Guffanti threatens to tear up Union contracts

In an editorial in February 2007, Dr. Stephen Guffanti made it clear that if he had the powere he would throw out our district's bargained contracts because he claims the contracts were "unsustainable."

Here is the title of Guffanti's article and date the nctimes printed it:

Reading crisis, union power prompted donations
By: STEPHEN GUFFANTI - Commentary Friday, February 16, 2007 9:13 PM PST


Here is the Guffanti threat to our contracts found in the above editorial:

In order to reach all students who need help, our superintendent needs control of the budget. The county Office of Education has concluded that our latest union contract is unsustainable. At the same time, even though VUSD has nearly 5,000 empty seats, the board majority is diverting operating funds to build the largest school in VUSD history. The more of our budget that is shifted to prop the union's raise and fund the mega-school, the less that is available to teach reading.

Guffanti is following the same game plan as his ideologue counterparts back in 1993 who told VUSD teachers that yearly raises were unnecessary because younger teachers get step and column raises as they get more graduate units and stay in the district longer and older teachers already make plenty of money. (Their decision to attack our bargained raises, and at one point even the step and column raises, came after the VTA decided to join the community inspired recall of the extremists who did not believe in FACT based science or sex ed. Can you say pay back?)

The 92-94 board accused teachers of being "greedy" and "taking money from the students and their classrooms" when teachers asked to get a portion of the yearly increase in funding from the state. Our state government is aware of inflation and increases the amount it gives to each district in the state every year. Apparently the anti-teacher coalition is either unaware that teacher's personal income also is diminished by inflation or they do not care. I think the latter.

There is also a state ed regulation that requires a district to give a certain percentage of their general fund to employee salaries. But the anti-public education folks do not believe in that concept. Teachers are missionaries and should teach for the joy of teaching not for money. (I actually was told that by one of their crowd!)

The general fund conflict between teacher salaries and extras in the classroom was set up specifically by anti-teacher forces in Sacramento many decades ago to try to limit teacher pay. They set up a second limit to pay by allowing each district to create different standards for pay and different step and column pay scales for each of the thousands of school districts in the state, so that if a teacher changes district that teachers loses years of experience often worth thousands of dollars a year. Big savings for the state. Just what teachers deserve after all they do not have real jobs--our anti-teacher foes tell us.

In other states, Missouri and Iowa are two, teacher salaries are the same in each school district in the state. In Missouri and Iowa a teacher can transfer to any other district in the state without losing a penny. The step and column scale is the same for every district in those states no matter how wealthy or how poor the district is. Local school districts have NO SAY in teacher salary, nor do they want it. Teacher salary is solely a state decision. Funding for local districts is used only for students. There is no artificial conflict set up so teacher's feel too guilty to get paid enough to provide adequately for their families like here in California.

Even though this is an artificial conflict set up in this state, we hear over and over from Guffanti's group that teachers are greedy and stealing from our children needs for a good education when teachers go hat in hand and like Oliver politely ask, "please sir can we have some more?". Of course we are called greedy only when they are not calling us "lazy" or telling us we should be glad get "full time salaries" for our "half time jobs."

How much will Guffanti take away from your current salary if he and his group gets ONLY ONE MORE seat on our board?

Now they have two--Guffanti and Gibson. If either Anderson or Fernandez get on the board with Guffanti, the anti-teacher, anti-public education folks will have a majority. A majority on a school board has virtually absolute power. There is no appeal to a higher authority. The board majority sets working conditions and salaries.

Do you want Guffanti deciding whether your family can afford food, shelter and clothing or not?