CFT Convention This Weekend; MHFT Office Closed
Our MHFT leadership will be attending the CFT Convention in Manhattan Beach this weekend, so the office will be closed. If you have an urgent problem, please send an email to tsmhft@garlic.com.
While at the convention, MHFT President Theresa Sage will be participating on a plenary session panel with Superintendent Steve Betando and parent Mario Banuelos, about our collaborative effort to defend our district from the outside charter assault.
Check out your most recent issue of the CFT publication, California Teacher, for a feature on Morgan Hill’s charter battle.
South Bay Labor Council
On March 14, 2014, the MHFT COPE (Committee on Political Education), consisting of members of our Executive Council, approved a motion to move $9.20 from each MHFT member’s dues to the MHFT COPE Account. They approved an additional motion to donate $5000 from the MHFT COPE account to the South Bay Labor Council’s 2014 COPE Fundraiser.
The South Bay Labor Council is our local arm of the AFL-CIO. The labor council’s political expertise and relationships with Santa Clara County Board trustees were instrumental in securing a positive outcome at the county level (however temporary that result may be).
In this year’s election, the Labor Council will be fighting to elect a mayor and city council in San Jose that will improve the lives of working families in Silicon Valley. In addition, they will be working to elect local school board members throughout Santa Clara County, including Morgan Hill, who understand and support quality public education for all.
The Labor Council has already begun working with a local candidate to oppose Trustee Hover-Smoot for the Santa Clara County School Board. Their support for this candidate will be important because we know that Ms. Hover-Smoot will be supported financially by charter school advocates. In 2012, pro-charter PACs gave close to $200,000 dollars to county board candidates.
Anna Song was endorsed by the South Bay Labor Council and won because of financial support and phone banking efforts. Removing Trustee Hover-Smoot from her seat this fall will require a similar effort.
District Retirement Party May 15
This year’s celebration will be held at the Lorita Bonfante-Johnson Education Center (the new Central High School, formerly Burnett School).
Please save the date, and plan to spend a delightful afternoon with your colleagues as we honor those who are putting the finishing touches on their careers.
Teacher-of-the-Year Nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for Morgan Hill’s Teachers-of-the-Year. (Emphasis on the –s.)
This year, there are two separate categories of nominations and awards. And, we will be honoring multiple nominees in both categories.
Overall Teacher-of-the-Year
This is the traditional award that has been given every year, and is the selection of one teacher per district, to be honored at the county level in the fall.
Each site is invited to select one nominee (selection to be made by teachers at the site). All nominees (one per site) will be recognized at the MHFT General Meeting on May 8, as well as at a Morgan Hill School Board Meeting. From this set of nominees, one Teacher-of-the-Year will be selected to represent the district at the countywide celebration on October 2nd.
Nominations for Teacher-of-the-Year are due at the Federation Office no later than April 15th at 4pm. Nomination forms are available at www.mhft.org.
STEM Teachers-of-the-Year
This is a new category, and districts may select multiple honorees. STEM nominees are to be selected by their principals. Principals may even nominate more than one STEM teacher. If you have recommendations for your principal, please suggest them to him/her right away.
Nominations for STEM Teacher-of-the-Year must include both a nomination form from the principal AND an application form from the teacher. Both of these forms are also available at www.mhft.org. While these nominations may be submitted directly to the County Office of Education, if they are submitted to MHFT by April 15th at 4pm, the nominated teachers will be honored within the district along with the general Teacher-of-the-Year nominees.
MHFT scholarships
Every year, MHFT awards modest scholarships to graduating seniors who are children or dependents of current or retired MHFT members. These seniors do not have to be attending Morgan Hill Schools, but they do have to be enrolling in college in the fall. Applications are due in the MHFT Office by April 15 at 4pm.
Application forms are available at www.mhft.org, or students may simply submit a copy of the Common Scholarship Application.
Trust Agreement Timeline
The Trust Agreement process enables sites to set aside specific clauses of the collective bargaining agreement in order to implement desired reforms at the site, provided the decision to do this is supported by the site teachers and administration, and the setting aside of the identified clauses is not determined by the district Trust Committee to be detrimental.
In order to adopt a Trust Agreement, the language must be set to paper, signed by all affected staff, and submitted to Human Resources by May 1.
