Layoffs could lead to slashing of critical student services  – counselors, social workers, nutritionists, family liaisons, & more

Late Tuesday, May 21st, the San Francisco Unified School District informed the UESF office that they were following through on 70 certificated, and 35 classified layoffs, despite over $107.5 million in reserves and additional revenue set to come to the school district next school year. The decision follows a speak out at the Board of Education on Tuesday, May 14^th when dozens of teachers, parents, and community supporters loudly protested against the unnecessary layoff notices.

Teachers and school supporters are furious at the Board of Education for approving the final layoff notices, despite Governor Brown releasing his May Revise budget that would give a $57.5 million boost to San Francisco schools (A $1,046 increase in per pupil spending next year x 55,000 students in the SFUSD = $57.5 million) . The rosy budget scenario is on top of a district reserve fund that has ballooned to $50 million over the course of this school year, an amount that teachers say is indefensible considering the layoffs.

“By finalizing the layoffs, the SFUSD has put dozens of educator jobs on the line, and essential student services at risk,” says UESF President Dennis Kelly. “With the massive influx of resources to the district, these layoffs are not only unnecessary, they are unconscionable.”

According to an analysis of by the California Teachers Association, statewide only 1,300 certificated layoffs have been confirmed, the lowest level since the economic downturn. Unfortunately for San Francisco, the SFUSD stands as a significant outlier to this trend. Though the district comprises less than 1% of the student population in the state, it accounts for nearly 6% of total certificated layoffs.

While the Governor announced billions of dollars in extra funding for California schools last week, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced that he has filed charges against six former SFUSD administrators for illegally diverting over $15 million dollars in public money into slush fund accounts held at private non-profit organizations, and for misappropriating approximately $250,000 for personal use.

Speak Out to Stop the Layoffs – May 14th – 5:00 p.m. – 555 Franklin

Board of Ed Votes 5-2 to Approve Layoffs Despite Reserves Ballooning to $50 Million

RSVP HERE

On May 7th the Board of Education voted to approve the layoffs of dozens of teachers, counselors, and social workers, despite reserve funds projected to balloon to $50 million by the end of the school year. The jobs of dozens of more paraprofessionals are also on the line.

According to School Services, strong tax collection in March indicates that our schools will see significant increases in funding in the Governor’s May Revise budget. Even with out a statewide Weighted Student Formula, the SFUSD is set to receive millions more than they anticipated when they sent the layoff notices out in March.

At the School Board session last night, Board members voted 5-2 to approve the layoffs (with Haney and Maufas the two no votes). During the discussion before the vote, they talked about budget shortfalls as being the rationale for their decision.

How can Superintendent Carranza and five members of the Board of Education honestly claim that educators need to be laid off for financial reasons when their reserves now sit at $50 million?

Join your fellow educators at 555 Franklin next Tuesday, May 14th at 5:00 p.m. to send a resounding message to the Board and to the district: Rescind the layoffs now.

RSVP here.

SFUSD Once Again Sends Out Far Too Many Layoff Notices

For the latest layoffs update, read page 3 of the April 2013 edition of the SF Educator.

March 18, 2013

According to documents provided by the SFUSD, last week the district sent out layoff notices to 14 Early Education and 135 K-12 certificated staff. The district is also set to send layoff notices out to 68 paraprofessionals.

Upper level management within the school district have conveyed that they believe all but a few layoffs in the certificated unit will be either rescinded or rehired. They have also suggested that Mayor Ed Lee is on board with offering legislation to approve use of the Rainy Day Fund for the SFUSD, as UESF President Dennis Kelly called for when the layoffs were initially approved by the Board of Education.

The process of layoffs is a difficult and stressing one for those who receive a notice and their school communities. For too many years the district has sent out hundreds of layoff notices, only to rescind them as the school year continues. In the name of greater flexibility, the district has essentially shifted the financial risk onto the individual teachers and paras, all the while maintaining ample reserve funds.

This shifting of risk has deeply damaged the relationship of new teachers and paras to the school district. In fact it has driven many of them away. At the start of the school year, our CORO intern looked at the staff turnover from teachers who receive layoff notices. Last year alone, of the 384 teachers who were sent a layoff notice in March, 52 decided against returning to the SFUSD, even though they had their notices recalled. In subsequent interviews, teachers reported leaving the district because of feelings of insecurity and mistreatment, with some citing the need to take care of their own families.

How bad is it? Some Art teachers, for example, have received a layoff notice in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and now 2013.

We call on the SFUSD to quickly rescind the layoff notices sent to K-12 and Early Education staff, and to avoid sending the layoff notices to paraprofessionals altogether.

Two years ago all T-10 Security aides (UESF members) had their hours unilaterally reduced by the SFUSD from 8 to 7 hours per day. Several school sites have reported issues with school safety because of this reduction in hours. Please take the following brief survey to help us determine what impact this reduction has had on your school.

TAKE THE SURVEY.

