Sara Holerud

2024 Spring SDEA Online Election

SDEA is a member-run democratic organization which means YOU have the opportunity to be involved and run for a leadership position! Spring election nominations are now open for a variety of roles:

Be an influential voice and have a direct impact on thousands of your fellow union members by completing your nomination form(s) today! View the election timeline, complete and submit the necessary documents to the SDEA Election Committee at sdeaelections@sdea.net by 5pm on Monday, March 4^th.

by Sara Holerud

Letters in Solidarity: SDEA Signs On to US Labor Movement Call for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine

In this month when we honor the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, it is important to highlight the critical role of unions in standing up for the rights of historically marginalized groups of people, especially when it was not easy or comfortable to do so. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was the first predominately African-American union and leaders like E.D. Nixon and A. Phillip Randolph were instrumental to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and the March on Washington in 1963. When MLK was jailed in Birmingham for participating in non-violent civil disobedience that was met with violent repression by police, he wrote a letter to fellow religious leaders about the common humanity of all people and said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

This message was a guiding principle for the SDEA Board of Directors and SDEA Representative Council as we reflected on our role as educators and a union in relation to the crisis in Israel and Palestine. After thoughtful and respectful discussions, we voted to join other unions in signing on to the US Labor Movement’s Call for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine.

The heartbreaking loss of life and the ongoing conflict and trauma for the people of Palestine and Israel are beyond comprehension. We believe that everyone deserves to live in peace. To be able to work and find sanctuary and joy in our communities and homes. To send our children to school. To see our children grow. With sincerity and open hearts, we add our voices to the many who have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.

We will now engage our state union, California Teachers Association, and our national union, National Education Association, on how to use our collective influence to move the United States government to implement the demands in the statement.

The process that we engaged in as a union when deciding to sign on to this statement is consistent with our classroom environments that uplift our students’ shared humanity enriched by their diverse life experiences and perspectives. It is important that we continue cultivating spaces for dialogue where we enter with open minds and seek to find common ground. This strengthens our union’s democracy and generates the unity and power that we need to win the schools our students deserve. As SDEA elected leaders, we are proud of our union’s ability to deliberate and take action regarding the crisis in Israel and Palestine in a way that builds our solidarity and our educator movement.

by Sara Holerud

K-12 BUDGET UNDER PRESSURE: Gov. Newsom Proposes Negligible Growth in K-12 Funding for 2024-2025, State Rainy Day Funds Utilized

In the upcoming fiscal year, California faces a daunting $40 billion deficit for 2024-2025, as revealed in Governor Newsom's recent budget proposal. Despite the overall budgetary challenges, Newsom suggests a minimal 0.76% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase in the state’s K-12 funding, primarily funded by tapping into the state's rainy day funds. Without this intervention, a direct decrease in funding would have been inevitable.

The overwhelming majority of the funding for the district is derived from state sources. So the fact that the uptick in schools funding from the state is a meager 0.76% will have wide ranging impacts. The proposed COLA falls far short of the previously anticipated 4% increase. However, considering the enrollment decline in districts like San Diego Unified, and the middling attendance levels, the state's 0.76% COLA may actually result in a slight reduction in actual state funding for San Diego Unified on a year-over-year basis-- a situation unseen since the Great Recession.

So, what does all this budget information mean for you as an educator in the San Diego Unified School District? The District will likely make changes or cuts to certain programs to balance their budget. Something that has already been seen at the central office. The main goal is always to avoid cutting resources and services from school sites. The good news is that SDUSD has money set aside in its budget reserves that it can use to support important school programs, and it should use those reserves.

Additionally, we are entering into reopener negotiations with the SDUSD again. These negotiations will include discussions about wages. While reopener bargaining will start soon, in February, negotiations about wages may not begin until May when we expect the governor to revise the budget. The hope is that the state's financial situation will improve, allowing for meaningful salary discussions after the May Revised Budget. It's important to note that even though the governor revises the budget in May, the final budget becomes a law that needs approval from the legislature by June 30th. The hope is that negotiations between those in power in Sacramento in the coming months will result in more funding for districts like SDUSD.

by Sara Holerud

SDEA Political Action Committee Update: Politics in Action!

The SDEA Political Action Committee (PAC) has been busy preparing for the political season. We recently interviewed candidates for the San Diego City Council and recommended endorsing Coleen Cusack for District 3, Marni Von-Wilpert for District 5, and Sean Elo-Rivera for District 9. All endorsement recommendations were approved by the democratically elected SDEA Board and the Representative Council. 

SDEA-endorsed SDUSD School Board Members Sabrina Bazzo, Richard Barrera, and Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne are all up for reelection in 2024. SDEA leaders were instrumental in helping gather member signatures in order for our endorsed candidates to qualify for the ballot. Sabrina Bazzo is the only trustee to face a challenger in the March 5 primary election for the District A school board seat. This year, the general election for this seat will be by sub-district only for the first time, versus an election by voters throughout the entire school district.

