This letter to the editor was received from Tamara O’Brien in regards to a CUSD budget workshop from last week:
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CUSD Board of Governors, 9 April 2015
Today’s Budget’ workshop left me panicked.
As a taxpayer I felt fear.
I heard elected representatives say that the workshop setting is preferred as the Board is freer to speak to each other with out a televised feed. Nor was the press in attendance. Finallythere was no announcement as to time and place for this workshop on the CUSD website. I was told that there was a paper on the door of the District Office announcing the meeting. This particular form of Notice’ has not been protocol for years.
As a public citizen I felt stifled.
The workshop setting limits audience participationwhich I actually thought was a perversion of the setting. There were no yellow audience comment cards’ on the agenda items-except for one. Thus eliminating-not limiting- public input per topic.
As a CUSD parent I felt sorrow.
I heard that CUSD has no retention problem and what CUSD needs to do is raise the starting salaries for new teachers to attract them. We parents actually have trepidation of new’ teachers. Parents want the experienced teacher. Not fairbut as a new teacher’ here in 1992-parents viewed me as an unproven entity. And I was.
New teachers are high energy and bring new ideasall great. They also need tutelage and support. Yes-we Coronado experienced teachers will continue to support these new teachers’ growth and then in 5-7 years they will leave for a higher paying district.
As a CUSD teacher I felt bafflement.
There is a lack of understanding of teacher attrition in Coronado. Why do teachers stay?
Explanation- teachers basically unwittingly sign a non-compete’ clause upon entering approximately year 5-7 of teaching. In any said district, if a teacher changes districts the teacher will lose income by losing salary levels for years of teaching EXPERIENCE.
Summary- changing a teaching district is an automatic salary loss for a committed, long-term teacher. Now that salary schedules are on websites-new teachers can directly compare incomes. Twenty plus years ago comparisons were impossible-now comparisons are at everyone’s fingertips. That makes CUSD a competitor with every district in San Diego County in teacher retention.
As an exploited worker chills raced down my spine.
I also heard about the Coronado Sunshine” tax. This is the notion that teaching in Coronado is so much more enjoyable than other districts that that alone should compensate for less income than competing districts.
It is trueour students and parents are fantastic. I love it when CHS graduates check in with me during their vacations. But the bottom line is that CUSD is fast dropping to the lowest of the low in salary structure.
As an Economics teacher at CHS I am foolish not to have maximized my earnings and retirement funds durng my earning years. I am in my maximum income years –yet I took a pay cut and have had no pay increase for eight years. Not even COLA. I encourage our Coronado learners to prioritize maximum earnings in our career planning seminars. The second part of the lesson is to find value in your life’s work. I find value in teachingbut question whether I made a good choice by staying in a district that does not prioritize me– a devoted teacher.
CUSD own materials state, “the District will strive to attain a total compensation package that is at or above the average for selected school districts in the region”.
The letter of the law was probably followed todaybut what about intent of the law? (Brown Act).
“The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.” Gov’t Code § 54950.
In order to achieve this objective, governmental bodies subject to the requirements of the Brown Act must provide public notice of their meetings, post agendas of the subjects to be discussed at those meetings, and provide public access to those meetings. Public notice of every meeting subject to the Brown Act is required, and access is mandatory unless the meeting is held in closed session under a specific exception contained in the Act.
– http://firstamendmentcoalition.org/open-meetings-3/facs-brown-act-primer/#sthash.1wDUTxgc.dpuf
Today you all participated in a subversive dialogue of workshops’ over televised meetings. Please understand your Coronado teachers gave real and retirement income when we were led to believe that our district was in financial desperation. But CUSD continues spending on everything but teachers. Yet money was allocatedEVERYWHERE. Now is the time to let your teachers know they are a priority.
The Board is the key to making sure the dam does not burst’. The water is churning. The time is now to meet the teachers’ request.
Tamara O’Brien
“Your Constituent”
