate the class-size averages of DL and non-DL classes separately, and require that classes in both programs meet contractual and MOU class-size averages, to avoid inter-program disparities and unequal educational environments for students.

    ARTICLE 11: EVALUATION

    • Change the frequency of evaluation for permanent teachers with 10+ years of experience and prior satisfactory evaluations from up to every three years to up to every five years.

    Additionally, the LTA Bargaining Team suggested forming a joint exploratory committee to review the district’s new special programs (the School of Engineering, the School of Dentistry, the Lennox Virtual Academy, etc.), and explore their contractual implications.

    The district team also reviewed their proposal (but did not present specific language).

    LSD Proposal Highlights:

    ARTICLE 6: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

    • No proposal on salary due to continuing developments in the state budget.
    • Clarify that the number of days in a work year (used to calculate the 75% of a work year required to advance on the salary schedule) should be all work days [183] as opposed to instructional days [180]; i.e., that unit members must work 137.25 or more days, not 135, in order to advance on the salary schedule.
    • Amend and update Appendix B: Relative Position Salary Guarantee.

    ARTICLE 7: WORK YEAR & HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT

    • Modify language to specifically permit voluntary after-school meetings on Fridays.
    • Establish contractual SpEd preschool and TK dismissal times.

    ARTICLE 8: ASSIGNMENTS & TRANSFERS

    • Eliminate the contractual requirement to fly TOSA and certificated administrator vacancies.

    ARTICLE 17: PRIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL FOR COURSEWORK

    • Clean up and clarify language describing unit member responsibility to obtain prior approval for coursework; eliminate provisions for retroactive salary increases when prior approval was not obtained.

    State Budget

    In other news, the state budget continues to evolve. We’ve made great progress in the last few years and are WAY ahead of the projections on LCFF funding and closing the gap between where we were in 2013-2014 and the targets for 2020-2021. At this point, we’re at about 87% of “full funding” from the state. Original budget estimates were that we’d close 73% of the remaining gap next year, but then, in the Governor’s January Budget, the gap closure dropped to 24% – still an increase in funding compared to this year, but not much. COLA was estimated at 1.48%. Then, in the May Revise, the gap closure went back up to 44% and COLA was adjusted to 1.56%. The Governor also proposed over $1 billion dollars in one-time monies for school districts for professional development, new teacher induction, instructional materials, and technology. The only catch was that it wouldn’t be paid out until May 2019. 2019! So… basically useless for long-term planning because who knows what could happen to that money before it actually gets sent to school districts. However, just last night, as details about the final state budget were becoming clear, it started looking like the pay-out date for that billion dollars will be moved up to 2018. Great news, if it happens. The State Legislature will vote on the final budget Thursday, and then our Bargaining Team can begin to analyze the approved state budget and its impact on Lennox. Once they have a better idea of what the district’s 2017-2018 budget will be, they can determine how much of a salary increase would be fair to teachers, balanced with the needs of students, and sustainable by the district. They will strive for as much of a raise as possible, but, in the interest of managing expectations, remember that even with a good state budget, the growth we’ve seen over the last few years is slowing down and salary gains will probably be modest this time around.

    Regardless of what the state budget looks like, the LTA Bargaining Team is committed to improving the learning environment for students and the working conditions for teachers in Lennox. We believe the proposals we’ve made will help meet the needs of teachers and assist the district to better meet the needs of all students. The two teams have scheduled their next bargaining session for Tuesday, August 15, just before we return to school. As is always the case, it is our desire to reach an agreement as soon as possible, but not at the expense of achieving important goals that will benefit our students, help our members, and be consistent with the priorities of the Lennox community.

    download Bargaining Update #2

    download LTA Intitial Proposal (6-14-17)

    download LSD Sunshine

     


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  • 2017-2018 Bargaining Update #1

    Posted on by Brian Guerrero Comment

    The 2017-2018 negotiations cycle has begun! Your LTA Bargaining Team will again be led by veteran negotiator Lisa Rubio (Huerta) and includes Justin Catalán (TOSA), Gary Moore (LMS), Jim Nadler (LMS) and Andrew Staiano (CTA staff). The LSD team will include Hiacynth Martinez (Personnel), Kevin Franklin (Fiscal Services), Polo Marquez (Felton AP) and Steve Andelson (attorney).

    Your LTA Bargaining Team sunshined the contract articles we will be opening this year at the February 28th School Board meeting, and the public hearing on our sunshine will be held on March 14th. We hope the district will sunshine the contract articles they wish to open at that time as well.

    LTA Sunshine Articles:

    ARTICLE 6: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

    ARTICLE 8: ASSIGNMENTS & TRANSFERS

    ARTICLE 9: CLASS SIZE

    ARTICLE 11: EVALUATION

    download the full LTA Sunshine

    As is the case every year, one of the Bargaining Team’s top priorities will be to secure a fair and reasonable increase in our salaries. They will analyze the district’s budget with the help of CTA staff, and will strive for as much of a raise as possible. That being said, in the interest of managing expectations, please be aware that the increases in the district’s budget we’ve seen over the last few years – which have allowed us to achieve raises totaling 11% over the last 3 years – are slowing down. The budget isn’t shrinking (we fought too hard to pass Prop 55 to let that happen!), but it’s not growing much either. Right now the Governor is projecting a COLA (cost of living adjustment) of only 1.48%, and among other costs, the district will have to contribute an additional 2% to our STRS retirement plans next year. You can probably do the math on that and predict what the district is going to propose. We are hoping for stronger budget growth when the Governor presents the May Revise to the state budget (in May), but prepare yourself for the possibility that salary gains will be more modest this time around.

