Wear it everywhere, everyday !

The Executive Board of the Novato Federation of Teachers is urging it's members to wear the bright green NFT button they received on August 25th at opening ceremonies for the new school year. 62 teachers left NUSD last year, many for higher paying jobs in neighboring school districts. NUSD teachers need to let the community know that the language of the March Parcel Tax is very clear; "... to attract and retain quality teachers." A competitive salary is one way to maintain the excellent level of educational services here in Novato. A COST-OF-LIVING SALARY ADJUSTMENT DOES NOT EQUAL A RAISE. Wear your button in school and around town to let people know Novato teachers want the COLA + $ applied to the salary scale. This was the mandate of Novato voters when they approved the Parcel Tax for schools in the last election.

Where is my retroactive paycheck?

After promising NFT the retroactive checks would come in late July, the District was unable to print the paychecks because of the qualified budget from the Marin County Office of Education. Since the 2004-2005 NUSD budget wasn't in place, the September 30th paychecks will include the 1.5% increase plus a retroactive check for August. On October 15th you will receive a separate retroactive check for the 2004-2005 school year.

Meet the Novato NFT Executive Board

Joe Morgan: President
I am passionate--I love my wife, kids, grandkids, bicycling and fishing, in that order. I have enjoyed my entire 35 year career of teaching and coaching and the early years at San Marin. The reason I stay in the Union is because of the energy, passion and excitement I get from the teachers with whom I interact. I want to make things better for teachers in Novato.

Arlene Morgan: Office Manager
Teachers are some of the most passionate, dedicated and intelligent people I know. I wish everyone could understand the satisfaction of achievement for both teacher and student when a student succeeds. NFT is here to support teachers in any way they might need.

Bob Cline: Treasurer
"Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it." Henry Ford
I am now working in my 12th year of instruction in Novato Schools--nine years at Sinaloa, one year at San Marin and starting my second year at Marin Oaks. My Bachelor of Economics (with emphasis on labor and economic history) and experience as a private sector economist prior to becoming a teacher compliment my work as NFT Treasurer.

Jan DeLa Briandais: Secretary
I was a reading specialist at Lu Sutton for five years. This is my third year as an ELL teacher at Novato High. I love to read, dance, play mandolin, do yoga and (surprise ) teach !

Fran Rozoff: Vice-President Elementary
"We must be the change we wish to see." M.K. Gandhi
As a fourteen year teaching veteran at Olive School, I have witnessed many changes in our school district. A Novato resident for 28 years, I have been active in the community and in the schools my four children attended. I enjoy the continuing challenge of facilitating communication between Novato's public school teachers and our local community. I believe it is important to establish good relationships, have accurate information and a vision of excellence for all stakeholders in the Novato Unified School District.

Karen Pasternak-Miller: Vice-President Middle School
I have been teaching in the Novato Unified School District for 19 years. My first 15 were in the primary grades at Hamilton and I now teach at Sinaloa. I have a great husband and two grown children. My husband and I live on a small farm in Cotati where we spend time working in the garden and going for walks with the dogs. I love doing all kinds of crafts and being at the ocean. I love what I do. I love teaching. I would love to see all teachers put more effort into improving our "standing" in the district.

CFT Salary Comparability Study, 2003-2004

NFT Responds to August 5, 2005 District Global E-mail

Novato Public Access Televison (NPAT) (Channel 30) will soon be airing the second in a series of "Speaking Out" programs produced by Rick Tucker for the Novato Federation of Teachers. This program was taped in response to a recent district global e-mail regarding salaries for teachers in Novato. Here is the text of the message from Joe Morgan, NFT President.

Welcome to the new school year. There are some important issues I would like to make you aware of as we begin the 2005/06 school year. First, the August 5, 2005 District e-mail gave the erroneous impression that a teacher's hourly pay rate was more than that of all the administrators in the district with the exception of the superintendent. This calculation was based on a 6 hour workday and the highest teacher salary rate on the NUSD pay scale. However, only seven percent of NUSD teachers make $64,000. 50% of the teachers in this district make less than $50,000, resulting in an average hourly wage of $33.60. This realistic figure is quite a contrast to the $58.39 as stated in the global e-mail.
Teachers get paid for 186 workdays per school year, but you can't put a time value on a professional day. Moreover, the contract states that--"the certificated employee shall spend such additional time as is necessary to carry out professional responsibilities,..." Additional duties for teachers include, but are not limited to, class preparation, student records, evaluation of student achievement, communications with parents, Special Education services, remediation programs, conferences, faculty meetings and continuing education.
NUSD needs to improve salaries in order to maintain experienced and qualified teachers. Novato Unified has lost at least 104 teachers in the last two years, nearly one-fourth of the total staff, including many teachers in the science and math programs. Compared to school districts in Marin and Sonoma counties, Novato teacher's salaries rank third from the bottom, while Novato administrator's salaries rank third from the top.
Novato's teachers need a salary increase and the money IS in the budget. The State of California has allotted 5.23% new money to all school districts for the upcoming school year. The voters of Novato increased the parcel tax for the next six years for an increase of $800,000 per year. The district has increased the reserve from 3% to 6% with no specific goals in mind for the extra $1.4 million set aside.
Currently, the District has allotted only a 1% increase for teacher salaries, yet the latest Parcel Tax language clearly stated the goal to "attract and retain quality teachers." Novato teachers need a 5.2% COLA adjustment PLUS 3% to achieve a competitive salary with Marin and Sonoma schools.
The Board of Trustees needs to develop a long-range plan to attract and retain qualified educators. The District needs to set priorities, make the difficult decisions and follow through with an articulated plan in order to maintain the excellent quality of education that Novato's children already receive.
As NFT President, I urge you to contact the Board of Trustees at nusd.org to let them know that a fair, equitable and competitive salary is necessary to retain quality teachers in this District.

