Say No to Teacher Contract (GUEST OPINIONS)

I received the following email regarding the vote at tonight's Board meeting, and below it, some excerpts from another:

Do parents know what is at stake tomorrow? If the board of education votes yes on the teacher contract tomorrow night, then it will ascertain that only the teachers will not feel the hits of the coming budget cuts and the coming years. Is that fair? I don't think so. In the same meeting they will be discussing more cuts that will impact the students, and then will vote to keep status quo for the teachers? Other districts around the state are going to have to impose pay cuts across all employee groups and even mandatory furloughs, shortened school years and more. (link to LA Schools proposal and LA Times article: LA Unified asks union to ok furlough days)

How can MDUSD justify this vote for the teachers in light of another upcoming round of MILLIONS in budget CUTS? I think Strange, Eberhart and Whitmarsh are being "too" loyal to the teacher union that no doubt helped at least two of them be elected. They voted for the pay raises last month. They are now going to vote to freeze salaries too? While the students will suffer with possible school closures and more program cuts, not to mention the sports, music, electives and class sizes - they now get to bear the brunt of more. All while the teachers get a guarantee.

State workers, and other corporations are reducing pay, enforcing furloughs, freezing bonuses and pay raises, instituting closures of major entities for days every month (DMV, courts, etc), and we want to guarantee nothing will happen to the teachers salary? I say STOP. We love our teachers. But even the union is throwing a segment of their own teachers under the bus. Who gets laid off when schools close? Yes, but not as many as will benefit from the freeze. Or maybe they are banking on the fact that fewer schools will have to fit more students and therefore absorb the teachers? Again, who gets hurt there? Families, students and communities.

I just wanted to voice that to you as I love our teachers, but as a parent it would be impossible for me to go public. My husband has been forced to take furlough days. We've lost all his overtime. I'm having to get a part time job. Companies, the State and others have to make hard choices to keep the entire entity solvent. How can a district so large as MDUSD look to guaranteeing anything for anyone at this point? So I hope that you will post this to educate others, as to what this vote really means. And a parcel tax? Are they nuts? The paper said that a parcel tax will avoid some of the upcoming cuts. But what about the cuts already done? Will my son be able to play his last year of football next year at CHS? Will my daughter still be able to try out for soccer as a freshman? What about special ed? Spending a million to learn where to cut even more? Oh, but the teachers get to maintain, while the rest of us take it for the team... no thanks.

And another:

Committing to the current contract for an additional three years will tie the hands of this district to cut everything from the students while maintaining a hands off approach to salary cuts. No one wants to cut salaries but when people all over this state are out of work, taking furlough days, and facing salary cuts, employees in this district can not be guaranteed business as usual. The district salaries make up 82% of the unrestricted budget…. Tonight we will be talking about closing schools and cutting programs on top of the items ... that have already been cut. Again cuts on the backs of the students. In Los Angeles they are looking at 4 furlough days this year for every employee and a 12% across the board pay cut next year.

....by rolling over the contract the teachers will still receive their stepped increases.

... by approving this contract the teachers will only be affected if we are faced with receivership, everything else goes first. Also please note that it is not just the teachers, I understand this will set a precedent for all bargaining unit contracts.

Parents should email the board before Tuesday's meeting, and plan to attend if they can and speak during public comment:

www.mdusd.org/boe

gary@mdusd.net

paul@mdusd.net

mayolk@aol.com

sherry@mdusd.net

dickallen_dallen@yahoo.com

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You can view the budget cuts that are being proposed tonight on the Board Agenda. There is both a powerpoint and an excel spreadsheet you can click and view at Item #17.7. Some of the items on the next cut list are:

