"A seat at the table?"
By Dick Gale, SDEA Executive Director

An extraordinary moment occurred at the SDUSD School Board's two-day budget workshop in July and it got me wondering if it was symbolic of something more. The July 24th meeting was held in the Board Room of Mission Federal Credit Union. Various School Board members, District administrators and staff informally sat around a large oval-shaped table to hear a 90-minute presentation of the report of the Compensation Comparability Task Force. At the conclusion of the presentation, Board President Luis Acle stood up to give his seat to SDEA President Camille Zombro so she could comment on the recommendations contained in the report.

As Camille, who had been sitting in the visitors' section, joined the
group, I asked myself, is the San Diego Education Association
actually being given a seat at the table? As the representative of
the largest employee group in the school district, SDEA has
constantly advocated for our place among the decision-makers when
issues are being discussed and debated. Was Mr. Acle's gesture merely
good manners or was there something more happening here? The answer
is that only time will tell.

The fourteen recommendations of the Compensation Comparability Task
Force, which were unanimously supported by the task force
participants, grew out of an intensive six-month effort by SDEA and
SDUSD to examine District financial and staffing practices. The
charge of the task force was to make recommendations to bring the
20-year career earnings of SDEA bargaining unit members to the county
median.

The recommendations touch on a wide variety of topics, including:
Salary schedule restructuring; Over-formula positions; Certificated
ADA/FTE ratios; Small site administration; Atypical program costs;
Small school structures; Special Education; Facilities consolidation;
Administrative/Supervisory spending; Supplemental early retirement
program; Title I thresholds; Common District calendar; Health/Welfare
benefits and Innovative educational programs.

The Board members generally reacted favorably to the report. They
liked the fact that the presentation was jointly made by the SDEA
Executive Director and the District's Chief Financial Officer and
they saw the report as an example of real collaboration between SDEA
and the District. They also felt the report provided a comprehensive
look at some of the "big picture" issues they are deliberating and
thought it could serve as a road map for their decision-making over
the next few years. They also asked a number of probing questions and
made many additional comments regarding the specific information
contained in the recommendations.

My feeling, as I left the meeting, was that everyone in the room
generally supported the conclusion that SDUSD should do as much
as it can to increase salaries of teachers and certificated support staff.
If so, they share this belief with thousands of our own members who have written and spoken of the need to make teachers a budget priority.

But, now comes the hard part. How do you turn such a belief into a
policy or a budget line item? How do you fulfill a commitment to
teachers when you are also faced with demands from charter school
supporters, GATE proponents, landscapers, health care providers,
utilities, contractors, special education advocates and others who
argue passionately for their particular interests?

The answer is that you need to know and be willing to act on your
priorities. As Roy Disney said, "It's not hard to make decisions when
you know what your values are." SDEA urges the Board to look beyond
its test scores and enrollment figures to understand that the
greatest hope for the future of the San Diego Unified School District
is to have experienced, dedicated, and highly competent teachers in
every classroom in every school and program in the district.

The critical importance of teachers and certificated support staff
was echoed by another visitor to the School Board's Budget Workshop.
One day earlier, on July 23rd, Ron Bennett, President and CEO of
School Services of California (SSC), spoke to Board members as part
of a school finance presentation. As described on their website, "For
30 years, SSC has served most of California's school districts,
county offices, and community colleges in meeting their management,
governance, and fiscal responsibilities. The effective administration
of California's public schools has always been the firm's primary
mission..."

Mr. Bennett told Board members that District employees fall into two
categories, teachers and everyone else whose job it is to support
those teachers. That statement, more than anything I have heard,
should assist the Board in clarifying its priorities.

As we prepare to begin salary and benefit negotiations for 2007-2008,
SDEA urges the Board to make its teachers and support staff its
highest priority. We also urge the Board to give the District's
bargaining team the necessary parameters to achieve an early
settlement so we can sit down at the table together, as partners, to
tackle some of the big issues outlined in the Compensation
Comparability Task Force report.

The Task Force recommendations, with commentary by the SDEA Board of
Directors, are printed in this issue of the Advocate. The full PowerPoint presentation given to the SDUSD Board of Education is posted at www.sdea.net.