    Your LTA Bargaining Team is committed to improving the learning environment for students and the working conditions for teachers in Lennox. We believe the proposals we will make this year will help meet the needs of teachers and assist the district to better meet the needs of all students. As is always the case, it is our desire to reach an agreement as soon as possible, but not at the expense of achieving important goals that will benefit our students, help our members, and be consistent with the priorities of the Lennox community.

    download LTA Bargaining Update #1


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  • LCAP Meetings…

    Posted on by Brian Guerrero Comment

    It’s LCAP season again!  Time to review and revise the district’s 3-year Local Control and Accountability Plan.  DSLT (the LCAP committee, including a teacher and parent from every school) has already met three times to review progress on our current LCAP goals, but we also need to get feedback from teachers, parents and the community.

    Below are a number of opportunities for teachers, parents and the community to discuss:

    • implementation of the state standards
    • student achievement
    • student attendance and engagement
    • course access
    • school climate and safety
    • parent involvement

    The LCAP is a public document, and there is a link to the current 2016-2019 LCAP left-hand side of the district’s home page, under “Important Links” – http://www.lennox.k12.ca.us/##

    Teachers

    As district employees, you have 5 ways to give your input:

    1) Have a discussion with your DSLT member:

    • Buford – Marichi Fragoza
    • Felton – Ana Marcelletti
    • Huerta – Francis Hernandez
    • Jefferson – David Martin
    • Moffett – Shannon Alvarado
    • LMS – Desiree Dorado

    2) Take the employee LCAP survey.

    3) Attend the official district employee input session.  Wednesday, March 8, 3:30 pm in the PDC at DO.

    4) There will be a discussion at each school for  anyone who wants to talk about the LCAP.

    • Tues, Feb 21, 3:15 pm – Jefferson
    • Weds, Feb 22, 3:15 pm – Huerta
    • Mon, Feb 27, 3:15 pm – Felton
    • Tues, Feb 28, 3:15 pm – Buford
    • Weds, March 1, 3:15 pm – DO
    • Thurs, March 2, 3:15 pm – LMS
    • Weds, March 15, 3:15 pm – Moffett

    5) Attend a School Board meeting in May/June when the LCAP is presented to the School Board and share your thoughts with the Board.

     

    Parents and Community

    As part of LTA’s commitment to parents and the community, and to make sure their voices are also heard by the district, LTA will once again hold parent focus groups at every school and will present the parent input to DSLT and the School Board.

    • Friday, Feb. 17, 10:30 AM – Felton Parent Center
    • Tuesday, Feb. 21, 11:00 AM – LMS Parent Center
    • Thursday, Feb. 23, 10:15 AM – Dolores Huerta Parent Center
    • Friday, Feb. 24, 8:30 AM – Jefferson Parent Center
    • Tuesday, Feb. 28, 8:30 AM – Moffett Parent Center
    • Wednesday, March 1, 10:15 AM – Buford Parent Center

    download the LTA Parent LCAP Flyer

     

    Lots of opportunities for input.  The LCAP is an excellent way for teachers and other district employees, as well as parents and the community, to participate in developing and guiding the district’s vision (and budget) for the next 3 years.  We hope you’ll participate in some way.


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  • Lennox Teachers Association Endorses Local School Bond – Measure Q

    Posted on by Brian Guerrero Comment

    “To improve the quality of education and provide safe, modern schools for all students with funding that cannot be taken by the state; upgrade, modernize and construct classrooms, science labs and libraries; improve student access to technology; repair leaky roofs, outdated electrical and plumbing systems; and improve safety, security and access for students with disabilities, shall Lennox School District issue $25,000,000 of bonds at legal rates, including independent citizens’ oversight and NO money for administrative salaries?”

    After much discussion, consultation with our membership, and research into the potential drawbacks and benefits for the Lennox community, the Representative Council of the Lennox Teachers Association has decided that, yes, it should, and is endorsing the Local School Bond, Measure Q in the upcoming November 8, 2016 election.

    As in many other districts in California, maintenance and facilities in Lennox have had to compete with many other essential school functions like instruction and personnel over the past decade while school funding was reduced by the state.  Fortunately, with the return of adequate funding thanks to Prop 30 and the Local Control Funding Formula, the Lennox School District has been able to substantially invest in new and improved curriculum and professional development, but now it’s time to upgrade our facilities.  The district has already begun increasing the amount of technology available to students and staff, but now we need to improve the infrastructure to support all that technology.  We also need to fix leaky pipes and roofs that have waited for too long and impact the daily learning environment of students.  “Temporary” portables that have been used as classrooms for more than 20 years need to be replaced with permanent, state-of-the-art buildings.  It’s what our students and community deserve.  We can’t educate students for 21st century careers in 20th century schools.

    So, please, join the teachers of Lennox, and vote “yes” on Local School Bond, Measure Q.


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