• Eliminate 4 FTE remaining middle and high school librarian positions (impact: libraries will close)
• Eliminate 3.6 librarian FTE associated with Elementary Reduced Class Size
• Reduce all Special Education services that are not mandated by state or federal law or included in the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP).
• Close schools. Cost savings would result from the consolidation of administrative and classified positions and in utility savings if the campus is not used. At Elementary Schools, following positions would be reduced: Principal, Office Manager, Elementary Head Custodian, PM Custodians, Elementary School Secretary.
• Eliminate Parent Subsidized Busing Program (Impact: Busing to Mt. Diablo High School and Delta View Elementary would continue, all other home to school busing would cease.)
• Reduce Custodial Substitute Policy (Impact: Some basic classroom cleaning would not be completed)
• Increase minimum class size to 28 students or 80% of contractual maximum. (Impact: May eliminate AP or other low enrollment courses)
• Delay purchase of textbooks and materials for language arts adoption for one year. Transfer funds to unrestricted fund balance. (Impact: May have budget impact in later years.)
• Reduce unrestricted material and supply budgets (Impact: Reduced funding for paper products, landscaping supplies, and instructional supplies.)

There are several other items on the agenda, some require negotiation with the various employee entities and others are being further investigated. So take a look and be educated as to what is to come in our district. If you disagree with it, step up and let the Board know.

MDUSD Parcel Tax Community Meeting

Interested in the next MDUSD Parcel Tax effort? Attend the "Local School Community Meeting" coming up on Monday, December 14th. At this meeting, you'll hear the results of a recent community polling effort as well as learn how you can help.



Each school Principal has been invited. They have each been asked to bring a parent rep and a teacher rep... if you are interested in this renewed push for funding for our local schools, please talk to your Principal and plan to attend and help the effort at your school. EVERYONE is welcome!



Local School Community Meeting

Monday, December 14, 2009 at 7pm

Willow Creek Center, 1026 Mohr Lane, Concord

MDUSD Board Meeting Tuesday 11/17 7:30pm

Here is the agenda for Tuesday's board meeting.


And a recap from Theresa Harrington of the CCTimes as to the "hot topics" to be discussed tonight. Mt. Diablo School Board to Vote on Staff Changes, Propose No Teacher Pay Increase through 2013.

Revealed in the last couple of weeks are three major Dent Center retirements including our Interim Superintendent, Richard Nicoll (which we knew), an Associate Superintendent Alan Young, and the Assistant Superintendent in charge of Personnel, Gail Isserman.

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MDUSD makes it tough for volunteers

So, we have increased class sizes, budget cuts, decreases in everything from support and aides to supplies and cleaning. NOW we have a shortage of volunteers? Why you ask? Well, because a district policy that has been in place for years, has now taken a new turn.

If you read in the CC Times article today, you'll see that Times writer, Theresa Harrington, wrote about something many of us already knew. The district fingerprinting process is in crisis. Personally, I've volunteered in this district for 10 years and have never been pressured to be fingerprinted. The article even notes that in supervised conditions (i.e. working in a classroom, library or on a field trip), you could volunteer without the need to fingerprint. It was only the "extended contact" volunteers that needed to be printed.

Perhaps among school sites, it was also a "don't ask , don't tell" policy? Not sure. But now, in the midst of the biggest education fiscal disaster ever, they are making it harder than ever for parents to volunteer.

The article notes that schools are having to actually cancel field trips as parents can not get fingerprinted in time. They are now said to be booking fingerprint appointments into February. Imagine that? Parents can not even accompany their own student(s) on a field trip where there is teacher supervision. Unbelieveable isn't it?

And, ummm, Greg Rolen, seriously? Did he really say this (courtesy of CCTimes)?

Greg Rolen, the district's general counsel, said the stricter rules help ensure the safety of students because the district now has criminal background checks done by the state Department of Justice for all volunteers. But he did not bring the changes to the board for a public discussion and said he was not sure what was causing the backlog.

