Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/587184
educators deserve raises to help heal cuts we agreed to accept during the recession. This is a great step in the right direction." The three-year contract was ap- proved with an overwhelming 92.6 percent yes vote of district educators on Sept. 30. It provides a 4.25 percent raise this school year retroactive to Aug. 1, 2.25 percent next year, and reopened salary negotiations in the third year. In addition, school site athletic directors won annual stipends of $4,539. Teach- ers mobilized at an August school board meeting, where several spoke out about financial hardships caused by the cuts in years past. The new contract, which is expected to be approved by the school board Oct. 15, will end eight years of the union allowing the 24,000-student district to maintain class sizes that averaged three more than the contract allowed in order to save the district the cost of having to hire more teachers during hard times. The district will be allowed one student over the class size cap this school year, and the cap must be met during 2016- 17. The district committed to new talks in the third year to reduce the caps. This means English classes can have 31 students this year, and math classes 33. Also, for the first time, the district agreed that special education class- rooms must average between 10 and 12 students. In all classrooms where class size caps are exceeded, the teach- ers in those classes are paid an extra small amount. Health benefits will con- tinue to be fully paid by the district, but negotiations would be restarted on ben- efits if the average annual rate increase for coverage exceeds 15 percent. B L A C K O A K M I N E T E A C H E R S : S T O P S H O R T- C H A N G I N G S T U D E N T S Black Oak Mine Unified School District, according to an investigation by CTA and the Black Oak Mine Teachers Association (BOMTA), deliberately hid $400,000 from teachers and students. This information came to light during a Sept. 29 state mediation session. The district, headed by Superintendent Rob- ert Williams, acknowledged its actions, but refused to settle the contract. The difference between the two pro- posals is $90,000. Williams contended the district would "go over a fiscal cliff" if it acquiesced to BOMTA's demands, and cannot afford to give its teachers a cost-of-living raise. Meanwhile, the unfair labor practice charges filed in March by BOMTA have merit, according to the state Public Employment Relations Board, and for- mal hearings will take place in January. BOMTA contends that the district, in unincorporated El Dorado County, has been bargaining in bad faith. CTA launched an investigation into the district's use of public funds for legal counsel fees that are supporting illegal bargaining tactics. BOMTA and the district have been negotiating since October 2014 and are at odds on how to spend Prop. 30 money approved by voters to provide a quality education for students. Teachers are asking for a nominal pay increase. "We care about our students and our community," says BOMTA President Bill Sammons. "We want to resolve this. Not only is teacher morale plum- meting, but this ongoing choice not to bargain in good faith hurts the kids in our classrooms." S T U D E N T- C E N T E R E D O R G A N I Z I N G B R I N G S S U C C E S S I N VA L V E R D E After several weeks of escalating activities, including rallies at mediation sessions, marches, and packing Val Verde Unified School District M T. D I A B L O E D U C AT O R S : N O F O R - P R O F I T C H A R T E R S Mt. Diablo Education Association (MDEA) is embroiled in a battle to block the expan- sion of for-profit Rocketship charter schools into Contra Costa County. Rocketship sub- mitted a charter petition to the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) school board in July for a K-6 charter in the Monu- ment corridor, a low-socioeconomic area of the district serving primarily Latino families. Rocketship turned the delivery of the charter petition into a media event, complete with a busload of stu- dents and parents in purple Rocketship T-shirts from the San Jose area and its own camera crew to film the event. After thorough study, the MDUSD board rejected Rocketship's charter petition in early August. Rocketship then appealed to the county board of education. MDEA staged a rally against Rocketship expansion at the Sept. 16 board meeting, attended by more than 150 MDUSD teachers, parents and mem- bers from surrounding locals. Many teachers spoke passionately about the good work being done at their school sites, and these sentiments were echoed by parents — including Spanish-speaking parents. Parents spoke about teachers' respect for their culture, traditions and language and offered as evidence the excellent ELD programs provided at their commu- nity schools and the culturally focused events celebrated at all community school sites. The board of education is scheduled to vote on the Rocketship charter petition at its Oct. 21 meeting. If it is voted down, Rocketship will most likely appeal to the State Board of Education. MDEA is already making plans for an anti-Rocketship rally in Sacramento should that happen. 43 V O LU M E 2 0 I S S U E 3 Advocacy