Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/274063
Above: " This is our time!" Pre siden t D ea n E . Vog e l tells S tate Council delegate s. I n g r i d V i l l ed a, UTLA, share s her view s while Ly n et te H e n l ey, Vallejo E ducation Association, w aits her turn. ORAL HISTORY CTA & You State Council B A S E D O N T H E I R WO R K accomplished during the Jan- uary weekend meeting, the nearly 700 delegates to CTA's State Council of Education agreed with CTA President Dean E. Vogel when he said, "This is our time!" With the passage of Proposition 30 and new revenues coming into the state's coffers, the promise of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), and the implementa- tion of the Common Core State Standards, CTA has a real opportunity to "lead the profession and the discussion on education issues," Vogel told Council members, "to lead those discussions with parents and the community to move our schools forward and fund the priorities we know work best for our students." On the heels of Gov. Jerry Brown's state budget announcement, Vogel noted the budget proposal provides $10 billion more for schools and colleges and repays all of the budget deferrals to local schools this year. A funding increase of $244 million for the UC and CSU systems, which will hold tuition at existing levels, is included in the proposal. State funding for community colleges includes an 11 percent increase in 2014-15. "The governor also committed to working with us to ensure the stabil- ity of the California State Teachers' Retirement System. This too was an important recognition that the state must ensure the retirement commit- ments made to our hardworking teachers and educators," Vogel said. Strategic Plan approved unanimously After two years of meetings, input from more than 30,000 members, and discussions by the Strategic Planning Group, State Council unanimously approved CTA's Long-Term Strategic Plan. The plan, "Our Union, Our Future," will be CTA's road map for the next four years and is intended to result in a more vibrant, inclusive, strong and engaged union. There was good discussion about the plan. And on Sunday morning, Council unanimously voted in support of the Strategic Plan, with many members agreeing with Ingrid Villeda, a member of United Teachers Los Angeles. "We need to change the way we are a union. I'm very glad CTA is engag- ing in strategic planning," said Villeda. "Site grievances are not enough. Bargaining the way we used to do it doesn't work as well. It takes a whole community standing behind educators to be able to transform and change." "The plan's genesis was in 2011, amid increasing attacks on public schools and educators coming from billionaires and politicians, and schools struggling against devastating budget cuts," Vogel said. "If you've read the Strategic Plan, you've got a pretty good idea about our direction: how we as an organization will help our members promote the profession and provide for pub- lic education." The next step: An Implementation Workgroup con- sisting of members and staff will be appointed to make recommendations to the CTA Board of Directors about how to implement these goals and how to align governance structures. (Read more about the plan on page 50.) S T O R Y A N D P H O T O S B Y D I N A M A R T I N State Council unanimously approves Strategic Plan 48 M A R C H 2 0 1 4 Educator 03 Mar 2014 v2.0 int.indd 48 3/6/14 10:53 AM