"A Look Back... and Forward"
By Dick Gale, SDEA Executive Director

The arrival of December brings holiday thoughts and, for many people, a chance to look back and reflect on the year gone by. And, indeed, 2007 has been an extraordinary year for SDEA. As yourExecutive Director, I am able to look back on my 16-month tenure and point to a list of actions that demonstrate our organization's clarity of purpose and commitment to serve the needs of our members.

For example, during the past 16 months, SDEA has bargained two contractual agreements that have each garnered more than 90% approval
by our members. And with good reason. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 settlements continued to maintain full family benefit coverage without sacrificing our salaries to do so. In fact, the two agreements have boosted the career earnings of SDEA members and have resulted in a more competitive salary schedule. Now, new teachers must give SDUSD a strong look when making their employment decisions.

During this same time period, your Association leaders have moved confidently to position our organization as a true member of the San Diego labor community. They have taken the lead in opposing a misguided and dangerous effort to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in Congress. Indeed, it was SDEA's vocal opposition to NCLB that helped move both CTA and NEA to take a more aggressive stand that resulted in a derailment of the fast-track reauthorization effort.

This action was strongly supported by our members because everyone knew
the stakes were too high for us to remain silent. As a result, despair has
temporarily been replaced by hope and the election(s) of 2008 can real-
istically be seen as having the potential to bring about fundamental change in our approach to public education.

Nowhere is that approach more relevant than at the School Board level here in SDUSD, where three seats are up for grabs next November. SDEA leaders have maintained a steady dialogue with our current School Board members to provide them with the teachers' perspective as they go about making decisions on behalf of the 130,000 students in our district. Whether it is dealing with grade level reconfiguration, expansion of GATE seminar, absorption of charter schools or superintendent selection, SDEA has been a consistent and powerful voice.

Another example of SDEA's voice is the year-long effort to impact the Board's budget priorities through the Compensation Comparability Task Force. Working in tandem with District administrators, SDEA leaders have drawn up a comprehensive recommendation to guide the School Board's deliberations as they continue to shape the District's 2007-08 budget.

The SDEA-SDUSD joint presentation to the Board of Education last summer was hailed as a model of col laboration. Since then, task force members have worked to continue to keep key budget issues before the Board and to
update them on the work being done to impact the development of the 2008-09 budget. (See page 5 for more information on the District's budget development process).

The potential impact of this joint effort will be seen more clearly in the years ahead, as will SDEA's efforts to fundamentally alter our relationship with our members. The SDUSD-SDEA joint trainings in shared decision-making with ARs and principals were the first step down this path. They were followed by a month-long series of membership meetings to gain support for SDEA's bargaining goals and to create a strong two-way communication system at our programs and sites.

This fall, SDEA presented a San Diego-based Fall Leadership Conference focused on giving our ARs the tools to succeed as strong advocates at their schools. This was followed by the filling of our two Contract Specialists vacancies by bright and energetic organizers who will serve as SDEA's front line for advocacy.

Our hope is that 2008 will be a year of empowerment for teachers and certificated support staff. With new office protocols due to be put into place, next year will offer the opportunity for our UniServ Field Organizers to work in the field, training leaders and organizing school staffs to take ownership of critical site issues and their solutions.

2008 will also be marked as a year of negotiations as our entire contract agreement with SDUSD expires on June 30, 2008. SDEA plans to solicit and represent the ideas of all of our members as we approach this new round of bargaining. We are planning to conduct a bargaining commission with site-based listening sessions to hear your professional concerns and to share news regarding the California budget outlook.

It is SDEA's goal that all of our members share a stake in this spring's bargaining proposals. This way, the District is clear that the SDEA bargaining team is speaking collectively on behalf of the entire bargaining unit. There will be no uncertainty regarding our priorities and, through our collective strength, the School Board's priorities will hopefully coincide.

I thank our SDEA officers, Board of Directors, Rep. Council, staff and our members for their excellent work in the past. I count on all to continue their efforts in 2008 and beyond.--