President's Report

August 22, 2007

Welcome back to the 2007-2008 school year! Hope everyone had a great summer and an opportunity to rest and learn. The school year has begun and the usual beginning-of-the-year issues have been brought to our attention, including overcrowded classes, additional school service duties and whether or not mandatory staff meetings can be called during days identified as teacher work - day in the calendar. Our contract with the PVUSD specifies a process for addressing overcrowded classes and already sites are putting their committees together to address any overcrowded classes. If you feel your site has increased the number of School Service Duties, without consultation with the teachers as specified in our contract, let your Building rep and Vice President know. We will try to address the issue promptly. As far as having mandatory meetings during the teacher work - day, I have presented the issue to Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Dorma Baker and should have clarification by the end of the week.

You may have received an email from Associate Superintendent of Finance Mary Hart over the summer that stated: “As of now, PVUSD benefits are running a deficit of over $1.3 million for next year. The benefits encroachment for the two prior years has been approximately $2 million per year. Over the next three-year period this comes to $5.3 million in excess of what has been budgeted.” We want to assure you that no decisions will be made regarding benefits with out consultation with our membership. Be sure to read the negotiations update on this issue.

If you’ve had to pay full price for your prescriptions over the summer, there is a reimbursement form you need to complete. Contact Maria Burnett at benefits for more information. She can be reached at maria_burnett@pvusd.net or by phone 831-786-2317. Also, if you have been charged a co-pay amount for Diabetic Test Strips since July 1, 2007 contact Maria Burnett at maria_burnett@pvusd.net and let her know. Express Scripts will be issuing refunds for those charges.

A big thanks to everyone who attended the Townhouse meeting with Sam Farr on Monday August 20, it was clear that the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a big issue for our district. The AFT position on the reauthorization of NCLB was heard loud and clear. For more information regarding the AFT recommendations on the reauthorization of NCLB, please visit http://www.letsgetitright.org.

Finally, we want to invite you to sign up to receive electronic updates and Action Alerts through the PVFT e-Community. You can sign up at the following site: http://www.unionvoice.org/pvftcope/home.html You can also access this site through our website www.pvft.net Hope you all have a great year and we look forward to working with you!

Francisco Rodriguez