So Mr. Rolen, on his own (?) , enacts a stricter policy, doesn't even bring it to the board and actually WONDERS why this is causing a backlog? I'm sorry, I do like Mr. Rolen... but this must have been taken out of context. Parents want to volunteer. Schools need volunteers. You've got what? Over 30,000 students? With what? Upwards of 40,000 parents and caregivers? And you didn't think that having a new STRICTER policy of fingerprinting would cause any kind of a backlog? It was already backlogged months last year. Did Mr. Rolen know that? Surely not all 40,000+ parents/caregivers will volunteer. But even if only 10% do, that is 4,000 volunteers to be printed. Assuming you can do 20 a day that is 40 weeks of just straight fingerprinting. 20 a day , 5 days a week. With holidays, summer, breaks, etc we don't even have 40 weeks in the year to staff such an effort. So I ask again, did Mr. Rolen really wonder what is causing the backlog?

So yes, my math is loose and messy. I may be exaggerating that we have 4,000 parents, caregivers and community members willing to volunteer (I hope not though given the size of our district). But, I think you get my gist.

For schools to have to cancel events, when these volunteers are not left unsupervised with the students, is what is "unacceptable."

Dr. Nicoll, the interim Superintendent, released this in a memo to management:

The backlog of volunteers waiting to be fingerprinted has reached unacceptable levels. Effective immediately, we will allow volunteers to assist at school subject to the following conditions:

-The volunteer must have passed a tuberculosis screening test.
-The volunteer must have an appointment to be fingerprinted. Volunteers failing to fulfill this obligation will not be allowed to continue.
-The volunteer must be under the supervision of a certificated employee at all times.

Volunteers who have not met these conditions may work in school classrooms, pods, or outside areas when supervised. Volunteers who drive students on a field trip, tutor students in locations where no staff is present, or have any individualized contact with students in an unsupervised setting must be fingerprinted prior to performing their service.

Dr. Nicoll continues and lets us know they are working on the possibility of the County Office of Education assisting in the fingerprinting efforts. They will let us know when/if that happens though it will be more expensive per the CCTimes article.

While this interim solution seems to be an effort to relieve the stresses at the school sites, but allowing more to volunteer.. who polices this? Do the school sites have to confirm with the district EACH and EVERY parent who wants to volunteer? Confirm they have an appointment scheduled? And confirm they have a clear TB test? Does the district send a list to each school site? How does a parent "prove" they have an appointment and clear tb? Maybe someone can shed light on this aspect.

So, to conclude, if you are a parent and wish to volunteer in your child's classroom, get an appointment right away to be fingerprinted. Contact the district at 682-8000, ext. 4153 . You must also complete the attached FORM (available in english and spanish) and bring it with you. You must also bring evidence of a clear TB test result done within 60 days of your fingerprint appointment. You must also bring exact cash, or money order for $32.00. Your TB results stay valid for 4 years, and your fingerprinting stays valid for the duration of your volunteering within the district.

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No Parents at Homecoming

As many might have guessed, there were NO parents at the Richmond Homecoming. What a sad state of affairs and quite possibly it is what strikes at the heart of the issue in Richmond overall. Where I am, teachers have to have random drawings to choose parents to attend trips and assemblies as "too many" ask to attend.

From the Contra Costa Times article: "Richmond High struggles perennially to engage its families, most of them residents of diverse but poor flatland neighborhoods in San Pablo, unincorporated North Richmond and parts of Central Richmond. Three years ago, a principal even tried a doorbell campaign. It remains difficult to sustain parental commitment, Franco admitted."

Knowing the above, and knowing what was further stated in the Times article about parents and their problems with younger children at home, why doesn't the school play a more active role in TRYING to get parents out. For example, why not stagger the homecomings in the same town for different nights and ask for older student volunteers of the "other school" to babysit for parents (with adult supervision), so that they can volunteer - perhaps an onsite classroom can be set up with movies , popcorn and other activities for children. That is just one of many solutions I could see being offered. Provide solutions to the "excuses" and MAYBE you'll get more involvement. (Of course, I could be completely underestimating this community and perhaps even with solutions, they'll choose not to participate.)

