Check Your Paystub Today
With the end of the calendar year, there are a number of changes taking place in the deductions from your paycheck. With the high number of changes, there is the potential for errors. Please take a few minutes to examine your paystub today, to confirm that it is correct.
Specifically, new health care premiums will be reflected in this month’s check, and any stipends for elementary combo classes and secondary extra duty contracts will be paid this month. (Compensation for class size overages will be paid in January.)
It is also a good idea to see that all of your deductions are still there as payroll rolls over to the
new year: summer pay withholding, MHFT dues, TSA contributions, etc.
If you find any errors, please contact Danielle Nunes in payroll (201-6200 x51063).
Changes to District Funding; Teacher Members Needed for Budget Decisions
California is undergoing the biggest change to public school funding in thirty years. Revenue limits will be replaced by the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). As a result, the District must develop a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
Two teachers (one elementary and one secondary) are needed for each the LCAP Committee topic areas: School Climate, Basic Services, Student Achievement, Student Engagement, Common Core, Course Access, Parental Involvement, and Other Student Outcomes.
This is extremely important. This committee will write the plan that ultimately determines how the District spends the bulk of its money. We need our best and brightest! If you are interested, please email Theresa Sage at tsmhft@garlic.com. Meetings will begin in January (with one or two release days), and continue through the spring if needed (most likely after school).
MHUSD Board Approves Two New Focus Academies
At its last meeting, our Board of Education approved STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) Focus Academy to open at Walsh School next fall, and the Environmental Science Academy to open at San Martin-Gwinn. School staffs and parents have been working hard on these plans for over a year, and we are excited that they will soon be able to offer these outstanding programs to students.
Of course, if the County Board of Education approves either the Navigator or Rocketship charters, then both of these Focus Academies will be in jeopardy. Read on ...
County Charter Decision Update
First of all, thank you to all who attended the County Board Meeting in November. And especially thank you to those who spoke, and to those who managed to recruit parents to attend! We did have a good turnout, which made an impression on the County Board.
At its January 15 meeting, the County Board will vote on whether or not to authorize Navigator and/or Rocketship to open their schools here next fall. If they do vote to override our own MHUSD Board’s decision, there will be considerable upheaval throughout the District this spring.
First, all of our multiple subject teachers who have been hired since (and including) 2007 will be receiving pink slips in March. The District will have to scramble to try to determine what the actual enrollment will be at each remaining school, and remaining staff members from the closed school(s) will have to be transferred to other schools. Classroom and grade level assignments will have to be reconfigured. And then, as the start of 2013-2014 approaches there will be more changes as some parents will change their minds and decide to come to our schools after all.
Obviously, we would like to avoid all this upheaval and uncertainty, for children, parents, and school staffs. The only way to do that is going to be to convince the County Board of Education to honor the decision made by our local board and deny both charters. The Federation and District cannot do this alone – even if we work together (which we have certainly been doing). This effort is going to succeed or fail because our teachers and parents do or do not engage in the battle. We need you to:
1. Email the County Board members over this vacation, or as soon as we return. (See below for suggestions and email addresses.)
2. Attend the County Board Meeting in San Jose on Wednesday, January 15 at 5pm. (Speaking is optional. Bringing work to grade is fine.)
3. Help recruit parents and community members to attend, and especially to speak. (We cannot win this without them either. The County Board has been told that parents are dissatisfied with our schools and wan these charters.)
We are extremely proud of the showing our District and school community have made in response to these threats to our schools. We have come together, demonstrated our commitment to our students, and raised awareness of the high quality of our schools. We need to keep it up for one more month! Go team!
District Email Changes; Your Old Emails to Be Deleted
You may have noticed that you have received some emails from the District alerting you to the changes that are already taking place, as we transition to gmail. You have been asked to go through your old emails and start deleting those you no longer need. If you do not do this, the District will be doing it for you.
In addition, you need to save in folders any old emails you want to keep (for the information, for legal documentation, or just for sentimental reasons). Please follow the directions you received from Denis Guerrero.
The Federation is trying to push the deadline to save old emails beyond the January 24 date set by the District, so that there will be time for staff training at January staff meetings. After the deadline, and continuing on from that date forward, the District server will no longer hold emails older than three months.
Personal Necessity Leave Issues
Please be aware that teachers are limited to seven personal necessity days per year, and there are restrictions regarding what those can be used for. (The Ed Code definition of “personal necessity” is reasons other than those provided for through sick leave and bereavement; it is not “none of your business.”)
Except in emergency situations (you woke up and your house is flooded), personal necessity leaves must be approved by your principal in advance. If your leave is going to be several days in duration, you must complete an HR Leave Request and submit it to the District for approval by the Board.
Please consult your contract (www.mhft.org) if you have questions. If you feel that you are being unreasonably denied a personal necessity leave, please contact your Building Rep or the Federation Office.
Morgan Hill Education Forum aka Dr. Berliner Night
Thanks to those who showed up to hear Dr. Berliner’s fantastic presentation, and the informative panel discussion that followed. We need to continue to work to get the message out to the community.
For this event, the Federation and District have worked together (special thanks to Sobrato Librarian Terri Knudsen and former teacher/current Assistant Principal Courtney Macko for an outstanding effort) to put together a slideshow highlighting the positive work that is being done at our schools.
Teachers at the Mic
Thank you to Frank Lines for the update to the Board regarding Central High School, complete with student participation. Nice job, Frank!
Next up:
Britton January 14
Live Oak January 28
Please plan to attend when it is your school’s turn to present. It is important.
If you would like to participate in the presentation, contact your Building Rep. Otherwise, just a showing of support is nice.
In Other MHUSD Board News ...
Don Moody will be continuing on as President of the Board, and Shellé Thomas will be continuing as Vice President. Both of these members have been strong supporters of the work we do in our schools, and we are happy to have them continue in their leadership positions.