To help ensure we maintain a pro-educator and pro-public education majority on the school board, SDEA is launching a PAC Drive to help fund electoral campaigns for our endorsed candidates. All members are highly encouraged to donate to the SDEA PAC to prevent the rise of fringe groups from taking hold in our school district. Last election cycle, we saw anti-union forces spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to try and establish a political presence in SDUSD. Due to the hard work of the SDEA PAC, your union was able to push back and secure victory at the ballot boxes. Victories like these are only possible through contributions from members like you! To be successful in this crucial political work of our union, we need you to help provide the necessary funding. Please give now using this PAC Drive link. We thank you in advance for your support!

by Sara Holerud

UNITED FRONT: Coordinating Our 2025 Contract Campaigns Across California's K-12 Educator Unions

In a groundbreaking collaboration, large teacher union chapters across California, including SDEA, OEA (Oakland), SCTA (Sacramento), UTLA (Los Angeles), UESF (San Francisco), SJTA (San Jose), and others, are joining hands to shape the trajectory of public education in the state. This effort aims to enact substantial improvements for students, educators, support staff, and communities alike through bargaining for our next whole contract negotiations.

The alignment of the expiration dates of our contracts has brought educator union chapters together in a unified front for the first time. This presents an opportunity to leverage our collective strength to amplify our demands. We aim to not only uphold our recent contract victories but also expand funding for our schools. To achieve this, we will take our contract fights to Sacramento and work with broader communities to build a large, diverse movement for California's schools. The four main pillars of this coordination with other unions can be summarized as follows.

Common Objectives

To start, we'll work together to set shared goals for our contract campaigns, focusing on improving California's public schools. We'll develop strategies that go beyond individual districts and have a statewide impact. These common goals will be developed over the next year, with input from every local chapter's members. Local chapters will still have the freedom to pursue their own local priorities in addition to these shared goals.

Statewide Coordination

Essential to this effort will be establishing a robust, statewide coordinated contract campaign structure. This will facilitate close collaboration among educators across California, pooling efforts to achieve common goals that transcend individual districts.

Strengthening Organizational Capacity

To bolster the chances of success, the chapters are dedicated to increasing membership involvement. This includes expanding participation through site leader training, systematic worksite meetings, utilizing diffused site member leadership teams, and employing other effective tactics to fortify internal union structures.

Inclusive Partnerships

Recognizing the significance of broad support, the united chapters are committed to building meaningful alliances with students, parents, and other community and labor stakeholders who share the common goal of enhancing California's public school system. This cooperative approach aims to create a positive impact on education and cultivate stronger unions throughout all the chapters involved.

The SDEA Board of Directors, composed of elected SDEA members, has already approved the initiative to engage in this collective fight for our schools. The Representative Council, composed primarily of SDEA members elected from school sites and programs, will be discussing this common goals policy at its December 2023 meeting.

by Sara Holerud

Four Important Insights About the District's Budget, It's Not as Dire as You May Have Heard

In the words of Mark Twain, "there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." These wise words hold true today, especially when it comes to our district’s budget. Some administrators have been painting a rather gloomy picture of our financial situation, often attributing it to the significant wage increases won by SDEA members in the last contract campaign. The good news is that even SDUSD Superintendent Jackson has been pushing back on the narrative that our wage agreement from last year is leading to a budget crunch. However, it's still important to separate fact from fiction and establish a more realistic outlook, especially as we approach reopener negotiations later in the school year. So, what's the real story behind the SDUSD budget? Here are four key insights that provide clarity.

The District's budget deficit has been portrayed as massive, sparking concerns about major cutbacks. However, it's essential to examine the foundation of the District's budget. For instance, health benefits costs have been rising by an average of about 9.5% annually, as per data from VEBA. Inflated health insurance rates are affecting San Diego Unified, which fully funds our health benefits. But here's the twist: the SDUSD budget assumes an almost 19% increase in health benefit costs, tacking on approximately $20 million unnecessarily to a possible deficit. Similar discrepancies can be found in other areas, like a $10 million increase in the budget for books and supplies, well above typical annual expenditures. These unrealistic assumptions create a paper deficit that might not match the true financial situation.

Raising alarms about next year's budget at this stage may be a bit hasty. Why? Well, because we lack crucial information about the state's funding for the upcoming year. The state budget is expected to provide additional funding to the District, it might not be as generous as in previous years, but it will nonetheless be expected to be a new ongoing increase in funding. So, it's prudent to hold off on dire predictions.

Also, the first interim report, which typically gets published in December, and offers a close look at the District's actual spending for the year, has yet to be finalized. This report is more than just numbers on paper; it provides an invaluable snapshot of the District's expenses up to that point. While the annual budget involves a bit of crystal ball gazing, the interim report paints a clearer picture of our actual budget situation.

Intriguingly, there's another development on the horizon. Enrollment trends seem to be stabilizing, a factor that doesn’t appear to have been considered in the District's initial budget assumptions, which were based on expectations of continued declining enrollment. These significant factors are often overlooked by those who paint a gloomy picture of the budget.