So thinking of everything that went wrong in Richmond (no parents, minimal supervision, police not patrolling perimeters, no checks on non students, and seemingly no hard and fast rules about coming and going), with what happened in Pleasant Hill at College Park's Homecoming:

(again from the Times) "Such high schools as Concord and College Park call the parents of students who don't show up for a dance for which they purchased tickets. No students may leave until the dance ends without calling their parents. Those who walk to their cars in the parking lot are escorted."

So perhaps, the easiest solution for now in Richmond, is that without parent commitment and involvement in a safe school environment, dances and events like this must cease - if only for student safety. What a sad state of affairs, don't you think? I hope this was a wake up call for parents everywhere. The schools can't do it all. Though I do still place some blame on the school for this one. If they had inadequate supervision, and had no intention of monitoring students coming and going, and didn't communicate with security their expectations of perimeter patrols - then just stop until you get your act together.

What happened in Richmond should never have happened, may never have happened, if the proper safety protocol was in place. And no I don't blame the behavior of those guilty parties on the school - but it was a perfect storm of opportunity that night. An opportunity that could've been lessened or eliminated had a few more safety measures been taken. El Cerrito seems to be on the right track:

"Cameras and gates will not solve the problem. You've got to have a parent presence. You can't expect a bankrupt district to have the people to send. We have to be the people," said Michele Jawad, a longtime parent volunteer in El Cerrito schools and a member of the school district's safety committee."

"We just have to have more parents, grandparents, retired people, neighbors involved. They have to step up for the kids. There's no excuse. If kids don't have parents (available), then others should be willing to step in," Jawad said. "The days of sending kids to school and forgetting about them are gone."

It seems that Richmond needs a Michele Jawad to step up, I hope from this tragedy, Richmond gets many just like her.

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CVHS v. YVHS *IS* Wells Fargo's GAME OF THE WEEK

Over 53,000 votes cast! Fabulous showing of school spirit and pride in MDUSD Sports!

Congratulations to both schools! Good luck at the game!

Richmond Homecoming: Could it Happen Here?

Who else is absolutely sickened by the news continuing to come out of Richmond? And for me, as a parent of a high school student, it is not just the horrific nature of the crime, and the bystanders who did nothing.... it is the school that is worrying me too.

From the CNN article ,

She had come alone to the Richmond High School homecoming dance, gorgeous in a sparkling purple dress and faux diamond baubles. The DJ played salsa, meringue, rap. When the teenager disappeared, her friends thought she had gone home early.

But we all know now, she didn't go home early, she was outside, ON SCHOOL GROUNDS being brutally beaten and raped for over 2 hours. I won't even go into all the nuances of the case as I've learned them, as you all have probably read the stories and heard the news too. But what scares me is the question, SHOULDN'T WE BE ABLE TO COUNT ON OUR CHILDREN BEING SAFE AT A SCHOOL EVENT?

What happened to the days when once you checked into a dance you could not leave. What happened to student safety being #1 priority. Why is it now being noted that there were chaperones, at least one asst principal and security officers there and not one was patrolling the grounds? It is also noted that strangers (non students) were seen on campus and as quoted from one of the victim's friends, "I looked outside of the gym and I saw 12 to 15 guys, sitting there, with no IDs," Baker said at the hearing. "The officers -- not only did they not check the IDs of those students or men sitting outside of of our campus, but the security officers who are employed here did no ... checking either. The assistant principal looked outside and actually saw those men, and did nothing about it."

In addition, how could it be ok that a school board member was seen on the news a few days ago acknowledging that school security cameras do not work? Yes, it's a big campus as he said, but you have security officers, chaperones, and school personnel and no one is monitoring the grounds during a big dance? In an area known for drugs, gangs and crime - no one is watching what is going on, or as stated above, questioning those who do not belong?

And unfortunately, this brings up so many other larger questions, like WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE that not only allow a crime like this to be committed, but who seemingly turned a blind eye to the signs something was amiss (strangers/non students on campus).

