Call to Action

Stop Schwarzenegger’s Attack on Educators
Tell the California Senate “Vote NO on Romero’s SB X5 1”
Join CFT, CTA, CSEA and the California Labor Federation
Call Darrell Steinberg today!
916- 651-1529
Senate Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg, Senator Gloria Romero have teamed up with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to push education reforms that would create chaos in local school districts, undermine local control, interfere with collective bargaining and drain money from local classrooms at a time when the state has already cut school funding by more than $17 billion.

Schwarzenegger’s plan would:
Create chaos in local school districts and drain resources from local classrooms.
· Disguised as parental choice, the Romero bill requires open enrollment between school districts without providing resources for busing or transportation. Without adequate resources only wealthy parents would be able to afford to provide transportation and change schools.
· The Romero bill increases charter schools without any regulations to hold them accountable.
· This Bill is an unfunded state mandate at a time when the legislature has cut more than $17 billion from public education.
· This plan would create chaos in local school districts as districts would not be able to adequately plan for the upcoming year.

Undermine local control and state collective bargaining laws.
· The Romero bill allows the State Board of Education to grant a blanket waiver of the Education Code for any school districts applying for specified Federal grant dollars.
· This means a local school district could be exempt from state collective bargaining laws, all fiscal reporting requirements, criminal background checks for staff, open meeting laws, and the high school exit exam.
· Educators and parents should be partners in any education reform. It is the only way to improve student learning. Romero’s bill doesn’t even allow hard working educators to be part of the process as President Obama has called for.


Zak Ford
Mobilization Coordinator
Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Tel: 916-927-9772, ext. 229
Fax: 916-927-1643
http://www.sacramentolabor.org/

Race to the Top Update

LegAlert 10 December 2009
Victory in the Assembly:
Now Urge Senate to Approve Brownley’s RTTT Bill ABx5 8
With your help, CTA-supported Assembly Bill X5 8 by Assembly Education Chair Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) cleared the Assembly earlier today (Thursday). This important Race to the Top measure is now on the way to the state Senate.
The passage of the Brownley bill is just part of the good news. At the same time, the Assembly Education Committee refused to pass CTA-opposed SB5x 1, a rival and incomplete measure by Sen. Gloria Romero that was drafted before the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) regulations were released.
Right now, your help is needed to secure the Brownley bill’s passage in the Senate. Once approved there, ABX5 8 will head to the governor for his signature.
The bill could be taken up by the state Senate as early as next week, December 14.
That’s why it’s urgent that you make contact with your state Senator right now.
Background: $700M Weighs in the Balance
The enactment of ABX5 8 will put California in the running for up to $700 million in federal RTTT program grants. The CTA-supported Brownley measure – a special session measure called ABX5 8 -- is a carefully thought-out bill created after the federal Department of Education released its regulations governing the grants.
Assembly Education Chair Brownley drafted her measure in response to the final federal regulations. The bill maximizes California’s chances of qualifying for the new federal money. CTA analysts have calculated that the Brownley measure will give California the best chance of securing the rating points – up to 500 – that will put the state in the best position to receive the new federal appropriations.
Most importantly, Assembly Member Brownley’s ABX5 8 is a strong, well thought-out bill:
Ö It builds upon California’s already stringent standards and focuses on maximizing student achievement and shrinking the achievement gap.
Ö It holds charter schools to the same tough accountability standards that govern regular public schools.
Ö It creates a coherent system of reform that links the state’s education priorities with RTTT criteria.
Contact Your State Senator Now!
Contact your State Senator and urge other CTA members at your school to do the same. The message is short and simple: Vote for AB X5 8 (Brownley).
Be aware that some Senators may want to know why CTA is supporting ABX5 8 and opposing the version by Sen. Gloria Romero, SBX5 1. Let them know that:
Sen. Romero’s SBX5 1 has numerous problems:
Ö It is incomplete, and it lacks coherence and fails to provide legislative guidance to address the RTTT criteria.
Ö It forces unnecessary changes in teacher and administrator evaluations and undermines local collective bargaining.
Ö It allows unfettered increases in under-regulated charter schools that are not responsible to the community.
Ö It increases costs and mandates at a time schools are staggering under $17 billion in cuts and 20,000 educator layoffs.
For more information, contact CTA Manager of Legislative Relations Lori Easterling at 916.325.1500 or GR Communications Consultant Len Feldman at lfeldman@cta.org.

