Culver City Teachers Request Smaller Class Sizes, Raise, and a Better Relationship with the District

David Mielke

Now that Culver City’s two new school board members, Nancy Goldberg and Laura Chardiet, have been seated, the Culver City Federation of Teachers has kicked it into high gear on two fronts:

1. Negotiations



2. Laying the foundation for a labor/management “partnership” focused on student achievement.

Starting with negotiations, CCFT bargains each year with CCUSD. Multi-year deals would be great, but since our revenues change every year depending on what’s going on in Sacramento, talks must be held each year. To put this year’s negotiations into context, teachers in Culver City are taking 4 unpaid furlough days this year after taking 5 unpaid days last year. CCUSD asked us for our help in a crisis and your teachers stepped up-saving CCUSD over one million dollars. According to the most recent data from the Los Angeles County Office of Education, though, Culver City teachers rank just 42nd of the 47 unified districts in the county in terms of maximum salary.

Our last salary increase was bargained in 2007-a 1% raise. It’s been even longer since we’ve seen an increase in CCUSD’s contribution toward our health care costs which, as I’m sure you know, go up every year. So as salaries have stayed flat and health care costs have increased, teachers’ standard of living has decreased.

But when we surveyed our members this fall prior to developing our bargaining proposal, salary was not the #1 concern. Health care costs? No. Furlough days? No. The primary concern for Culver City teachers: class size limits. If you want to make a teacher angry, make it tough for us to be effective. Larger classes do just that. Currently, there are no hard contractual maximums regarding class size. Over the years, CCUSD has done a good job of keeping our classes under control, but as the financial crunch has continued it has been harder for them to hold the line.
Using my own classes as an example, the smallest of my Psychology classes at CCHS has 30 students; the largest has 37. As classes get larger, the student experience changes. It’s easier for any of them to fall through the cracks. It’s harder for us to develop the kind of relationships we want with all our students. The amount of written work we assign decreases. After all, how many nights would you want to spend correcting 175 essays?

A public hearing will be held at Tuesday night’s school board meeting so that the community can give input on our proposal (The entire proposal appears below). I’ll explain to the board that teachers need real class size limits; we need help with rising health care costs; and we’re concerned that substandard salaries prevent us from attracting and keeping the best and brightest teachers. If these are your concerns, please get up and share them on Tuesday night or at any other board meeting. My experience (I’ve been teaching here since 1979) is that school boards listen more carefully to parents and community members than they do to teachers (Although I have high hopes for this new board!). CCUSD has yet to present us with their proposal, but we expect it-and a public hearing on their proposal-within the next month.

Whew-If you’re still with me, the best is yet to come. Our national affiliate organization, the American Federation of Teachers, has been working with local unions around the country to help them develop real, meaningful and equal educational partnerships with district administrators to address student achievement. One of the best examples of such a partnership is ABC Unified in Orange County. They’ve experienced a new, collaborative spirit throughout their district and have seen a steady increase in student achievement.

I met two weeks ago with Superintendent Patti Jaffe, Human Resources Director Leslie Lockhart, Kevin Cronin of our state organization, CFT, and Joan Devlin from the AFT headquarters in Washington D.C. to start the process here. I think I can safely say that each of these people is 100% on board. I’m confident that this new board will support this effort as well. We’re such a small district ( with relationships which have grown strong over the years ) that this kind of collaborative relationship should have been put in place years ago. But better late than never! So stay tuned. Bargaining is tough in these tough times, but the concerns about class size and competitive compensation are real. And the steps toward a deeper “partnership” give many of us optimism for our future. As Patti Jaffe said to me, “Dave, before you and I retire, let’s put something together to benefit those who follow us.”

CCFT 2011-2012 Bargaining Proposal
Article 32: Wages
• The five-year waiting period to qualify for K-12 longevity steps shall be eliminated.
• One new longevity step shall be added to the K-12 and OCD salary schedules.
• Longevity steps shall be developed for Adult School teachers
• The stipend schedule shall be revised and updated to include extra-duty assignments at elementary sites.
• One new stipend, at 20% of full-time pay, shall be established for elementary combination classes.
• An across-the-board salary increase shall be funded if CCUSD’s ending balance exceeds the mandated 3% reserve.

Article 31: Health and Welfare
• Annual premium increases shall be divided equally between CCUSD and bargaining unit members.
• The annual maximum dental benefit shall be increased from $1,500 to $2,500.
• Cash in lieu of medical insurance shall be increased from $3,000 to $4,000.
• Sick leave balances shall be posted on the Subfinder site.

Article 26: Class Size
• The current calculation of class size limits by departmental and grade level averages shall be replaced by “semi absolute” maximums for individual classrooms.
• State caseload maximums for specialists and special education teachers shall be added to the collective bargaining agreement to facilitate in-house dispute resolution.
• Caseload maximums shall be established for specialists serving at multiple sites and for school nurses.

Article 25: Hours of Work
• Additional preparation time shall be established for all elementary classroom teachers.
• Additional preparation time shall be established for special education teachers at elementary sites.
• District-called meetings shall be held on minimum days and shall be limited to 3 meetings per month.

Finally, we’re hoping to discuss with CCUSD the current reimbursement structure regarding release time for union business.

David Mielke is the President of the Culver City Federation of Teachers, a Member of the CCUSD Community Budget Advisory Committee, and a Teacher at Culver City High School.