Could this happen here? How are our dances monitored? Are kids allowed to come and go? Do they allow non students on campus? Is there security or school personnel patrolling?

What about the unthinkable moral trainwreck? Could kids in our own schools just stand and watch something like this happen and do nothing? Could kids in our own schools do such a thing? I want to think no way. But ?? Why is Richmond different? What was the "perfect storm" that made this happen there, on that night, to that girl?

This was a school sponsored event. And as a parent , it makes me angry. Maybe I'll make some of you angry with my opinions here, but I think that school , the school officials, security and the district needs to be held accountable for doing nothing to prevent an unsafe environment for children. Children who just wanted to fit in, go to a dance, have fun, hang with their friends. There is no excuse. School officials didn't make this happen, but did they do enough to prevent it? I say no based on the information I have now... your thoughts?

Prayers go out to this girl , her friends and her family. I hope for speedy recovery and that she can rise above this horror. I can't even imagine..... it's too hard to even wrap my brain around all this....

VOTE now for MDUSD Sports!

I was notified there is a very important vote going on today in support of some local sports!!! No, not JUST the school board meeting tonight whereas the board will be voting whether or not to continue sports... but for KTVU's Game of the Week! Ygnacio Valley High vs. Clayton Valley High is competing against other local teams for the honor. As of 10am this morning only about 30 votes separate 1st and 2nd place, and that is out of over 8000 total votes so far...

Vote for YVHS vs CVHS as KTVU's game of the week and each school could earn $500. Here's the link:

http://www.ktvu.com/sportsfocus/index.html

The local game is TIED with another game so vote early and often as they say!

And, if you'd like to see the board meeting discussion tonight where fundraising efforts will be recapped and the continuation of sports will be voted on, see the links on the right sidebar where you can be routed to tonight's agenda, and link to where you can watch it all happen live. Or go to http://www.mdusd.net/.


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Drugs & Alcohol - Do local schools have a problem?

Does MDUSD have a problem with drugs and alcohol ON campus? Does it seem the drug and alcohol problem is worse in any one particular high school than another? I received an email recently, and it quite simply was very disturbing. But I think it needs to be talked about, and I want to hear from YOU! Is this an ongoing problem being swept under the rug? Is it the problem of just a particular school, or many? I've left the name of the high school out as I fear this will get into a clash of "who's better than who" or elicit specific criticisms of certain groups of kids, towns or other irrelevant issues.

More to the point, I want to address the problem overall, as it appears to be a serious problem and I'm not sure what is being done about it.

". . . parents have no clue what they’re getting themselves into at (certain) HS. I feel that there should be a “wake-up call” meeting to alert and prepare parents in a very realistic way. There is a TON of drug and alcohol use outside of and during school. Its more than what I could’ve imagined. The school doesn’t seem to be hard enough on the kids. There’s very low school spirit and it’s seen as “nerdy” if you don’t drink or smoke. Maybe I’m being biased because my child goes there, but I’ve talked to other parents and its not like that in other schools. Most of us are totally blind to it, really. I know I was. Oh, and did you know that there’s no smell when they drink Vodka?"

and

"There are always fights and I’m telling you.. kids are popping pills IN class, stoned during school, and drinking – some kids come to school with vodka in their backpacks! Ecstasy is the big thing right now. I don’t know… I feel like my blinders have been taken off and in talking to other parents, they’re experiencing a lot of the same stuff."

So, is it worse over the last few years, than in years past?

Are drugs and alcohol issues LESS prominent in some schools than others, or are they actually used less by students of some schools? How about in the schools known for more of a college track? This parent continued,

"At the (other local schools) high-achiever/popular type kids aren’t the ones coming to school buzzed/high… it’s the losers or the kids in the “middle”, but at (this school) EVERYONE does it… it’s the popular, high achiever kids that think it’s cool and they can function high and its looked down upon if you don’t do that…. "

So, I turn to google:

In the Clayton Pioneer dating back to 2006, drugs were mentioned by the Student Reporter: A Hyphy Movement 'Thizzing, or using the drug Ecstasy, is popular within they Hyphy culture.'

