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"ABC is easy as 1-2-3."
By Dick Gale, SDEA Executive Director

For the Jackson Five (that's Michael and his brothers), what could be simpler than a song about love? But, when I say ABC, I mean that something is as easy as learning the alphabet. A colleague might take it to refer to something a bit more philosophical, like "always be cheerful." To a child, it might conjure up an image of that kind of gum that's "already been chewed." Clearly, ABC is in the eye of the beholder.

Such is the case with many acronyms- an abbreviation that is usually made from the capitalized initials of the words it represents. Acronyms do not have to be pronounceable words (for example FBI is spelled out when spoken, whereas NASA is not).

Acronyms often represent the most impenetrable parts of "eduspeak," the language used by those of us connected with the world of public education. Only the courageous will enter into a discussion of API, AYP and PI under NCLB as administered by the CDE. Indeed, you have to be truly a special educator to comprehend the intricacies of SDC, RSP, IEP and LRE. Even the Association is not a safe haven from the EERA, the CBA and the ULP.

But all of the acronyms above, and the many challenging issues associated with them, pale in comparison to the current acronym champion - RIF or Reduction in Force. Since the SDUSD Board of Education passed their layoff resolution on March 11, 2008, day-to-day life for hundreds of San Diego teachers and certificated support staff members has become one of stress and uncertainty.

For SDEA, the RIF notices presented to over 900 of our bargaining unit members represent a huge legal and organizational challenge as we work For SDEA, the RIF notices presented to over 900 of our bargaining unit members represent a huge legal and organizational challenge as we work to represent the advocacy needs of our members while, at the same time, organizing to get all of the RIFs rescinded.

The Board of Education's 4-1 vote to proceed with the certificated layoffs (only Sheila Jackson voted no) was the final step in the district administration's decision to submit a budget containing over $80 million in cuts for 2008-09. The resolution set in motion a wave of activity here at SDEA over the past few weeks as the Association tries to ensure the legal and contractual rights of our members who received a layoff notice. I want to thank the SDEA leadership and staff who have stepped up in a big way to serve our members.

On the legal side, SDEA scheduled four informational pre-hearing meetings with the CTA attorney and  SDEA staff members for over 400 permanent bargaining unit members in late March and early April. The actual hearings, before an administratve law judge, were held on April 14-16th at Correia Middle School, although the results won't be known until May. Many affected bargaining unit members exercised their right to attend all 3 days of the hearings and were not charged for substitutes.

Because the SDEA-SDUSD contract spells out Probationary Layoff Procedures in Article 19, grievances were filed by ARs or other representatives on behalf of nearly 450 probationary unit members at the site level. Informational meetings for these probationary folks are scheduled for mid-late April.

An important part of this legal process is based on the Association's ability to analyze critical employment data and other pertinent occupational information of our members. To that end, SDEA requested a large amount of information from the District, including an updated Certificated Seniority list. This document was 232 pages long and presents the District's best guess of each employee's school location, hire date and job classification. A summary of that information is presented on page 5.

Even as SDEA worked to guarantee rights spelled out under the California Education Code and our contract, organizing work was being done to persuade the School Board members to rescind the RIF notices. The rally at the March 11th School Board meeting brought out over 700 members to protest the District's actions. Another massive rally is planned at the Ed Center for 5 p.m. on April 22nd.

Further demonstrations and press conferences have been held to focus attention on the damage being done in our school communities as a result of the Governor's budget proposal to cut statewide school funding by $4.8 billion. One recent event brought a number of Democratic state senators to Serra High School to discuss the damaging impact of the proposed cuts.

An astute comment from Senator Jack Scott of Pasadena pointed out that the RIF process is sending a loud and clear message to college and high school students in California to not go into teaching. In fact, the Union-Tribune featured a story recently about how the impact of this year's layoff notices could complicate recruiters' efforts to meet the long-term demand for teachers.

The California Teachers Association estimates that 40% of CTA members will be eligible to retire in the next five years. That development could be another disastrous aspect of the Governor's simple-minded approach to balancing the state budget. That is a topic I will explore in a future column.