November Newsletter

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter
November 2009

Town Hall Meeting November 12th
**Upcoming on Nov 12th is a much-anticipated Town Hall Meeting held by Darrell Steinberg. Our goal is to encourage 10% of our membership to attend. CTA hopes to pack the house with members, parents and community leaders who will share their stories about: the impact of budget cuts, the Race To The Top program and the pending reauthorization of ESEA. Please let your parents know about this meeting too, where they can let our legislators know how the cuts are affecting them on a personal level.** See the flier attached to the newsletter email version.

State Council Update
(Ken MacPherson, CTA State Council for NTA):
Fellow Members of NTA,I have been asked to provide the general membership updates as to what goes on at CTA State Council. Perhaps I should give you a brief description of what it is and what it does. CTA State Council meets four weekends a year in Los Angeles. The purpose of the council is to be the guiding force behind CTA. From endorsing candidates for public office, supporting ballot initiatives, adjusting dues, electing numerous people to represent us (CTA) both nationally and statewide. State Council members also review bills introduced at the state capital, help direct our lobbying efforts. There are over six hundred state council members. The council meets in a gigantic meeting room where we use Roberts Rules of Order to run the general meetings and the numerous sub-committee meetings. (Oh, by the way there are twenty-one subcommittees, seventeen different districts and over a dozen caucuses.) That, very briefly, is what it is and what it does. We just had the first meeting of the year, and here are some of the highlights: Who is allowed by state law to administer drugs to students? Currently the State Nursing Board ruled only school nurses are allowed to administer drugs to students. Some legal changes on this may be forthcoming. We moved forward on discussions of "extra pay for extra work" versus "merit pay". Special Ed class size depending on the level student need was also discussed in the Special Education Committee. This committee's work will most likely become CTA policy by the end of the year. The Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee is moving forward with policy addressing "the inappropriate use of student data in teacher evaluation". This, too, should become policy by the year's end. A special CTA dues rate for RIFFed teachers so they can protect their rights in the re-hiring process is in the works as well. Oh, there is more but, I was told to try to keep it shortJ If any member has questions feel free to e-mail me at: kmacsac@gmail.com

Executive Board:
President: Cynthia Connell; clcsacto@yahoo.com
Vice-President: Scott MacMillan; unitednta@gmail.com
Treasurer: Mike Moyer; butterflyheartattck@yahoo.com
Secretary: Amber Allison; ambergallagher@hotmail.com

Negotiations :
Our Bargaining Team met this Wed 11/4, continuing to negotiate an agreement with the district to help resolve our financial crisis. An update will be sent on Friday.

Grievances
Several grievances have been resolved in the past month:
3 Resolved at Level 0
1 Resolved at level 2
There are 3 outstanding grievances at this time. If you believe the contract is being violated, please see your Faculty Representative or Grievance Rep for advice and help. Our Grievance Committee is made up of:
Joel Schweiger: Secondary
Patricia Hite-Leach: Secondary
Phil Cox: Elementary
***Special thanks to Joel for picking up the ball on several of these and ensuring they got settledJ***

Faculty Representatives:
American Lakes Naomi Nakahara
Bannon Creek Mahnaz Mohammadi,
Teri Slingerland
Discovery High Lundon Jackson
Heron School Maureen Ramos, Erin Ryan,
Peter Talbot
H.A. Hight Jill Crawford & Allyson Kirby
Inderkum Patricia Hite-Leach,
Ken McPherson
Jefferson Amy Hopkins
Leroy F Greene Brenda Borge & Kristen Rocha
Natomas High Maria Atherley, James Layne, Ruth Ward
Natomas Middle Anthony Katsaris, Emilio Moran
Natomas Park Lauren Frazer
Two Rivers Phil Cox
Witter Ranch Tanya Praest