Earlier this year, another Clayton Valley High student, as Student Reporter for the Pioneer, wrote in her article, "Ecstasy is New Epidemic..." . The article sparked outrage from many sectors, fellow students, parents and educators alike. But is it really new? Clearly not when it was mentioned 3 years ago related to the same Clayton Valley High School.

And as I said, not to focus on just one school, and so you don't think it's just Clayton Valley, we found an article chronicling the recovery of "Sam," a Walnut Creek teen's road from meth. During this multi part series, it asked where Sam got her drugs:

During the nine months of turmoil, Sam never had any problems getting meth. It was cheap - the going rate for one night's worth for two was $40 - if she had to pay at all. Sam says friends at Northgate High School often just gave it to her.

"It's everywhere," she says. "You can't escape from it."

In a recent Times article, this article profiles a former, now recovering, DLS athlete / student who came back to visit De La Salle in hopes that his story will keep the students on right path:

A 1988 graduate of De La Salle and the baseball team's MVP as a senior, Curran has traveled a different and much more dangerous road than many of the athletes who have attended the school — a harrowing 20-year journey to the depths of nowhere and back.

Curran became an alcoholic. Heavy beer consumption began while he was at De La Salle.

In doing a simple google Internet search I found dozens of references of local drug and alcohol use among local teens, and at teen parties. This article from 2008 notes:

"Most high school parties in Martinez feature booze, weed, Ecstasy and acid," one Alhambra High senior said. Just some parties?

"No, most of them," said Greg Kearney, an 18-year-old Alhambra High School senior.
"Parents don't really know about them. When parents go out of town is when they usually happen," he said.

Of course we know of the tragedy in Orinda. Joseph Loudon (a Miramonte HS student) died during an unsupervised teen party, and in this article originally in the Oakland Tribune in 2007, it is noted that:

Correlating state Healthy Kids Survey results for school districts in Alameda and Contra Costa counties with data on free lunches that indicates relative levels of wealth in school districts, reveals youthful substance abuse is more common in the East Bay's richer areas.

More-affluent districts generally had higher rates of juniors who admitted to binge drinking or consumed alcohol within 30 days of the survey. They also had higher rates of juniors who admitted having been high from drugs.

Parents in the Lamorinda area united in 2006 after an out of control New Years eve party in Moraga. This was profiled in Diablo Magazine, Teenage Wasteland.

The parent who originally sent this information to me asked, are we , as parents, sticking our heads in the sand? Are we ignoring what is under our nose? What to do?

What is being done? Anything? Are school administrators ignoring the problems? Are parents? Are all schools facing these issues? Please be honest. As parents, we need to create solutions and not create divides by thinking this does not happen to your school, or in your community, because it does.

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For more information:
Tonight, Sunday, October 18th, Nick News with Linda Ellerbee will be airing "Rehab, a sobering look at kids and addiction." The show will air on Nick at 8pm Pacific time. See more at Nick.com. This is a show aimed at kids. So, watch it with them. It may be "too young" for the group we're talking about here (high school), but it's never too early to start talking about it. Believe me, if you've got middle school students or older, they've heard it before.

Save Our Sports 5k and Campus Clean Up Day at CVHS

Looking for a couple of great ways to get involved in your local school community this weekend? For supporters of Clayton Valley High School, they are inviting students, parents, neighbors, everyone to come take part in the Campus Clean-Up Day this Sunday, October 18th starting at noon. Check out CVHS's website for more details HERE.

And, if you have atheletes in your home, even if they're not in high school yet, did you know that the District sports program is in very real jeopardy? Please come out and support Sports in our district, also on Sunday, October 18th for the UMDAF (United Mt. Diablo Athletic Foundation), 5k Walk/Run at Newhall Park in Concord. Details can be found on the UMDAF website HERE.

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