SOUTH BAY UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
Imperial Beach, California
MINUTES of the SPECIAL and REGULAR
BOARD MEETINGS of MARCH 5, 2009...
G. Southwest Teachers Association: SWTA
President Laura Wood stated that it was hard
to be at the Board meeting; that the State
budget and its system is bad; invited Board
and community to work together with CTA on
issues; stated that it is critical for education
funding that the propositions pass in May;
encouraged everyone to support Pink Friday
(for pink slips) on March 13th. CTA is
coordinating groups to stand on freeway
overpasses to share the message from 4:00-5:
30 p.m.; stated there is a need for a local
education coalition to work together to educate
the public; and stated to the Board, “Do what
you have to do – We’ll talk later.”
H. District Superintendent:
District Superintendent Dr. Carol Parish
stated how difficult it is to conduct this meeting
where every recommendation to reduce the
budget hurts; the impacts of the national and
state economic crisis, and the hard work
everyone is doing to develop a strong
organizational culture...
VI. COMMUNICATION FROM BOARD OF
TRUSTEES:
Trustee Inzunza:
Stated that this is the fifth year of budget cuts
totaling $13 million dollars; this year there are
drastic cuts from the state and continued
declining enrollment; and discussed the need
to work together.
Trustee Lopez:
No Report.
Trustee Brown:
Stated that the budget decisions are hard and
not pleasant; that the Board has listened and
looked hard at options; its not an easy
decision; how proud she is of the VIP staff, the
fire department, the community, and for
teacher Mark Sotomayor who came in on
Sunday which was his birthday to call all of the
parents in his class.
Trustee Jones:
Thanked those who supported VIP Village;
acknowledged Dr. Parish and the Assistant
Superintendents for their work on the
recommendations that are on the agenda;
stated that her son found information that
Washington DC provides $14,000 per pupil
funding and realized how far behind California
is in financial support; and for the record she
stated that she personally knows and cares
deeply many of the people that will be affected
by the budget decisions but chose not to
advocate for those positions because she felt
strongly that she had to do the right thing for
the entire District.
Trustee Aguilar:
Stated that her heart goes out to those who will
be affected by the decisions the Board makes;
thanked everyone for coming and for their
emails; stated that she hoped for an easier
solution; thanked Dr. Parish, Scott Buxbaum,
Kim Phifer and Dr. Escobedo for providing all
of the information requested by the Board; and
stated that we all need to learn to work
together in political action.
VII. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
GENERAL FUNCTIONS:
I. BUDGET DEVELOMENT – PHASE ONE
FOR 2009-10. District Superintendent Dr.
Carol Parish stated that the budget reduction
recommendations are the most difficult of her
career and that her worst fear is that we have
no reason to believe that education funding in
California will improve any time soon.
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| South Bay Union School District and SWTA |
| South Bay schools see more cuts By Chris Moran San Diego Union Tribune March 3, 2006 IMPERIAL BEACH – Faced with shrinking enrollment that may ultimately force a school to close, South Bay Union School District trustees last night cut $1.8 million from the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It's the fifth consecutive year that the board for the 8,532-student, kindergarten- through-sixth-grade district has cut the budget as fewer students attend its schools... [Superintendent Pat] Pettit angrily denounced the union tactics, saying he didn't accept a raise that he qualified for last year and hasn't approached the board about a raise this year. “Damn it, I have not gotten a raise!” he said from his seat at the board table, addressing the dozens of employees in the audience. He later told the group, “If you don't like me, tough!” Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents. Frank Cherry, who has been teachers union president for 14 of the past 16 years, said there's no such training. |
| Who directs SWTA? SCTU. CTA directs all local affiliates. SWTA has been directed since 1985 by South County Teachers United. How ethical is SCTU? Here are some examples: Ethics complaint forbidden South County Teachers United by Tim O'Neill In 1979, teachers from Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) and Chula Vista Elementary Education Association (Now �CVE�), with a large amount of foresight, came together to establish South County Teachers United as a means of better providing services to their members from the California Teachers Association. Shortly thereafter, a group of teachers facilitated and helped finance the purchase of the �Landis Avenue Building� in downtown Chula Vista that still serves, after various rounds of renovation, as the headquarters for SCTU. The original partnership between SEA and CVE was joined by the Southwest Teachers Association (SWTA) in 1985, then later by the Sweetwater Counseling & Guidance Association (SCGA) and the National City Elementary Teachers Association (NCETA), and most recently was joined by the San Ysidro Education Association (SYEA), in 1997... (downloaded 06/07/09) |
Question:
How do you find out the truth about what goes on inside California Teachers Association (CTA)?
Answer:
You listen to people who used to be on the inside.
Revelation:
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated
for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
Denial:
[David A. Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in
the collective bargaining process.
How do you find out the truth about what goes on inside California Teachers Association (CTA)?
Answer:
You listen to people who used to be on the inside.
Revelation:
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated
for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
Denial:
[David A. Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in
the collective bargaining process.
| SWTA calls in big guns to set the record straight from CTA website May 2006 Facing some bad press generated by the superintendent of the South Bay Union School District, the Southwest Teachers Association called in CTA to defend its reputation. [Maura Larkins' comment: CTA also was called in when local leaders made a mess of my case.] The chapter, which is in contract negotiations with the district, organized a rally before the April 20 school board meeting to help build solidarity and brought in CTA Vice President David A. Sanchez to set the board straight. According to a March 26 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, the superintendent claimed he had received training in how to "spread misinformation and vilify opponents" when he was a CTA member. Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in the collective bargaining process. While he couldn't speak to the superintendent's recollections of 20-plus years ago, he could speak to the truth about "what CTA believes, what we have fought for, and what is happening in this school district." ...Before the meeting, Sanchez addressed the teachers at the rally, saying that CTA trains its members "to stand up to bullies, to organize, to unite and to speak the truth! And speaking the truth is easy because it is on our side." [Maura Larkins' comment: David A. Sanchez (now president of CTA) is telling a half-truth. Sometimes CTA stands up to bullies. But sometimes CTA aids and abets bullies. It depends on the politics that are operating at the time...It should be noted that Southwest Teachers Association works with South County Teachers United.] |