Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1512793
HARTNELL COLLEGE: Trustees have misplaced priorities Faculty at Hartnell College have been working with- out a contract for over a year. The chief issues are a cost-of-living raise and health benefits for part-time faculty. By law, the state provides funding for part- time faculty health care benefits, but college trustees are choosing not to tap those resources. Class size and lab lecture parity are also on the table. " This college needs to reorder its priorities and invest in the teachers students deserve," said Nancy Schur-Beymer, Hartnell College Faculty Association (HCFA) president. "Between record revenues and a hefty reserve of over 27%, this this district can afford our modest proposals. They choose not to." Hartnell recently announced its priority to increase man- agement salaries. The college pres- ident's salary is ranked number one among the four area colleges and near the top among 14 com- parable colleges. Teacher salaries are last across the board. HCFA is shocked that the board is hiring outsiders, at an estimated $300 an hour, to negotiate the teachers' contract. The chapter is gearing up for mediation in December, followed by fact-finding. FOLSOM-RANCHO CORDOVA: Educators urge district to address recruitment/retention Folsom Cordova Education Association (FCEA) members are organizing and demanding that Folsom Cordova Unified School District invest resources into classrooms that will recruit and retain the best teachers. Since May, educators have been fighting to get the district to provide the resources all Folsom Cor- dova students deserve, but the district has refused to budge, failing to change their offer since September. " The offer is unaccept- able and won't help keep good teachers here," said FCEA President Jeannette Sansenbach. "We used to be a destination district for quality education, now it has become a revolving door district. We want our new hires to have a teach- ing career here and we want to keep our outstanding veteran teachers. We can't do that if we don't have competitive salary and benefits." SANTA BARBARA: Educators Organize, Demand to Bargain Santa Barbara Teachers Association members are organizing to stop the hemorrhag- ing of teachers from a district that has been underpaying its teachers and using less of its budget on teacher salaries than required by law. Santa Barbara Unified School Dis- trict has lost hundreds of teachers over the past two years, and this school year began with many classroom positions unfilled. SBTA members have been packing school board meetings and demanding that the district get to the bargaining table to address salary and other issues. Procedural delays by the district stalled the start of contract negotiations, which finally began on Nov. 15. At that session, the district made a health benefits proposal but didn't counter SBTA's salary increase proposal. Because of the high cost of living in the Santa Barbara area and low educator pay, many teachers work second and third jobs, and for many, remaining in the district is unsustainable. SBTA member Kate Lambert wears a virtual petition supporting contract negotiations after the district said holding the banner during a school board meeting would be a "fire hazard." 38 cta.org Advocacy C M Y CM MY CY CMY K