We need to ratify an agreement to continue phasing out Fall “Excessing”!

• Read the full agreement: Ongoing Implementation of 2025 – 2026 and 2026 – 2027 Pilot Minimizing Fall Transfers
• Know Your Vote (An overview of what a Yes or No vote will mean)
• Know Your Rights: Post & Bid 101 (An overview of the process)
• Frequently Asked Questions (Answers to frequently asked questions – a living document that can be updated with more questions as needed)

Context: A More Stable Transfer Process

Each year, school staffing shifts based on student enrollment, which determines funding. While our union contract includes protections during these changes, Fall Involuntary Transfers (“Excessing”) has remained especially disruptive: educators are forced to pack up classrooms they just set up and leave the students and families they just met, all due to enrollment estimates from the prior year that did not materialize in the Fall.

To address this, SDEA members negotiated an agreement with the District in May 2024, launching a new transfer process that prioritizes stability by piloting a new version of Article 12: Transfer Policies. A joint Transfer Monitoring Committee (TMC) including both District staff and SDEA members has been actively overseeing the pilot by monitoring real-time enrollment data & recommending improvements to processes with the end goal of phasing out Fall excessing.

Now, Members Need to Vote!

The pilot agreement expires June 30, 2025, and only addressed the transfer process for the 2024 – 2025 school year. The SDEA bargaining team recently began negotiating permanent improvements to the transfer process for our next contract, but we do not have an agreement yet with the district on Article 12. To keep existing improvements and continue phasing out Fall “Excessing,” SDEA members must vote to ratify this agreement. 

Check your work email for your electronic ballot from SimplyVoting!

• All active SDEA members will get an electronic ballot from Simply Voting tomorrow at 6:00am sent to your work email.
• Voting will be open Wednesday, April 16 until Monday, April 21 at 5:00pm.
• If you do not get a on April 16, please reach out to the SDEA elections committee immediately: sdeaelections@sdea.net

Update: Voting Results

See ratification vote results here