May 6, 2013

Congratulations to These Five Outstanding Teachers for
Their Dedication Educating Our City’s Youth

• Andra Young, Presidio Early Education School
• Andres Tobar, Marshall Elementary School
• Jennifer Moless, El Dorado Elementary School
• Joel Austin, Roosevelt Middle School
• Constance Walker, Woodside Learning Center

San Francisco, CA–Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced five recipients of the 2012-2013 Mayor’s Teacher of the Year Award. The award recipients will be recognized this evening during a San Francisco Giants’ home plate ceremony at AT&T Park. “Our public school teachers are true champions in San Francisco,” said Mayor Lee. “They are dedicated to their students and are making sure they succeed both inside and outside the classroom. These five individuals are dynamic and innovative teachers in our City and we thank them for their passion and commitment.”

Read more about these great teachers.

More awards & honors below the fold.

March 20, 2013

Congratulations to Washington HS teacher Gael Beresford (pictured below), and Burton HS teacher Maggie Sullivan, who were honored yesterday by the Board of Supervisors in the Women Making History Celebration of Women’s History Month!

Congratulations to Flynn Elementary teacher Robert Sautter for winning the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Educator of the Year

February 2013

Watch the video below for a quick glimpse of Robert in action…

Check out page 8 in the latest edition of the SF Educator to see other great San Francisco Educators who have recently received honors, including: Loan Ly  of Galileo High School, who won the NFTE Bay Area Educator of the Year, and Michelle Kyung of Washington High School, who won the Carlston Family Foundation Outstanding Teacher award.

Watch the video commemorating the anniversary:

Learn more about the anniversary at www.cta.org.

In addition to the game, UESF has ordered a limited number of Giants-themed t-shirts. This year, the shirts will be sold separately from the tickets, at a cost of $12. A variety of sizes will be available on May 1st for sale at the UESF office and at the Executive Board meeting. We will not be able to distribute shirts and tickets at the ballpark on game night.

Now, over thirty years later, Tay and his students are organizing to establish the entire month of January to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. In January, they successfully lobbied the Oakland City Council to pass a resolution establishing the month long celebration. Since then, Tay has successfully passed resolutions throughout local and statewide education unions, including the UESF Assembly, the Oakland Education Association, the CFT Executive Committee and the CTA State Council.

Photos

Check out the photos below to see the Apollos in action as they got a chance to meet and interview Martin Luther King, Jr.’s father a few years after their great work.

Tay McArthur (left) with his Apollo students

Want to Learn More?

• ‘The Apollos’ – Watch this 6 minute film by Media That Matters.
• Oaklanders who started California’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day want to make it a month-long event  Oakland North.
• The Apollos: How Oakland Students Made MLK Day Youth Radio

Resolution from the United Educators of San Francisco

END GUN VIOLENCE

Whereas the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut follows in the wake of a trail of similar horrendous mass killings of the innocent, including those that occurred at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colorado, Oikos University, and Tucson, Arizona, we can no longer remain silent, and

Whereas powerful lobbying groups have promoted the idea that the ownership of weapons is a Constitutional right, a distortion that goes beyond what the framers intended when they crafted the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and

Whereas some wrongheaded individuals have gone so far as to propose arming principals and teachers, thereby exacerbating a bad situation by empowering others to make it worse, and

Whereas there also exists a tremendous need for access to quality mental health service for children, youth and adults

Therefore be it resolved that we join the demand that the government of the United States legislate that the importation, sale, purchase and possession of guns that are intended as weapons of war, including assault weapons and high capacity ammunition, be made illegal so that those weapons and materiel can be taken off the streets, and

Be it finally resolved that access to quality metal health services be expanded, funded and ensured, and include school-based mental health services at all levels.

Adopted 19 December 2012, by the UESF Assembly
& by the San Francisco Labor Council on 14 January 2013

On February 20th, the UESF Assembly passed a resolution in support of the Seattle teachers who are taking a stand against over testing at their school. Please consider signing the petition below to support the teachers.

Sign the petition

More from Democracy Now…

As we all seek to make sense of the senseless, we want to share with you some resources that are available for us to help our students (and ourselves) get through this horrific and tragic event. Of particular note is a link to the advice of Dr. David Schoenfeld on how to talk to children about the Connecticut school shootings

The AFT has also put together an excellent compilation of tools for your use.

More Resources for Grieving Students

• National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement – Director Dr. Schonfeld, an internationally known expert on childhood grieving, has put together a thorough web page with essential resources for educators. Topics include: School Resources, Psychological First Aid, and Parent Guide.
• After a Loved One Dies – How Children Grieve – A tool for parents and educators to help grieving children.
• Guidelines for Schools Responding to a Death by Suicide (PDF)
• Guidelines for Responding to the Death of a Student or School Staff (PDF)
• The Grieving Student: A Teacher’s Guide – Top childhood crisis experts show how to provide sensitive, effective support to grieving K-12 students.

Take Action: Tax Fairness to Support Our Schools