School Board MembersTeri Burns: btburns@natomas.k12.ca.us
Sue Heredia: sheredia@natomas.k12.ca.us
Lisa Kaplan: lkaplan@natomas.k12.ca.us
Bruce Roberts: broberts@natomas.k12.ca.us
Jules Tran: jtran@natomas.k12.ca.us

November Calendar
Board Member Forums:
Mon November 8th: 3pm-6pm @ Panera:
2731 Del Paso RdSacramento, CA 95835-2316(916) 928-8295
Del Paso Road near Safeway

General:
Nov 10th: Public Hearing, Williams Act, DO, 6pm
Nov 10th: Regular Board Meeting, 6:30pm
Nov 11th: Holiday
**Nov 12th: CTA Town Hall Meeting, 5:30pm UCD Cancer Center 4501 X Street**
Nov 13th: Negotiations continue, DO
Nov 17th: Organizing Team, IHS Rm 223, 3:30pm
Nov 23rd: thru Friday Nov 27th: Holiday
Dec 1st: Executive Board Meeting, 3:30pm
Dec 3rd: Faculty Rep Meeting, IHS Rm D204, 3:30pm

Cynthia’s Site Visit Schedule:
11/6 JF 11/16 LFG
11/9 IHS 11/17 HAH and NMS
11/10 TR 11/19 NHS
11/12 ALE 11/20 DHS
11/13 HERON

Websites:
-Here’s a friendlier approach to finding the NTA contract on the District WebsiteJ: click on Departments, then Human Resources and its there: http://www.natomas.k12.ca.us/151110131231320607/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=55226&151110131231320607Nav=&NodeID=767

-Board Policy is also on District Website: click on Forms and Documents, and then click on Board Policies: http://www.natomas.k12.ca.us/151110131231320607/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=55226&151110131231320607Nav=&NodeID=767

-Check out the NTA Blog: http://natomasteachers.blogspot.com/search?q=newsletter
-California Ed Code Index: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/EDC
-CTA: http://www.cta.org/
-Natomas Buzz: http://www.natomasbuzz.com/

“AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL”

Natomas Budget in the News

This is the latest Sac Bee article on the Natomas budget and recent school board meeting:

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2208157.html

How does the Sac Bee, which has been critical of the district, fail to get the straight story on the continuing contract negotiations between NTA and the district? Possibly, a simple inability to reach the NTA leadership before the article ran? A need to make an unsensational story sensational?
The facts are that the customary negotiation process is continuing as scheduled. NTA is surveying the membership this week, and then using these results to guide negotiations. The fact that the county has sent letters to the district on several occasions since January, causing an sudden urgency for the district is besides the fact that negotiations have been progressing on the same time-line as it does year after year. Also not relevant are the concessions that administration and classified staff felt pressure to complete during the summer months while the teachers were off for the summer.
If one were to look at NTA's past history of negotiations, one would see the same timeline as always for each year as we await the district's actuals this same time every year. One would not, however, see the district practicing the same process this year as they are showing more impatience than ever and more expenses than ever, all with the goal to paint the teachers out to be the "bad guys." Shame on anyone who goes along with these nasty tactics. If you know and love your Natomas teachers, you would know we aren't that way.

Natomas USD in the News, Sept. 18th, 2009

District sues over land deal

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2191394.html?pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

More Natomas USD News in the Bee

Land Deal news:
http://www.sacbee.com/city/story/2157454.html

School Resource Officers:
http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/2145007.html

Natomas USD in the News

Superintendent Farrar announces his retirement from the district after 5 years in Natomas:

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2142090.html

Upcoming Meetings

Community Meeting
Subject: Community Day School
Thursday, August 20, 2009, 6 p.m.
Witter Ranch Elementary School
Multi Purpose Room
Special Board Meeting/Workshop
----------------------------------------------
Special School Board Meeting
August 26, 2009
6:00 p.m.
1901 Arena Blvd.
Workshop Title: School Safety Plan

Reminder - for August 10th - First day of school

A reminder from our superintendent below. Please do use this as a reminder to our community to use patience when noticing longer lines, and longer wait times for the customary level of services.

