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SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco teachers are set for a strike vote this week over the district's demands to cut $30 million from teachers' salaries and benefits over the next two years.
The union wants a 2 percent raise for teachers instead
The 6,000 members of United Educators of San Francisco will take the first of two required strike votes Thursday, less than a week after the district declared an impasse in contract talks. If a majority agrees, the union leadership would have the ability to call a strike if negotiations stall completely.
There are only three weeks left in the school year, but that's enough time to call a strike, said union President Dennis Kelly.
The breakdown in bargaining follows years of frequent, congenial cooperation between the two sides. Together, they have challenged the Legislature to boost school spending. Combined, they passed the Proposition: A parcel tax in 2008 to raise $28 million per year, mostly to boost teacher salaries.
Now, after five straight years of budget cuts, the two sides have turned on each other, the cumulative effects of layoffs, furlough days, a move to larger class sizes, elimination of summer school and more in an era of budget shortfalls.
"Things are real ugly," Kelly said.
Money squeeze
The latest falling-out comes as school districts across California face a $5 billion loss in funding if voters in November reject the governor's proposed tax increases. At best, school districts will see the same funding from the state in 2012-13 as they've seen this year.
Bluster is always a part of bargaining. But this time, the two sides are locked in a topsy-turvy world without a middle ground.
"So many of these different programs where the savings are being realized eventually come out of the teachers' hides," said Louis Freedberg, executive director of EdSource, a nonprofit education think tank that is releasing a report Tuesday on the effect of such ongoing stress factors on state schools. "Presumably, the teachers union is going to draw a line in the sand.">
To hear it from the union, San Francisco schools are sitting on an $80 million pile of cash that could pay for a nice 2 percent raise if stingy district officials would loosen their grip on the checkbook.
The district says there is no extra pile of money. The state budget is still in recessionary disarray and that means $80 million will have to be cut from the district's budget over the next two years - $30 million in teacher concessions and $50 million from the central office, district officials say.
The district's estimates are grim: Overall, the district would get $5,242 per student under the governor's current budget, down from $5,776 in 2008. If the $5 billion in cuts are triggered, city schools would lose another $370 per student.
"No matter what we say, they're under the illusion there's all this money out there," said Superintendent Carlos Garcia. "I don't know what to say. They don't believe us."
Furlough days
Bargaining began a few months ago. The district's current proposal includes a variety of cuts, including one that would save $7 million in each of the next two years by forcing teachers to take four unpaid furlough days this year and next.
Garcia said he wants another five furlough days each year if the voters don't approve the tax increases in November.
The superintendent also wants to eliminate teacher sabbaticals and the extra planning time Advanced Placement teachers now get each day. Combined, that would save $3.5 million annually.
Reducing teacher training would save another $3.1 million.
And cutting pay and health benefits of full-time substitutes would save another $1 million.
In addition, the district wants to increase class sizes from 22 to 25 students in grades K-3, phased in over a few years.
"Asking us to choose between increasing class size over furlough, it's kind of like saying, 'Do you want to cut off an arm or do you want to cut off a leg?' ", said Darcie Chan Blackburn, a Sheridan Elementary first-grade teacher. "Kids lose either way."
However, making those $30 million in cuts would save a number of teachers from being laid off before the next school year, district officials said. In March, 362 teachers, counselors and teacher aides received pink slips, many of which would be rescinded if the two sides agreed to a contract that included the proposed cuts, Garcia said.
"We value our employees," he said. "All of us hate doing this."
Where's the money?
Union officials say the district is budgeting too conservatively, holding onto more than $50 million in cash reserves in addition to $30 million in other extra revenue. That's money that could eliminate layoffs and the need for furloughs, Kelly said.
To be clear, the union's claim that the district is sitting on $80 million is a bit of a stretch.
The $6 million in rainy-day funds, from a city account for lean economic times, hasn't been officially allocated to the district by city supervisors yet. And the $56 million in reserves cited by the union is money the district is spending, in part, this year to keep teachers in their classrooms.
Another $11 million, according to the union, is available from the sale of a former school, but the property hasn't sold yet and even if it does, the district would be required by law to use the money for facilities purposes only.
The district's proposed cuts would help cushion it against more state cuts over the next two years, but that's something the union doesn't believe is necessary.
"Don't call for sacrifice if you don't need it," Kelly said. "You play the hand that you have. If you've got the money now, you go ahead without these kinds of cuts."
Jill Tucker, San Francisco Gate, Tuesday, 8 may 2012
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OREGON
Eagle Point teachers strike; classes canceled
EAGLE POINT — Teachers and other school employees went on strike Tuesday in Eagle Point, leading the Southern Oregon district to cancel classes for the rest of the week while negotiations continued.
It’s the second school strike of the spring in Oregon, which hadn’t seen a teacher walkout since 2006.
The strike began at 6 a.m. in Jackson County School District 9, said Dave Carrell, acting president of the Eagle Point Education Association. Negotiators who had worked all night continued to bargain. “Something still could happen and we certainly hope it does,” Carrell said.
The district has 328 employees, including 186 teachers. It covers the town of Eagle Point and surrounding areas. It has 11 schools and about 4,100 students.
The union had set the strike date in advance. In preparation for the walkout, the district northeast of Medford previously canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. It had planned to resume classes today with substitute teachers.
After the walkout, though, the district announced that classes would resume next week. Only a few activities, including varsity sports, were expected to continue as scheduled.
The two sides have differences on pay, working hours and subcontracting jobs.
District human resources director Mike Remick said he believes some key issues have been resolved, especially subcontracting.
The two sides have traded unfair labor practice allegations, the Medford Mail Tribune reported. Teachers have accused the district of harassing employees with questions about whether they intended to strike. The administration alleged the union broke its contract by using the district’s email system to make strike preparations.
The last contract talks in 2009 were settled at the last minute after an all-night bargaining session.
On Monday, administrators asked teachers to collect their personal belongings from classrooms and to turn in district property such as keys and electronics. “We really have no way of knowing how long we’re going to be gone,” teacher Adrienne Dunkin said after packing several plastic containers of belongings into her car.
In late April, teachers in the Gresham-Barlow district east of Portland went on strike for a few hours before reaching a settlement. In the Reynolds district, also east of Portland, teachers voted Tuesday to authorize a strike May 21 if no contract agreement is reached by then.
The Bulletin, 11 May 2012