¿Habla Espanol?

Take a look at item #30 on tonight's board agenda: Amendment to Consultant Agreement

"District administration requests Board approval for Axiom, Inc. to provide translation services (into Spanish) for the School Accountability Report Cards, for a total of $16,285.00 per year (for a three year total of $48,855.00) to be paid with general funds and possible reimbursement through mandated costs."

We don't question the need to translate this information into Spanish for parents and community members.

What are your thoughts about this expense? Any thoughts on how the district could have better managed taxpayer dollars?

PS: Axiom, Inc. has offices in Rancho Cucamonga. Maybe they're the one from Rancho that checks this blog ever evening at about the same time.

621 days without a settlement!

Thank you parents, friends and fellow CTA members!

Notice something when driving around Yucaipa and Calimesa? Those yellow and red signs are everywhere! Drive down Third Street and you'll see them from one end to the other. Businesses on County Line Road have them posted on fences and in windows. Everytime YCEA receives another box of 500, they're quickly exhausted and more have to be ordered.

YCEA is expecting a new shipment in a couple of days...if you don't have one in your yard, call the office at (909) 790-3320 or e-mail ycea@ycea.org with the address and a volunteer with the crisis team will make sure one is placed in your yard.

620 days without a settlement!

14,856 hours or 891,360 minutes or 53,481,600 seconds

which is the same as:

619 days without a settlement!

Write a Letter This Weekend!

The News-Mirror is not the only paper to think about when you want to share your sentiments about the labor relations crisis that Dr. Hovey and the Board of Education have created here in Yucaipa and Calimesa.

During the recent bargaining crisis in Colton, both the Press-Enterprise and the San Bernardino Sun both did a decent job carrying pro-teacher letters from parents, students as well as educators.

It's easy to submit your letter:

The Press Enterprise allows you to do it online at this link:
-Press Enterprise Letters to Editor-

The San Bernardino County Sun has an e-mail address or mailing address you can use:
E-mail: voice@sbsun.com
US Mail:
Voice of the People
The Sun
2239 Gannett Parkway
San Bernardino, CA 92407

And letters to the good 'ole News Mirror can be sent to:
E-mail: cteeters@newsmirror.net
Yucaipa News Mirror
35154 Yucaipa Blvd.
Yucaipa, CA 92399

618 days without a settlement!

BEWARE OF THE POISON PILL

As YCEA and YCJUSD draw closer to Fact-Finding on May 10, it is likely that we will see a change in their strategy. A time-honored management negotiations strategy is that of the poison pill. Management offers something close to what the union wants, but then adds a stipulation that is unacceptable, and makes that stipulation the focus of the negotiations process. This has the effect of taking attention off of the broad reality of the situation, and refocusing it on a single, controllable issue. Last spring, the healthcare cost increase was an unintended poison pill to teachers voting on the contract, what will be the poison pill of choice this time? Perhaps today's News-Mirror offers an insight in their article on the Budget Committee findings:

"And while things like competitive salaries, increased discretionary funding to school sites and maintaining safety issues appeared on all three lists and the subsequent final list, surprisingly, maintaining class size reduction in kindergarten through third grade only appeared on the parent list."

We need to be aware that our Board and District Office will be making every effort in the next few weeks to divide and conquer us. Now more than ever, we need to stand together.

Will This Be Another "Snotgram" Friday?

What new misleading information will the district administration and board try and brainwash us with? They have a tendency to distribute this information late on Friday afternoons...will this be one of them?

Will they go back to the lower cost method of placing fliers in our boxes or will they choose to squander more taxpayer $$ on postage and envelopes. The one time they e-mailed their snotgram to us it backfired when countless teachers hit "reply" and responded to the e-mail. Maybe they will try something new and drop their propaganda from the sky?

617 days without a settlement!

Where is Dr. Hovey Leading YCJUSD?

Rather than trying to negotiate a fair settlement with his teachers, Dr. Hovey seems to think the labor unrest is a better way to lead a school district.

What would a teacher strike be like in Yucaipa?

Right now, in California, there is just one teacher strike going on...that is in Hayward.

Between 97 and 99% of the members of the Hayward Educators Association have joined in unity on the picket lines.

Less than 20% of students are attending class. Some of them sign in in the morning and then leave.

Despite offering substitute teachers $300 a day, qualified substitutes are lacking. According to news reports, there were 8 substitutes for 800 students at one large campus and according to another news report there were no substitutes at Hayward High School.

The district superintendent claims that students in these classrooms are being taught standards based curriculum. According to television news reports, newspaper articles and parent complaints, little learning is taking place. At some schools children are watching the Disney Channel all day, at another student the closest thing that came to teaching in the classroom was a game of hangman and at another elementary school students were making underwear out of paper to wear over their clothes while other students watched Sponge Bob videos.

Encourage Dr. Hovey to do the right thing and work with the board to offer teachers a fair settlement.

Ask Dr. Hovey to not jeopardize the education of the students in Yucaipa and Calimesa.

616 days without a settlement!