Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1541528
W I L D F I R E S D E V A S T A T E D Los Angeles earlier this year, compounding the challenges of providing the education all Pasadena students deserve in Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). After identifying upward of $35 mil- lion in cuts last year, threatening to lay off 115 educators and ultimately laying off 25, PUSD has been looking at even more severe cuts moving forward, says Jonathan Gardner, president of United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP). " They listed cutting the health clerks at our school sites, who fill in for our nurses," Gardner says. " They looked at cutting counselors and librarians to the contrac- tual requirement." Gardner says the funding situation is grim even without a potential expiration of Prop. 55 and loss of $2.8 million for PUSD. It's a statewide problem, Gardner says, that students in other states do not have to endure. "In other states, every single school has a librarian, nurse and counselor. They have these supports embedded in the schools," he says. "In California, it's just not like that. How do you not have a school nurse in every school? California is the fourth-largest economy in the world and our schools are 51st in the nation in access to school librarians." PUSD has a history of underpaying educators, which has made it difficult to recruit and retain staff. Three years ago, Pasadena teachers were the lowest paid in LA County and while UTP has organized to win 30% pay increases in the past five years, the impact of that reputation and the high turnover it caused is still there. " The hidden cost of all this turnover has been spending millions of dollars on edu- cators who leave," says Gardner, who adds that he was an induction member to five new educators and all five left the district. " You wind up wasting a lot of money and coming up with a lot of different schemes when you have that kind of turnover." UTP has been organizing around their current bargain, holding a structure test recently, which included circulating a bargaining petition and obtaining sig- natures from 85% of members. Gardner says they 'll be utilizing the same struc- tures to gather signatures for the Prop. 55 renewal. "Overall, I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to pull off our 85% goal," he says. "Back in the 1960–70s, our public schools had much more funding and we were Top 5 nationally in achievement. Anyone who believes our students deserve a world- class education should be supportive of that effort." PASADENA: Fighting Back Against Cuts After Devastating Wildfires "In the 1960–70s, our public schools were Top 5 nationally in achievement. Anyone who believes our students deserve a world-class education should be supportive of Prop. 55." —United Teachers of Pasadena President Jonathan Gardner United Teachers of Pasadena members are leaning into each other and building solidarity as they fight impacts from wildifres and funding shortfalls. 26 cta.org Gardner Feature