Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/34960
Inglewood teachers face district’s financial crisis M embers of the Ingle- wood Teachers Associ- ation (ITA) have perse- vered through trying times, and their district may now be taken over by the state. In June 2010, the ITA nego- tiations team met with Ingle- wood Unified School District (IUSD) officials in an effort to settle the 2010-11 contract. As the team tried to ascertain the district’s fiscal status, officials kept responding to requests for financial information with shifting and contradictory da- ta. ITA had long known that the district’s business depart- ment was slow to provide in- formation, but its inability to produce even basic budget data gave warning to the ITA team that the district might be facing serious financial issues. Unable to get accurate data, ITA demanded that the district hire the Fiscal Crisis and Man- agement Assistance Team (FCMAT) to do an extraordi- nary audit. FCMAT is an organi- zation that provides assistance and advice to school districts struggling to meet their financial obligations. The district at first balked at the request, but finally, after the Los Angeles County Of- fice of Education voiced grave concern over IUSD’s submitted budget, FCMAT was called in and in the fall confirmed ITA’s worst fears: The district was looking at a budget shortfall of over $50 million. “The news was devastating,” says ITA President Peter Som- berg. “We knew there was no 26 California Educator | JUNE 2011 way, even with massive cuts, that the district could close a deficit like that. Our bargain- ing goals and entire program for the past few years have fo- cused on efforts to improve student achievement. This threatened to undermine all the gains we had made.” ITA already had a multiyear organizing plan. Somberg and the union leadership immedi- ately began incorporating dealing with the crisis into that plan. “Member education and raising community aware- ness were key components,” says Somberg. “We had to get the word out about the magni- tude of the problem, and we needed to be prepared to deal with the worst.” ITA began several rounds of school site visits, conducted house meetings, and began is- suing a “Fiscal Flash” newslet- ter to keep members updated. They focused on community outreach, asking parents to sign up for a “Speak Up for Education” team that helped them develop a database of potential support. Knowing that a state budget that avoid- ed more school cuts was cru- cial, ITA also fully committed to broader CTA efforts to pass a budget with extensions of current tax rates. The direness of the situation really began to hit home in Feb- ruary when IUSD projected it might not even make the March payroll. The district began shift- ing and borrowing among accounts, but it was becoming obvious that it would be diffi- cult if not impossible to make it through the year without mas- sive cuts. In March, IUSD is- sued pink slips to 391 educators, more than half of the 690-mem- ber bargaining unit. ITA had braced its members for layoffs, but the number fi- nally issued was staggering. On one of the days of RIF (reduc- tion in force) hearings, ITA held a districtwide protest be- fore school, where entire staffs and supportive parents lined the sidewalks in front of their schools, while laid-off teachers held signs marking their years of experience. Even with the layoffs and other ITA conces- sions around benefits and furlough days totaling more than $16 million, it was be- coming obvious that to get beyond this year would require even more: a state loan and possible state takeover. California law gives the state superintendent of public ABOVE: Inglewood Teachers Association President Peter Somberg and Organizing Chair Kelly Iwamoto join other district staff, parents and students to protest layoffs and urge state budget passage. instruction the authority to ap- point an administrator or trustee to take over the man- agement of a financially trou- bled district that requests a state loan. When that happens, the elected school board be- comes a purely advisory body and the existing superinten- dent is fired. Oakland and Compton are among a handful of California school districts that have been taken over in the past. Kelly Iwamoto is the ITA organizing chair; she sees takeover as a drastic step, but probably inevitable. A 15-year veteran with eight years in In- glewood, she is among the hundreds who received layoff notices. Although not opti-