When CTA negotiated that extra $1.84 billion for California's public schools, it was understood by everyone that the money would make double-digit salary raises possible for teachers throughout the state.
Some school districts got the word, but far too many have managed to misinterpret, misunderstand and just plain refuse to get the message.
An example of a school district determined to cheat teachers out of the raises they deserve is Chino Valley, a suburban district 40 miles east of Los Angeles, where 1,400 teachers are locked in a contract battle with an incredible school board and a district superintendent, George Bloch, who is well known for his anti-teacher attitude and his strong dislike for CTA. Chino is offering teachers a 6 percent raise when districts around them are agreeing to the double-digit increases intended by the state budget.
At the school board meeting I attended, President Rossana Mitchell moved and other board members voted to hold all future negotiations with the teachers in public. This is such an outrageously inappropriate action that I was astonished to see an entire governing board accede to it. The board president gave every evidence of feeling proud of herself and her actions; her motion included many self-serving statements that were startling, to say the least. She was quoted in the local newspaper the next day as saying, "The board could spend the money any way they wanted." Obviously, Ms. Mitchell has little faith in voters or teachers and is ignorant of the role an elected board of education is required to play.
In my talk to the board, I reminded them of how that extra money from the $1.84 billion got into their budget. I explained that the 11 percent increase over the constitutional guarantee of 40 percent for education was not one-time money, that it was ongoing, unrestricted, and intended for debt reduction. I might as well have been speaking about ancient Greek history, since it was obvious that the members of the board didn't know - and apparently didn't care - what the debt reduction meant.
One member went on and on about how debt-reduction money had to be used to reduce "the debt." What this poor uninformed man did not seem to understand was that "debt reduction" was money that was owed to the Chino district by the state from the Pete Wilson years. This was money they'd never counted on or planned on being paid, and now they were actually getting it, thanks to the work of CTA - but this assemblage of elected guardians of public education seemed to think their own schools were in debt! Chino Valley does not have a debt; it is against the law for school districts to run a deficit budget. The board is supposed to know that. Why don't they?
It is hard to believe that someone this ignorant could get elected to any position, and I suspect the voters in his district are having second thoughts about him and the other members of a board which seems not to know what to do with money that could go toward improving the schools they are supposed to be helping. It is true, as the old saying goes, that "It is wiser to keep your mouth shut and let everyone think you are stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." Those who guide education should be educated!
I wish that Chino was the only one, but unfortunately it is merely a good (or rather, bad) example. Another is Santee in San Diego County where the board is offering 4 percent.
This is happening in numerous districts around the state. As usual, boards of education are backing the administrative bureaucrats who budget their salary increases and fund their perks first, leaving teacher salaries and classroom improvements to subsist on after-thoughts and leftovers.
We all sympathize with the Chino and Santee teachers. We solidly support them in their battle with ignorance, egotism, and teacher-scorning superintendents. CTA will work with Chino and Santee teachers and all teachers in California in their struggle for a fair contract and for the proper use of the bonus money which all of us worked so hard to get.
Fancy speeches about how valuable teachers are must be followed up by proof that the speakers are sincere. Teachers must be the top priority in school budgets in fact as well as in rhetoric. We believe the October Newsweek article was correct when it said, "Teachers are the heart of schools, the single most important factor in a student's success. ... Many studies have shown that kids learn best in schools where teachers feel respected and connected to their colleagues and community."
Boards of education in districts everywhere must take those words to heart. Furthermore, boards of education and superintendents must remember that they are not teachers; they are auxiliaries, helpers for the teachers. In the true education hierarchy, teachers outrank and work harder than every member of the bureaucracy, every member of any board of education. That's because education is about teachers in classrooms with students. It is not about bureaucrats and boards of education.
And make no mistake about it: CTA is going to work endlessly and powerfully to ensure that teachers have fair contracts which properly reflect their importance. That is what we are fighting for, and we won't quit until we win.
Hang in there, Chino and Santee teachers - we are with you!
