"We must have strong minds, ready to accept facts as they are."
By Dick Gale, SDEA Executive Director

In the years before spin and liberal & conservative news outlets, most people accepted the idea that there were independent, verifiable and agreed-upon facts. When President Harry Truman made the statement above, he was referring to a decision-making process that was fact-based and objective.

In today's world, objectivity has been replaced by opinion, bias and subjectivity masquerading as fact. As a result, decision-making has become more difficult and contentious. Whether the issue is international (global warming), national (conduct of American foreign policy) or statewide (health care reform), all of us would be better served and be able to make more informed decisions if we agreed on the facts.

So, what is the relevance of this to SDEA and education here in the San Diego Unified School District? Simply that, as we embark on a joint effort to improve teacher salaries, both sides are committed to looking at the facts that are in place and to making informed choices that enable the District to attract and retain high quality education professionals in SDUSD.

What are the facts?

• San Diego Unified is a chronically declining enrollment district, as are nearly half of the school districts statewide.
• There is no apparent legislative support to further mitigate the impact of declining enrollment on school district budgets.
• When compared to other large urban districts, SDUSD's ratio of certificated staff to students is well below the average, meaning the district is staff rich.
• There are over 70 different certificated job descriptions within the SDEA bargaining unit, as well as numerous additional district and site level administrative positions.
• A number of these positions do not require staff to provide direct services to our students on a regular basis.
• The most critical factor influencing student achievement is the classroom interaction between the student and the teacher.
• Many teachers do not remain in the profession more than five years. Retention in SDUSD is further complicated by the fact that neighboring districts pay higher salaries.
  
• Over the course of a 20-year career, teachers in San Diego Unified will earn approximately $90,000 less than their counter parts within San Diego County or in other large urban districts statewide. (See graph on page 5 of January 2007 Advocate).
• Comparability in salaries is essential if SDUSD wants to compete in the marketplace and be able to replace the hundreds of teachers who will reach retirement age in the next five years.
• The Compensation Comparability Task Force, whose first meeting is January 24, 2007, is charged with recommending options to improve compensation comparability for the SDEA bargain ing unit, using 20-year earnings as the standard.
• Their charge also states that the recommendations will stem from a broad based review of areas including, but not limited to, budget reprioritization, certificated allocations, class size, budget allotment formulas, salary schedule structure, and new sources of revenue.

Given these facts, it is clear that the work of this group will be detailed and that tough choices will have to be made. SDEA is represented on the task force by Bargaining Team member Viraj Ward, Vice-President Marc Capitelli, Planning and Accountability Resource Teacher John Anella, UniServ Field Organizer Steve Kaplan and Executive Director Dick Gale.

The District representatives are Chief Financial Officer William Kowba, Director of Labor Relations Willy Surbrook, Area Superintendents Delfino Aleman and Carol Barry, Director of Certificated Human Resources Sandra Huezo and Chief of Staff Jodi Smith.

SDEA is pleased with District's representatives on the task force because they meet Harry Truman's criteria. They are folks who have strong minds and are ready to accept facts as they are. SDEA believes that our task force members fall into that category, as well, because teachers and certificated support staff are the ultimate realists. On a daily basis, year after year, we deal with young people in need; trying to do our jobs with the tools we are
given.