On May 9, the Trust Committee will convene in order to review submitted Trust Agreements.
By May 15, sites will be notified of the approval or denial of their Trust Agreements.
Navigator Appeal News!
As we reported previously, Navigator submitted an appeal to the State Board of Education, seeking to overturn the decisions of the Morgan Hill Board of Education and the Santa Clara County Board of Education, to deny their application to open a new charter school in Morgan Hill next fall. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, April 9 in Sacramento. However...
It turns out that Navigator attempted to “clean up” their petition before submitting it to the State Board, just as they tried to do for their appeal to the County Board. At that time, the District had argued that any changes should be resubmitted to the District first, so that our local board would have the option to be the oversight agency if the charter were to open here. That was one of the reasons some County Board Members gave for voting against Navigator, so you might expect they would have learned from that experience.
But you would be wrong. The State Board has notified Navigator that they cannot submit a different petition than the one originally submitted to the district. This is problematic for them, given that their original petition did not include an ELAC Committee (they said they didn’t realize it was a big deal), and included some unusual funding practices.
So it’s back to square one for Navigator. We do anticipate that they may well be back with a new and improved petition at the district level next year. (The same could happen with Rocketship.) But for now, it looks unlikely that they will be opening here in the fall.
Charter School of Morgan Hill Considering Expansion
Charter School of Morgan Hill is actively discussing opening a second site within the district. Approximately 30 people attended a meeting recently at the Morgan Hill public library – some of them being people who were involved in the Rocketship and Navigator petitions.
Probationary Non-Reelects
Every year at this time, the district notifies some probationary teachers that they will not be hired back the next year. The Ed Code allows the district to make this decision for any reason (or no particular reason). Typically, they do not identify a reason but rather simply express that the teacher is not a good fit for the district. These notifications have already been delivered to those teachers who will be receiving them this year.
Temporary Teachers Being Released
Technically, temporary teachers can be released at any time, with no reason given. Under the law, the district does not have to give these teachers any notice. However, as a courtesy the district does notify temporary teachers if it has determined that they will not be rehired after the end of the school year. These notifications have also already been delivered. (It is still legal for the district to release temporary teachers at any time.)
Lay-offs for Particular Kinds of Service
When the district lays off teachers due to budget cuts or enrollment issues, that is called a “PKS layoff.” This means that teachers are laid off based upon their credential status and enrollment needs. This year, we have had four teachers notified that they will be subject to PKS layoffs. All four are at the secondary level. The Federation is actively representing each of these teachers, to ensure that their due process rights are protected, and that they receive any benefits and consideration to which they are entitled.
There is No Such Thing as Tenure for California K-12 Teachers!
Permanent Teachers Can Be Fired
Representing teachers facing discipline, and possible dismissal, is an important part of the work of the union. Please call us if you are facing discipline, or if you receive a summary evaluation of “Does Not Meet Standards” or “Partially Meets Standards.” When you receive such an evaluation, you should take it seriously, as the district may be laying the foundation for dismissal if you fail to improve.
The good news is that no one wants to see that happen. We are here to help, and the district has resources to provide assistance. It is, however, up to you to request representation (better sooner than later), and to accept assistance.
Keep reading ... We’re not done!
Negotiations Update
In preparation for negotiations this year, the following committees are being formed to look at data and suggest contract modifications:
• Salary Comparisons
• Health and Welfare
• Stipends
• eSchool Program Replacement
Teachers at the Mic
Great job, Walsh! Your presentation would make a great brochure about the new STEAM Academy.
Next up:
Nordstrom on March 25
JAMM on April 15
Please plan to attend and showcase your site!
TK - 1st Grade Class Size Option
The Board did a capacity study to determine whether or not we have enough classrooms to reduce TK - 1st Grade class size to 24:1, if the decision is made to do that. The study determined that for the most part there is capacity, but some rooms would have to be repurposed, and there would need to be portables brought on to one or two sites. This option does involve considerable expense, and it is not certain that it will happen. We will keep you posted.
Upcoming Meetings
March 27 MHFT Executive Council 3:45-5:15
April 7 LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) community meeting at El Toro 6:00pm
April 11 LCAP community meeting at San Martin-Gwinn 8:00am
May 8 MHFT General Meeting SAVE THE DATE!
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