Defeat the Governor’s Special Interest Agenda

Special Election: November 8
Where We Stand

No on Proposition 74: “The Punish New Teachers Act” would do nothing to improve public education or deal with the real problems facing our schools. It unfairly attempts to blame teachers for the problems in our public schools, ignoring the realities of underfunding, overcrowding, and the lack of materials and resources needed for effective teaching and learning. If this measure passes, new teachers would serve a five year probationary period rather than the current two years. That means teachers would lose the right to have a fair hearing on their dismissal for a full five years. Current law already allows for firing teachers who are not performing in the classroom, no matter how long they’ve been on the job.

No on Proposition 75: “The Paycheck Deception Act” requires public employee unions including teachers, college and university faculty, firefighters, nurses, police officers – to gather individual forms from every member annually in order to spend dues money for any political purpose. Far from protecting their rights, the measure is designed to reduce their ability to inform us when politicians harm education, health care and public safety. It is an unnecessary and unfair measure, with a hidden agenda intended to weaken public employees, so corporations can have more control in state government. Meanwhile, corporations already out spend unions in politics by a huge margin. In fact, Proposition 75 will make this imbalance even worse.

No on Proposition 76: “The Cuts School Funding Act” would devastate our public schools, community colleges, universities, and other vital public services by slashing funding for these priorities. It cuts school funding by over $4 billion every year – $600 per student – leading to more overcrowded classrooms, teacher layoffs, and fewer textbooks and classroom materials. Our schools lost $2 billion dollars when Governor Schwarzenegger broke his promise to repay the money he took from education, and if this initiative passes, the governor will never have to repay that money to our schools. It does even more damage to our schools by overturning Proposition 98, thus eliminating the funding guarantee for K-14 education. It also cuts funding for local government – cutting police and
firefighters, as well as local health care services that protect children and the elderly.


No on Proposition 77: This measure amends the process for redistricting California’s State Senate, Assembly, Congressional and Board of Equalization districts, putting the process in the hands of a thee-member panel of retired judges, selected by legislative leaders. This measure requires immediate redistricting which is unnecessary, costly, and will produce unfair results by using outdated census data. Even Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson believes this measure is fatally flawed because it cannot be implemented under the time line contained in the measure.

Lawsuit filed to get back $3.1 Billion in Education Funding

CTA lawsuit to Enforce Proposition 98

Background

* In 2003, the education community, including CTA, reached agreement with Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger to “rebench” the Proposition 98 guarantee by $2 billion. That agreement was codified as Chapter 213 of the Statutes of 2004, which suspends Prop. 98 and states that schools shall receive just $2.004 billion less than they otherwise would have been entitled to in 2004-05.

* The agreement called for money to be restored as state revenues increased. Under Proposition 98, the agreement, and Chapter 213, the schools were entitled to a share of those additional revenues. Because of the increase in state revenues during the 2004-05 fiscal year, the schools became entitled to an additional $1.8 billion in 2004-05. Schools were not provided that additional funding; instead, the money was spent on other programs.

* To compound the problem, the guarantee for 2005-06 was calculated using the unlawfully-low funding provided to the schools in 2004-05. The effect was to improperly lower the 2005-06 guarantee and create a funding shortfall of an estimated $1.3 billion, for a total loss of $3.1 billion over the two fiscal years. This $3.1 billion is over and above the $2 billion reduction that was agreed upon.

* CTA is suing to enforce Proposition 98 and Chapter 213 of the Statutes of 2004. The defendants are Governor Schwarzenegger and Director of Finance Tom Campbell. Controller Steve Westly is named for remedial purposes only. The plaintiffs will be the Executive Officers of CTA, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and parents whose children have been affected by the failure to honor the agreement.

Talking Points

* CTA is suing to enforce Chapter 213 in order to protect the provisions of Proposition 98, the voter passed minimum funding guarantee for schools. These provisions prevent catastrophic cuts to education funding.

* Even with Proposition 98, California school funding is among the worst in the nation and is almost $1000 below the national average.

* The failure of Governor Schwarzenegger to adequately fund public education as required by Proposition 98 in the state constitution has had real effects on our schools: schools have closed; class sizes have increased; student programs have been cut; teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians have been laid off; and students lack basic textbooks and materials.

CTA was forced to file this lawsuit because of the failure of the Governor to propose a budget that honored either his promise to schools and kids or the requirements of Proposition 98, state statute and current law.

--
Steve Hopcraft
Hopcraft Communications
Government and Media Relations; Campaign Management
Phone.916.457.5546 :: Fax.916.457.5548
http://www.hopcraft.com