Surprisingly, last year, even after implementing wage increases, the District had over $163 million in unrestricted reserves. This surplus is substantial and could potentially cover most genuine deficits, even without accounting for budgetary fluff.

As SDUSD staff receive their full 15% raise, it's expected that many will opt for retirement. This presents an opportunity for the District not to fill positions in areas where additional staffing isn't necessary. This could lead to significant savings in the coming year. However, effective position control is crucial. The District must avoid unnecessary hiring and prioritize staffing in essential areas, all without compromising the quality of services provided to our students.

So, what's the bottom line? Undoubtedly, our wage increases and the costs associated with maintaining fully paid benefits will impact the District's budget. While enrollment appears to be stabilizing, we've lost a significant number of students in recent years, resulting in a decline in average daily attendance. However, the state has consistently increased per-pupil funding, which should allow us to modestly increase compensation in the upcoming renegotiations. It's important to note that these increases may not match the levels experienced in recent years but are more likely to align with historical averages.

by Sara Holerud

Letters in Solidarity - Kicking Off Our Next Contract Campaign with Union Power

As always seems to be the case, we are experiencing peaks and valleys on the roller coaster of public education. Through our collective organizing efforts last school year with thousands of SDEA union educators mobilizing to fight for the schools and communities our students deserve, we won a historic new contract with significant salary increases that places us in the top tier of districts in San Diego County. We also protected our fully-paid family health benefits that are the gold standard in our region. On top of that, we were able to make our work in the classroom more manageable by winning improvements to elementary prep time, removing private school assessments off the plates of school site special education staff and ensuring that early childhood and elementary educators are paired in every TK classroom.  

And yet, after concluding the disruptive process of balancing staffing at school sites through fall excessing, and despite our best efforts to address staffing shortages through our bargaining wins, we still continue to experience numerous vacancies in our schools. Vacancies impact everyone in school communities across the district as we all have to pick up the slack and stretch ourselves thin to make sure student needs are met. The greatest number of vacancies are in positions serving the highest need populations like students with disabilities, 4 year olds in TK and multilingual learners. Educators in these positions also tend to be early career educators who are at the lower end of our salary schedule. 

This year’s monumental 15.5% salary increase resulted in a $16,647 raise for those at the top of our salary schedule. For someone at the bottom of the salary schedule, however, the increase was $7,865 - less than half of what our most experienced educators received. While the raise represents significant progress for all educators, it is also imperative that we do more to attract and retain early career educators who are most acutely impacted by the housing crisis facing our region. San Diego was just ranked the most expensive place to live in the country and two in three San Diegans are considering leaving due to the unsustainable cost of living.

We have the opportunity to address the staffing crisis that deeply impacts our schools through reopener bargaining with the district starting in February 2024 that will cover 4 key areas: wages, professional growth and development, transfers and housing. Starting in November, SDEA Site Leadership Teams will be convening Reopener Bargaining Union Meetings at every school in the district. This will be a chance for all SDEA members to weigh in on the priorities that will guide our bargaining team’s negotiations with the district over our contract for next school year. Our bargaining demands will be informed by your input and brought for adoption to the SDEA Board of Directors and Rep Council through our union’s democratic process.

Our union educator movement is only as strong as the degree to which members at our schools are engaged and ready to fight as a unified force to support our SDEA Bargaining Team. So let’s all do what it takes to build on the success of last year’s contract campaign and start this school year’s Reopener Bargaining Campaign with SDEA Union Power!

by Sara Holerud

SDEA’s 2024 School Board Endorsements

SDEA is endorsing our educator and labor friendly incumbents for the 2024 School Board elections. The endorsed incumbents are:

• Sabrina Bazzo, current board President, representing sub-district A.
• Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, representing sub-district E.
• Richard Barrera, representing sub-district D.

Following our union’s democratic process, the three incumbent candidates all interviewed with members of the SDEA Political Involvement Committee (PIC) on June 1st. The PIC made the recommendation to the SDEA Board to move forward with early friendly incumbent endorsements. The SDEA Board of Directors approved the recommendation and the endorsements were put to the SDEA Representative Council at the August 14th Rep. Council meeting. The elected school site and program representatives approved the endorsement of Sabrina Bazzo, Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, and Richard Barrera for SDUSD Board of Education. 

SDEA recently won a historic contract for our educators and these three board members all voted to approve those wins! We need to maintain our pro-educator and pro-labor school board in San Diego Unified. We have seen what happens when school boards become hostile, as evident by actions against educators and students in other Southern California school districts. Members can support these candidates by spreading the word to friends, family members, and neighbors. SDEA members can also donate to our Political Action Committee (PAC) to help fund our political campaign. 

There is still time for people to come out against our endorsed candidates.The filing deadline for a candidate to run for school board is December 8, 2023.  The primary election is on March 5, 2024.  It’s imperative that we stay engaged and actively promote the SDEA endorsed candidates. The top two vote getters will move on to the general election on November 5, 2024. SDEA will keep members informed of any additional information regarding the campaign or possible opponents as we get closer to election day. Members will be encouraged to participate in campaign activities to ensure we are victorious.

by Sara Holerud