Next week, my daughter’s second-grade class at Hirsch Elementary School will put on a show about the importance of character. This week, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Hirsch performed in a musical. And, last month, Hirsch teachers organized a school-wide art show.
Hirsch does not receive special funding to provide these opportunities for artistic expression. Rather, dedicated teachers go beyond their mandated curriculum to supplement the basic requirements. However, these types of opportunities may be lost as a result of budget cuts in Tracy Unified School District.
Hirsch, which was recently named a California Distinguished School for the third time, will lose seven teachers in the next school year. Hirsch class sizes will increase dramatically, as will kindergarten through third-grade class sizes in all the other elementary schools in TUSD.
It saddens me to hear of the cutbacks at Poet Christian School (see “Curtains close on Poet Christian arts classes,” Wednesday Tracy Press). However, those cuts are no more heartbreaking than the loss of seven valued teachers at Hirsch or those lost at other schools. The teachers who remain will struggle to accommodate an increase in the size of their classes, leaving little time for supplemental arts instruction or class performances.
I’m writing this letter because the Tracy Press has not given enough attention to the effect of budget cuts on the bulk of elementary schools in Tracy. In fact, I think the Press article on Poet minimizes the devastating impact that teacher cuts will have on schools.
Many of us — parents and teachers of young children — are fearful about what the next school year will bring. Yet, I am certain that the teachers and parents at Hirsch and other schools will pull together to ensure that our children feel as little of the cuts as possible.
There are 11 elementary schools in TUSD. All of them are special to their students and families, and all need the concern and support of our community at this time.
Reading how the far majority of districts in CA were about "preserving jobs", even 14 token positions was not enough for TEA. These are teachers who have worked for 5 years at TUSD. Some are the Teachers of the Year, Teachers of the Term, and a County Educator of the Year. Sad. As a result our school are in a mess. We have teachers packing up and moving all over the district: learning new "shared" visions at new sites. New personalities: will they be a "fit"? Teachers are non-reelected simply because they are not a "fit". Yet, tenured teachers are expected to "fit". What a mess!
Title 1 (low performing) schools have worked hard to find the personnel who are willing to put in that extra effort: now being uprooted. This could all have been prevented.
What is the positive: Teachers know clearly how their union is ran. Next year will be about changes. Those teachers brought back will help keep the fight going. Next year when more are being cut: more will join the ranks of fighting for fairness and compassion. One school closure away from going 6-7 years on the list. Have those teachers got involved this year?
VOTE NO on Tentative Agreement vote this Thursday.
The vote on the new contract by all teachers in the district will be held on Thursday, May 27th.
It is true, however, that the proposed contract does not include furloughs. However, if enough teachers vote against the contract, it is possible furloughs may be brought back to the table as another contract would have to be negotiated that a majority of teachers will accept. As it stands, 107 teachers (including myself) received official layoff notices in the mail this weekend, and will be out of work (but at least on a callback list should an opening happen) after May 27th.
I guess the teacher's union leaders aren't interested in saving the younger teachers.
It would save every teacher's job in California.
If I were governor I would refocus and eliminate Unions to save the teachers.
This never should have happened in California. Union dues were once something that we paid to help us out.
Now they are hurting us.
And there you have it. The decision to take Poet off of the "untouchable" list was NOT about adding 4 more teachers to the layoff list in exchange for 2 counselors. It was instead about sharing aprox. $400K of the district's limited general fund resources among ALL schools as opposed to one. Union leadership, et al has TOTALLY misread and misrepresented this decision. In addition, one needs to ask if perhaps, seeing how the move overturned the Superintendent's final cut list, Dr. Franco's "revenge" was to take any serious furlough negotiations off the table. Teachers are being asked to vote on a tenative agreement that does not include furloughs and effectively cements the "status quo" for the next 2 years. If what I hear is correct, that was the only offer extended by the district negotiating team immediately following the March 30th board meeting. Furloughs, if they were seriously proposed by the union (and I have my doubts), were off the table. Keeping our current contract without furloughs sounds good until one considers that this seals the fate of those laid off, ensures that many schools will have combo classes and no CSR, and quite possibly sets up even more layoffs for next round of budget cuts. Don't like that? Well, then you can vote "no", invalidate the tenative agreement, and set the ball in motion for the district to call in an arbitrator while the district asks for furloughs, salary freezes, etc. without tying them to jobs saved. I'm not saying I have any inside knowledge that they'll do it, but it is a possible consequence of a "no" vote. Regardless it puts teachers in a bad situation. All because people are trying to flex their muscles after having their wrists slapped by "mommy". There are no winners here.
Our future is worth less than a Union contract?
All that could have prevented this was enough teachers to take a stand. Their union membership survey took a stand and supported furloughs. The School Board took a stand and said they would save 31 jobs if furloughs. The School Supt took a stand, and placed in writing that the district would save jobs for concessions. The Union leadership took a stand, and said puublically at every board and membership meeting, "Trust me, I will work hard for furloughs". The district negotiators, as disclosed by the union, made the reasonable offers based on solid math. Take the savings of any number of furlough days, divide by average teacher salary, and that is how many jobs saved (go for 6 days, save them all due to CSR state subsidy).
But wait: we are voting for NO furloughs! Who broke the promise?
Where is the uproar in the Tracy community? Remember, it takes a village-- we may not be able to fix Washington, but to allow such a misuse of public dollars in Tracy!?!? Imagine if noone listened to Paul Revere's warnings....