Director of the Public Employee Labor Relations Board makes a decision.

This year's detailed calendar

The GFCCE is happy to report that the Classified unit has reached a tentative agreement with the GJUHSD.  The District received its three furlough days from the classified unit and restructured some of the contracts of classified employees, while the classified unit received some stronger language in the contract in discipline and harrassment. 

While the financial solvency of the District is vitally important to the GFCCE, it seems unreasonable that the District's goal is a balanced budget for the upcoming school year when the District has a comfortable reserve fund it refuses to tap into.  This negotiating position by the District has been a stumbling block in negotiations for both the classified and certificated units over the last couple of months.  However, it is great to see both the distirct and classified unit work together in a constructive way to move forward.

The classified members will be receiving a ballot in June to ratify the tentative agreement and the school board will vote on it after that. 

Education historian Diane Ravitch explains how schools can best address meaningful reforms. Essentially, American society needs to invest in neighborhood schools and abandon the fads of the "choice" and "accountability" movements as they are currently structured.  Keep in mind, that charter schools, for example, provide no clear cut evidence of providing superior education from public schools dispite charter schools' ability to move out those students who do not fit their needs. 

She goes on to mention that there is no positive or negative correlation between student academic performance and teacher unionism.  Southern states where unions are weak tend to have weaker academic performance records and Massachusetts, where unionism is strongest, has high academic results.  Additionally, Finland, where teachers are nearly 100% organized into unions, scores highest on international assessments.  Ultimately, economic well-being is the most causcal relationship to academic performance.  Students in wealthier areas tend to score better than students in poorer areas. 

An opinion editorial by AFT-WV president Judy Hale

Sign the petition urging President Obama and other world leaders meeting at the G8 & G20 joint summit to invest in education.  Here is the letter you would be signing as endoprsed by the AFT:

Mr. President:

Remember the children of the world are the future. Their education is a right not a privilege. Do not leave them behind. Let us not look back on this global economic crisis as the reason that we lost a generation to despair. Use your leadership to persuade other world leaders that it is time to deliver on the promise of education for all by 2015. Only with U.S. leadership can we ensure that all 72 million children currently out of school gain access to quality basic education.

Sincerely,

It is the GFCCE position that we should take the same level of cuts that management takes. The cuts management is taking are:

·        3 furlough days at the cost saving of $26,000.

·        The superintendent has not officially taken a furlough day from her $152,000 annual salary, though she has stated that she will offer her own three day furlough to the Board soon.

·        Three buy-back days (the District argues it can simply take these days away from teachers without going through negotiations). Cost savings: $120,000

·        Three furlough days. Cost savings: $120,000

·        Teachers laid off: Cost savings: $350,000

·        Increase of average class size to 1:33. Cost savings: $225,000

·        Non-renewal of travel stipend for teachers working at more than one site. Costs savings: $15,000

·        Removal of Athletic director periods, activities coordinator periods, AVID & BTSA period and five AG project periods. Cost savings for these 13 periods: $130,000

Total Certificated Concessions asked for by the District:   $960,000. This figure does not even include what our classified members will also be sacrificing.

By now all members of DAEOE should have recieved their 2010 Health Benefits Package from DPS.  If you have not received your package or have any questions please call: Ellen Griffin at 313-873-7298 or email her at: ellen.griffin@detroitk12.org.

The Colorado legeslature passed a law eliminating tenure and basing teacher preformance on student test scores.  Many other states, including California, are considering similar pieces of legislation.  Teachers are under attack from both the national government and various state governments.  What becomes frustrating for those of us "in the trenches" working with students on a daily basis is that tenure is not the problem.  First, there already exists ways to eliminate ineffective teachers.  Adminstration simply needs to exercise those options more effectively.  Second, evaluation systems that are used to measure teacher performance must also have importance to the student.  The GFCCE is not against refroming the evaluation system of teachers, but the students must also have something at stake.  States like Texas and New York require a minimum performance on their state tests in order for students to graduate. California should move in a similar direction. 

Conservaticve education expert, Diane Ravtich, explains unions are not the problem.  (Click on the title of this post for excerpts)

Additionally, any reforms to the education system should be researched based.