Will the VTA file a counter suit against VUSD?
The cost of salary and benefits for VUSD is exactly the same whether the president is in her classroom or out of it, except for one thing, the cost of her substitute. The VTA has always paid more than that cost every time the president has been out of her classroom. Since January of this year VTA has paid far more than the cost of a substitute.
The intent of the language on this matter in the state Education Code is clear no side should profit, neither the district nor the association. In our case the district has profited for years.
The Education Code says that an association is only responsible for the additional costs of a substitute for the president which may also include a small administrative charge, no more. Read section 44987.3(d)
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=44001-45000&file=44930-44988
The VTA bargained in good faith and got stuck with paying more than the costs of a substitute plus administrative costs. Now the district via the lawsuit has reneged on the bargained agreement. VTA leadership owes no loyalty to the bargained agreement since the district school board has chosen not to honor it. Excess money above and beyond the cost of a substitute for the president should now be placed into an escrow account. Under no circumstances should this excess be given to the school district.
Here is the bargained contract language between the association and the district: “VTA Contract, Article 9.10, allows for up to a 100% release of the VTA President. The cost of this release time will be borne by the VTA based on Class C, Step 4 ($41,562) of the Teacher’s Salary Schedule.”
http://vistaschools.blogspot.com/2009/09/release-time-president-vusd-board.html
The cost of paying for a teacher at Class C, Step 4 is far more than the cost of a classroom substitute as required by law.
The governing body of the VTA, the Representative Assembly, needs to immediately file a counter suit against the district for the return of all of that excess payment plus interest. They sued us. Let's return the favor.
The Vista Teachers Association and its members are the victims in this whole release time president brouhaha. We need to be made whole. No teacher’s salary, in this already very low paying district, should be used to subsidize the running of this school district.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Release Time President Compensation lawsuit
Today in the North County Times brings news that the Vista Unified School District has decided to sue the Vista Teachers' Association for the full costs of our release time president. Not a good move for VUSD as the California Education Code clearly says that the VTA only owes the district the costs of the substitute who sits in the classroom of the release time president.
Because the VTA has always paid more than the cost of a substitute, at the end of the day, VUSD will owe a great deal of money to the VTA, not the other way around. Suing VTA was a very foolish move for our school board.
Read the article:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_8bc1d924-7186-5b1d-8b0b-6ddff33557f1.html
My response to the inevitable inaccurate blogs from our dwindling group of angry friends is printed below in blue. To read their howlings, foamings, and inaccurate rants go here:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_8bc1d924-7186-5b1d-8b0b-6ddff33557f1.html?mode=comments
The Vista Teacher’s Association owes no money to the Vista Unified School District. It is just the reverse. The school district owes a great deal of money to the VTA. Each month that the VTA pays more than the cost of a substitute for its release time president that amount is growing.
The agreement between the VTA and VUSD for the VTA to pay the costs of the substitute for the VTA release time president is based on long standing practices, settled law and the California Education Code [44987.3(d)]. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=44001-45000&file=44930-44988
That section of the California Ed. Code says that in regards to employees on leave for non school business including union activity, “…the school district shall be reimbursed… the compensation paid to the employee's substitute…”
The Ed. Code clear intent is that no California school district shall incur any additional cost from a union leader’s absence from the classroom for union activities nor on the other hand shall the school district benefit from these necessary absences.
The cost of the substitute for the VTA president on leave from her/his classroom has always been fully covered by the VTA. Not for one minute of the history of the VTA release time president has the VTA paid less than the full cost of the substitute. In fact in most years the VTA has paid more.
The Vista school district has illegally benefited financially in the past from the release of the VTA president from his or her classroom in years when the VTA paid in excess of the costs of the substitute for the president. Any money the school district received above and beyond the cost of the substitute (other than small admin costs) will have to be returned to the VTA.
The greatest illegal benefit for the school district has been obtained since last January when the VTA ill-advisedly decided to pay 40% above the cost of the substitute directly into the general fund of the VUSD, rather than into an escrow account to be held untouched until the VTA prevails in court.
It should also be noted that the VTA/VUSD bargaining agreement is not unique to VUSD. The language and concept for a teachers’ association to reimburse a school district for the additional costs incurred by the district for substitutes and only the cost of those substitutes is currently being used in every school district in California whether for full time release president in large districts like VUSD or for part time or as needed releases in smaller districts.
