December 11 , 2007 Volume 12, Issue 3

President’s Report

A big Thanks to all who attended the November 7th Board of Trustees meetings, especially those of you who addressed the board!!! We need to let the Trustees know that we deserve a raise because WE ARE WORTH MORE!!!

Contract Campaign:
The contract campaign committee has been meeting regularly at the PVFT office. The purpose of this committee is to coordinate activities that support our negotiations team in their efforts to improve our wages and working conditions. To learn more about the activities being planned, please contact the PVFT office and ask what you and/or your site can do to help improve our salaries and working conditions.

By Laws Committee:
The By Laws Committee has been looking into various issues regarding our By Laws including our governance structure and representation at the various levels of governance. A proposed Constitution and By Laws was presented to the membership at the December 10 Building Rep/Gen Membership meeting. It is available on our website www.pvft.net so everyone has an opportunity to review and give input regarding the proposal. If you would like to review our current By Laws, you can visit http://www.pvft.net/html/contract.html#bylaws Your building reps will have hard copies available.

Site Visitations:
Over the last two months I have been visiting as many sites as I can. This has been very helpful to me in familiarizing myself with issues that are unique to specific sites and with issues that go across sites such as the lack of substitute teachers. I have prioritized attending schools under the District Alternative Governance (DAG) Committee, attending as many site briefings as I can. Many of you have asked why I am not part of DAG and here are my reasons: 1) I consider the act of going from class to class to be a supervisory activity. As a union member, I have no business supervising my fellow colleagues and union members 2) I do not feel I can commit to maintain the level of confidentiality required of DAG members AND to effectively advocate on teachers behalf and 3) I am not fully convinced that the DAG has the authority to dictate changes to the instructional program of a school since the School Site Council is the governing body of a school. I would like to continue visiting sites and learning about what is working and what needs to be improved at each site. To have me visit your site please contact the PVFT office at 722-2331 or send me an email at president@pvft.net

Schools in Program Improvement:
At our December 10 Building Rep/Gen Membership meeting, an ad hoc committee was created to look into possible ways to support our members in Program Improvement Schools. If you are interested in this committee, please contact the PVFT office and let us know by sending an email to president@pvft.net

I strongly recommend that you encourage the parents of your students to attend the following parent conferences: Highlight to the Future for Middle School and High School parent Saturday, February 9, 2008 from 7:30am to 2pm at Watsonville High and Roots and Wings for K to 5th grade parents have them attend Saturday, February 23, 2008 from 7:30 am to 2pm at Watsonville High. They will serve free breakfast, lunch and snacks and also provide childcare for children 3 to 10. Conferences will be in both English and Spanish.

Proposition 92

Proposition 92 is supported by CFT, MBCLC and PVFT. Please vote in favor of Proposition 92 in the February elections. Below is the resolution passed by the PVFT Executive Council and at the General Membership.

WHEREAS, Proposition 92 – The California Community College Initiative funds the increase to community colleges through natural growth in the state's general fund, without raising taxes and lowers student fees to $15 and makes them stable and predictable by prohibiting the Legislature from increasing fees by more than the change in per capita personal income. In 2004 when fees were raised to $26 per unit, 305,000 students fewer students than expected enrolled. The Act also guarantees that students will have at least 60 days’ notice before any fee increase takes effect and ensures that fee revenue stays with the community colleges for the improvement of education, instead of being diverted to other state programs and

WHEREAS, the Community College Initiative would ratify the existing bilaterally-governed community college system by placing it in the State Constitution, thereby securing locally elected governing boards accountable to voters and a statewide chancellor hired by the Board of Governors who are appointed by the governor. The Act would provide the local community colleges with a secure, stable source of funds that is tied to community college enrollment growth. It would not threaten funding for K-12 education in California because primary and secondary education would retain its funding mechanism tied to its growth, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Local 1936 supports Proposition 92 (formally called the Community College Governance, Funding Stability, and Student Fee Reduction Act) that will be on the California statewide ballot on February 5th, 2008 and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Local 1936 communicate its support to the media and the appropriate individuals and members of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Local 1936 and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Local 1936 encourage its’ members and Chapters to support the Community College initiative (Proposition 92) by obtaining endorsements from School Boards, local governments and other educational organizations interested in improving educational outcomes of all students, and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED: that the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Local 1936 encourage its’ members to actively participate in the efforts to pass The Community College Initiative

Upcoming Dates

• December 14, 2007 is PVFT’s annual Winter Celebration. Please come join us at Jalisco’s Restaurant on Main Street in Watsonville from 4pm to 6pm. Appetizers and drinks will be served.
• December 15, 2007: ‘Not Home for the Holidays’ A vigil and action for peace now! Saturday, December 15, from noon to 2pm in front of the Military Recruitment Center at 2121 41st Avenue, Capitola.
• December 22, 2007: Begin Winter Break, have a great break!
• January 14th, 2008: First teacher work day after winter break.
• January 28th, 2008: Constitution Convention. This will be your opportunity to look over and add your questions or concerns regarding our new proposed Constitution and By-Laws. Your Building Rep should be giving you more information on the new constitution and by-laws. If you have any questions or would like copies, please call the union office. The copies are available online at pvft.net. More information on time and location to follow.
• February 11th, 2008: First General Membership/ Building Rep Meeting in 2008. It will be at the Board Room at the District Office from 4:30 to 6:30pm.

Report Back from “Teachers For Social Justice” Conference

On October 13, 2007 PVUSD teachers from EA Hall, Alianza, HA Hyde, Renaissance, and Starlight attended the Teachers For Social Justice Conference in San Francisco. Over 1000 teachers attended from all over the USA. Over 30 workshops covered topics such as; justice-focused teaching materials, resources for teaching about freedom and social justice, innovative curriculum, NCLB updates and resistance, militarization of our schools, and of course…the labor movement! Keynote speakers were Eric Andrade, PhD, a Raza Studies Professor at SF State and Jonathan Kozol, author and veteran educator working for equality and equity in the classroom. The website for Teachers for Social justice is: www.t4sj.org. Look for the NEW Santa Cruz County Chapter of T4SJ beginning in February 2008!

COPE Committee Update
COPE Members…look for a flyer in your boxes inviting you to attend the COPE meetings. COPE meets at 4PM, just before our General Membership meetings (4:30) on the second Tuesday of each month. The Committee for Political Education (COPE) works at the local, state, and national levels on legislative actions involving education. If your pay stub says COPE under deductions, you are member of this committee! We need your input and involvement right now. We would like to keep members better informed, take a lobbying trip to Sacramento in the Spring and support candidates for the upcoming elections that believe in making teachers a PRIORITY! Please contact VP Jenn Laskin for more information about COPE or to get more involved. jennlaskin@gmail.com

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