"Golden Handshake"
The Senate Appropriations Committee is holding hostage a CTA-supported bill that would help districts reduce their overall teacher salary costs by offering senior teachers an early retirement incentive.
The panel has hobbled AB 1207, by Assembly Member Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), with a hostile amendment that would not allow the bill to become law without the simultaneous enactment of a measure that would let districts jam 10% more students in the class size reduction program.
AB 1207 would authorize K-12 and community college districts to extend two additional years of service credit with the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS). The districts would have to pay some actuarial costs, but they would realize immediate and long-term savings because replacement teachers would generally be rated lower on the salary schedule than the retiring teachers.
The Senate Appropriations Committee, led by its chair, Sen. Dede Alpert (D-San Diego), has linked AB 1207 and the class size proposal to leverage teachers and other lawmakers into supporting the boost in student-teacher ratio. Lawmakers are apparently willing to hurt students and force additional cuts at the district level in order to pay back CTA for defeating several class size increase bills.
By holding AB 1207 hostage, the committee is losing the opportunity to protect the jobs of hundreds of teachers and help local districts reduce their costs.
CTA Members:
Urge members of the Senate to support retirement incentives without increasing class sizes. Encourage them to stop the political games and de-link the retirement and class size bills.
Make a point of calling Sen. Alpert at her Sacramento office, 916.445.3952.