I hope that the VUSD school board is putting money aside for their inevitable loss in their ill- conceived legal action. When this lawsuit is settled, VUSD will end up owing the Vista Teacher’s Associations a great deal of money. I hope they can afford the bill. The school board should have let sleeping dogs lie.
Because the VTA has always paid more than the cost of a substitute, at the end of the day, VUSD will owe a great deal of money to the VTA, not the other way around. Suing VTA was a very foolish move for our school board.
Read the article:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_8bc1d924-7186-5b1d-8b0b-6ddff33557f1.html
My response to the inevitable inaccurate blogs from our dwindling group of angry friends is printed below in blue. To read their howlings, foamings, and inaccurate rants go here:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_8bc1d924-7186-5b1d-8b0b-6ddff33557f1.html?mode=comments
The Vista Teacher’s Association owes no money to the Vista Unified School District. It is just the reverse. The school district owes a great deal of money to the VTA. Each month that the VTA pays more than the cost of a substitute for its release time president that amount is growing.
The agreement between the VTA and VUSD for the VTA to pay the costs of the substitute for the VTA release time president is based on long standing practices, settled law and the California Education Code [44987.3(d)]. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=44001-45000&file=44930-44988
That section of the California Ed. Code says that in regards to employees on leave for non school business including union activity, “…the school district shall be reimbursed… the compensation paid to the employee's substitute…”
The Ed. Code clear intent is that no California school district shall incur any additional cost from a union leader’s absence from the classroom for union activities nor on the other hand shall the school district benefit from these necessary absences.
The cost of the substitute for the VTA president on leave from her/his classroom has always been fully covered by the VTA. Not for one minute of the history of the VTA release time president has the VTA paid less than the full cost of the substitute. In fact in most years the VTA has paid more.
The Vista school district has illegally benefited financially in the past from the release of the VTA president from his or her classroom in years when the VTA paid in excess of the costs of the substitute for the president. Any money the school district received above and beyond the cost of the substitute (other than small admin costs) will have to be returned to the VTA.
The greatest illegal benefit for the school district has been obtained since last January when the VTA ill-advisedly decided to pay 40% above the cost of the substitute directly into the general fund of the VUSD, rather than into an escrow account to be held untouched until the VTA prevails in court.
It should also be noted that the VTA/VUSD bargaining agreement is not unique to VUSD. The language and concept for a teachers’ association to reimburse a school district for the additional costs incurred by the district for substitutes and only the cost of those substitutes is currently being used in every school district in California whether for full time release president in large districts like VUSD or for part time or as needed releases in smaller districts.
I hope that the VUSD school board is putting money aside for their inevitable loss in their ill- conceived legal action. When this lawsuit is settled, VUSD will end up owing the Vista Teacher’s Associations a great deal of money. I hope they can afford the bill. The school board should have let sleeping dogs lie.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Richard Kirk does no research when writing for North County Times
Richard Kirk fact challenged opinion piece referred to in the last blog post shows that he does no research before writing. Here are a couple of examples where he is just wrong, "Vista's teachers union was priming its members for a "work to the rule" withdrawal of services." "A settlement was reached that avoided the "go slow" action." Read more of Kirk's drivel here: http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/kirk/article_50f1f441-78b5-563f-b4c9-bc8276d0c58c.html?mode=story
There was no 'go slow' or work slow down in VUSD by teachers last Spring or ever. During the work action, teachers worked even faster than usual to finish what usually tacks nine or ten hours in the the seven and half hours they were paid for. This work action lasted three days. Whoopee. Why does the fact that employees stopped working when their paid hours ended merit most of Kirk's column space?--especially when the 'work action' lasted for only three days and had NOTHING TO DO WITH TEACHER PAY?
That's right the work action had NOTHING to do with pay. Nothing. Teachers were merely seeking to make the increase in class sizes for K-12 potentially TEMPORARY rather than permanent.
Teachers thought that 38 students in a class made learning a bit more problematic. What horrible thing did then did teachers do? For THREE DAYS they watched the clock and stopped working when their paid day was done. This is in contrast to the hours of unpaid free time virtually every one of them gives every other day of the year as a gift to their students, their student's parents and the community.
Below is proof that Kirk's description is wrong. Read the North County Times article about the incident. The work action was not a work slow down or go slow action. The article was written by Stacy Brandt, North County Times reporter last spring.
What is wrong with Richard Kirk that he could not even read his own newspaper's account of the job action before he wrote his fact challenged opinion piece?
VISTA: Teachers plan to stop after-hours work
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_361e98e6-d599-5d3f-a4bd-23a0bbd1c0e0.html
"Teachers in the Vista Unified School District plan to stop doing any extra work outside of contract hours..."
