Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/63126
TAKING A STAND 20,000 pink slips Election recommendations Attack on due process rights Parent trigger fails Stockton wins appeal Pension proposal .......................................................................................................................28 ..........................................................................................................30 .......................................................................................................31 .....................................................................................................................32 .................................................................................................................33 .......................................................................................................................34 Learn about CTA's legal resources at www.cta.org /rifs. 20,000 RECEIVE 'PRECAUTIONARY' PINK SLIPS Final cuts due by May 15 ONE BAY AREA TEACHER was five months pregnant when she got her pink slip last month. A Sacramento educator got hers for the fiſth frustrating year in a row. And notices went to 28 of the 29 teachers at Fay Elementary in San Diego City Unified, where the local chapter is challenging the district to stop unnecessary layoffs. These are not the kind of teachable moments educators have in mind when they enter the profession. Lives were put on hold as more than 20,000 teachers received precautionary RIF (reduction in force) notices — "precaution- ary" because some may be rescinded later on as budgets permit. School districts have until May 15 to decide on final cuts for teachers, counselors, librarians, and all certificated staff. "When you issue thousands of layoff notices for educators, you are hurting stu- dents," said CTA President Dean E. Vogel said. "When you continually lay off educa- tors, you break the bonds of learning, and you send the message that education is not a priority in our state. drastic reminder of how badly our public schools need more funding, Vogel added. That is why CTA is supporting the new version of the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act, a ballot initiative that would raise taxes on the wealthy to restore some funding to schools and local public services (see page 24). California ranks 47th in per-pupil The precautionary pink slips are a " public education spending. Many district 28 California Educator / April 2012 budgets have been cut to the bone, Vogel said, and the "precautionary" pink slips are the fallout from more than $20 billion in public educa- tion cuts to schools in the past four years. THE BAY AREA CTA held a news conference March 15 in Brisbane so Bay Area educators could share their stories. The 550-student Brisbane School District pink-slipped more than 25 percent of its 30 teachers, while the greater Bay Area was hit by more than 1,500 educator pink slips. Teacher Cynthia Dalmacio With her daughter Jessica at her side, Bay Area teacher Cynthia Dalmacio shares her story at a CTA news conference. Cynthia's baby is due in June. spoke out about the wrong message being sent when a teacher like her- self — with 16 years of experience — is get- ting a pink slip for the fourth year in a row. "My three children attend our public schools, and I am now five months preg- nant with my fourth child, quietly as TV news cameras rolled. "Stu- dents see me in tears at the end of each school year, and I know that affects them emotionally. But beyond that I worry, like so many pink-slipped teachers do, about how I will financially support my family. Similar frustrations were voiced by " Pamela Sison, a pink-slipped educator in New Haven Unified in Union City. Speak- ing at a March 13 Education Coalition " Dalmacio said news conference, Sison said "My pink slip was issued by our school board, but it was the result of poor decision-making in Sacramento. Union City is a working- class town, and our neighborhood schools are holding things together. My students deserve better, and so does my community. The 13,000-student district is racked by a $10.7 million budget deficit. It issued 85 pink slips, including notices for all librar- ians. Another 32 New Haven classified employees are among the thousands of California education support professionals also facing dismissal due to state cuts. "I have been teaching now for 25 years, and this is the worst I have seen the cuts," "