There was no slow down. Teachers just stopped working when their paid day was done. What other opinion columnist in what other paper would find workers going home when their paid day was done to be in the least bit controversial?
There was no 'go slow' or work slow down in VUSD by teachers last Spring or ever. During the work action, teachers worked even faster than usual to finish what usually tacks nine or ten hours in the the seven and half hours they were paid for. This work action lasted three days. Whoopee. Why does the fact that employees stopped working when their paid hours ended merit most of Kirk's column space?--especially when the 'work action' lasted for only three days and had NOTHING TO DO WITH TEACHER PAY?
That's right the work action had NOTHING to do with pay. Nothing. Teachers were merely seeking to make the increase in class sizes for K-12 potentially TEMPORARY rather than permanent.
Teachers thought that 38 students in a class made learning a bit more problematic. What horrible thing did then did teachers do? For THREE DAYS they watched the clock and stopped working when their paid day was done. This is in contrast to the hours of unpaid free time virtually every one of them gives every other day of the year as a gift to their students, their student's parents and the community.
Below is proof that Kirk's description is wrong. Read the North County Times article about the incident. The work action was not a work slow down or go slow action. The article was written by Stacy Brandt, North County Times reporter last spring.
What is wrong with Richard Kirk that he could not even read his own newspaper's account of the job action before he wrote his fact challenged opinion piece?
VISTA: Teachers plan to stop after-hours work
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_361e98e6-d599-5d3f-a4bd-23a0bbd1c0e0.html
"Teachers in the Vista Unified School District plan to stop doing any extra work outside of contract hours..."
There was no slow down. Teachers just stopped working when their paid day was done. What other opinion columnist in what other paper would find workers going home when their paid day was done to be in the least bit controversial?
Richard Kirk, a liar, a fool, or a useful tool?
The North County Times has once again allowed their greatest embarrassment, Richard Kirk, to publish a column that is not founded in fact. In it he falsely accuses the fine teachers of VUSD of using a work slow down last spring during negotiations. As every one knows who is a VUSD teacher or who reads the articles in the North County Times written last spring, there was no work slow down. The work action was what is called a 'work to rule.' Teachers in the district simply stopped working when they were no longer being paid to work.
I believe that Kirk gets his information directly from Jim Gibson. It has the mark of a Gibson tall tale. Gibson as we painfully are aware is a story teller. He loves to make up stuff that makes teachers into villains and usually makes himself look heroic. Apparently Kirk swallowed Gibson's tripe about the work action last spring without any examination or fact checking. Then he wrote this column.
Here is the URL of the Kirk column published by the North County Times:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/kirk/article_50f1f441-78b5-563f-b4c9-bc8276d0c58c.html?mode=story
Below are the comments that I left after Kirk's column. I put my comments here as Gibson has an ally in ACE, the person at the North County Times that deletes comments not up to their very biased "standards." I assume my fact based comments will be deleted unlike Kirk's false narrative column which will stay.
Richard Kirk is a liar, a fool or a useful tool. There can be no other explanations for this column today. When a person writes for a reputable newspaper, there is a higher duty to get your facts right. Yet time and time again Kirk, does not.
There was no work “slow down” at any school in VUSD ever, not last spring, not in my thirty year association with the district. That is correct. It never happened at any school in Vista Unified not last spring and not ever. When Kirk says that there was a work ‘slow down’, he is in error (deliberately?) as is usual for him and his columns.
Making things up, creating straw men to tear down seems to give Kirk his raison d'etre judging by the ‘columns’ he makes up for this newspaper.
The only "work action" that VUSD teachers took last spring was to decide to only work the number of hours that the teachers were actually being paid to work each day. For three days, the teachers of the district stopped working and went home when the district stopped paying them. Wow, how novel for workers to stop working when their paid day is done, NOT! Unless, of course, the worker is a public school teacher.
This spring work action by VUSD teachers that Kirk falsely called a “slow down” lasted for less than one week. That’s right less than one week. Big deal, workers for three days went home when they stopped being paid to work. Well I guess that is a big deal for Kirk. Gee I wonder how many hours Kirk works at his job for free with no compensation of any kind like the typical VUSD teacher does each and every school day?
Last spring during the very brief 'work action,' VUSD teachers ran around like crazy trying desperately to cram their nine or ten hour normal working day into only the hours they were actually being paid for. This work action was no work “slow down”. If anything it was a “speed up.”
The average teacher in VUSD works more than an hour each and every day of the week for free with no pay--elementary teachers even more so. That amounts to at least six and in some case up to twenty or more hours of uncompensated time that every VUSD classroom teachers works every single week. That’s close to one extra work day done for free each week. For many teachers the hours add up to a gift to the VUSD community and its children of two or three extra work days per week. (The paid hours for a work day in VUSD are seven and a half hours per day.)
Yet another example of VUSD teachers incredible generosity with THEIR OWN TIME was recently in evidence before the start of the new school year. For the two weeks before the recent school year started, virtually every teacher in every school in the district was in their class room preparing for the new school year, all without pay of any kind. No overtime, no daily pay, no hourly pay--all this time yet another gift to their future students, the parents of those students, and the greater VUSD community.
Richard Kirk could have checked his facts. There are North County Times articles from that period correctly describing the VUSD "work action." He could have called the Vista Teachers Association office and asked for a description of the work action if he felt confused. He could even have called local teachers. But apparently to do Kirk's job at the North County Times requires no research, no checking of facts by himself or others, nothing needed but bile and the willingness to make stuff up. Pathetic.
I believe that Kirk gets his information directly from Jim Gibson. It has the mark of a Gibson tall tale. Gibson as we painfully are aware is a story teller. He loves to make up stuff that makes teachers into villains and usually makes himself look heroic. Apparently Kirk swallowed Gibson's tripe about the work action last spring without any examination or fact checking. Then he wrote this column.
Here is the URL of the Kirk column published by the North County Times:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/kirk/article_50f1f441-78b5-563f-b4c9-bc8276d0c58c.html?mode=story
Below are the comments that I left after Kirk's column. I put my comments here as Gibson has an ally in ACE, the person at the North County Times that deletes comments not up to their very biased "standards." I assume my fact based comments will be deleted unlike Kirk's false narrative column which will stay.
Richard Kirk is a liar, a fool or a useful tool. There can be no other explanations for this column today. When a person writes for a reputable newspaper, there is a higher duty to get your facts right. Yet time and time again Kirk, does not.
There was no work “slow down” at any school in VUSD ever, not last spring, not in my thirty year association with the district. That is correct. It never happened at any school in Vista Unified not last spring and not ever. When Kirk says that there was a work ‘slow down’, he is in error (deliberately?) as is usual for him and his columns.
Making things up, creating straw men to tear down seems to give Kirk his raison d'etre judging by the ‘columns’ he makes up for this newspaper.
The only "work action" that VUSD teachers took last spring was to decide to only work the number of hours that the teachers were actually being paid to work each day. For three days, the teachers of the district stopped working and went home when the district stopped paying them. Wow, how novel for workers to stop working when their paid day is done, NOT! Unless, of course, the worker is a public school teacher.
This spring work action by VUSD teachers that Kirk falsely called a “slow down” lasted for less than one week. That’s right less than one week. Big deal, workers for three days went home when they stopped being paid to work. Well I guess that is a big deal for Kirk. Gee I wonder how many hours Kirk works at his job for free with no compensation of any kind like the typical VUSD teacher does each and every school day?
Last spring during the very brief 'work action,' VUSD teachers ran around like crazy trying desperately to cram their nine or ten hour normal working day into only the hours they were actually being paid for. This work action was no work “slow down”. If anything it was a “speed up.”
The average teacher in VUSD works more than an hour each and every day of the week for free with no pay--elementary teachers even more so. That amounts to at least six and in some case up to twenty or more hours of uncompensated time that every VUSD classroom teachers works every single week. That’s close to one extra work day done for free each week. For many teachers the hours add up to a gift to the VUSD community and its children of two or three extra work days per week. (The paid hours for a work day in VUSD are seven and a half hours per day.)
Yet another example of VUSD teachers incredible generosity with THEIR OWN TIME was recently in evidence before the start of the new school year. For the two weeks before the recent school year started, virtually every teacher in every school in the district was in their class room preparing for the new school year, all without pay of any kind. No overtime, no daily pay, no hourly pay--all this time yet another gift to their future students, the parents of those students, and the greater VUSD community.
Richard Kirk could have checked his facts. There are North County Times articles from that period correctly describing the VUSD "work action." He could have called the Vista Teachers Association office and asked for a description of the work action if he felt confused. He could even have called local teachers. But apparently to do Kirk's job at the North County Times requires no research, no checking of facts by himself or others, nothing needed but bile and the willingness to make stuff up. Pathetic.
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