“…We know our schools will look vastly different this year with the budget cuts in place – there will be larger class sizes, fewer intervention services for at-risk students, significant cuts in supply budgets, fewer counseling and library services.”

Dr. Steve M. Farrar, Superintendent
Natomas Unified School District
August 05, 2009 3:54 PM

In the News (thanks to the Buzz for these stories)

Sac Bee Story on Natomas Board Meeting on Layoffs today, 8-5-09:
http://www.sacbee.com/latest/story/2086256.html

News 10 story on Folsom Cordova USD and NUSD Farrar to be on upcoming program:
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=64636&catid=2

KCRA does story on Natomas Schools Budget Cuts

http://www.kcra.com/money/20196658/detail.html

Why are Natomas USD cuts confusing and perhaps not equitable compared to other districts?

Diana Lambert, reporter from the Sacramento Bee, requested information related to why the Natomas Unified School District had to make such huge cuts compared to other districts of similar size. Following is John Christ’s (Assistant Superintendent of Business Services) response to Diana Lambert for your information:

Hi Diana,

You asked why does Natomas Unified have to make such huge cuts compared to other district? The answer is can be very complex because we do not know if we are comparing apples to apples.

There are many assumptions and variables that go into what a school district may include in a list. First of all, what period of time did their list cover? Natomas’ is a list of adjustments developed and approved over the course of the entire 2008-09 year. Were other district reporting the adjustments they made through the whole year or just the adjustments they needed for the immediate impact of the May Revise?

What have the other district’s included on their lists? Natomas Unified has included a whole range of adjustments, not just budget cuts. Other districts may not have grouped their adjustments through the year in the same way that Natomas did. For example, looking at the attached list that is also in the 2009-10 Adopted Budget on the District’s web site, the first item listed is reducing or eliminating the 2008-09 Beginning Balance ($7,967,027). This is undoubtedly going to happen as the District spends down its reserve, but did or would other districts consider this appropriate to put on their lists? Natomas Unified recognized $5,281,790 in one-time Federal Stimulus revenues as part of adjustments needed to balance the budget. Would other districts put revenue adjustments on their list of budget cuts? Would other districts categorize their adjustments in the same way Natomas Unified did? Natomas Unified has the good fortune of being a growing school district, and thus has to plan for increased staffing in future years based on projected enrollment growth. Natomas has reduced projected staffing increases for 2009-10 and 2010-11 by $473,011. Did other district adjust future staffing projections, and did they consider those as cuts to put on their list? No district is right or wrong in what they include on their lists. There is no uniform prescribed requirement or format. It is mostly a matter of how their Board wants to consider adjustments and what they want to see on any given list.

We may have more cuts now, because Natomas Unified held off in doing program cuts and layoffs as long as it could until it was absolutely necessary and clear what the legislature would and wouldn’t prioritize and allow. The District remained optimistic that a Legislature that claims education is its number one priority would not make $6 billion in additional cuts to schools. Other district’s may have started making cuts a lot earlier than Natomas did. Other districts started laying off staff in 2007-08 in preparation for the 2008-09 school year, and most gave layoff notices in March 2009 for the 2009-10 year. For the reasons given above, Natomas Unified has postponed giving layoff notices until it became absolutely necessary this Summer. The projected savings of these layoffs are included in the Natomas list. Other districts may or may not have included their earlier layoffs on their recent cut list.

I finished the survey last night that the Sacramento Bee has asked all school districts to submit on July 24th. I want to point a few things out to you as you look at our numbers. In the survey you ask for the number of employees by category for December 2008, and projected for 2009-10. I gave you the number of employees Natomas had on payroll on December, and not the number of positions. This is a factor when you look at the classified employees numbers. I reported the District had 418 on payroll on December 2008, and is projected to have 417 in 2009-10. This does not reflect the 15 layoffs, because the District filled 14 vacancies since December, showing a net reduction of one. For your information, a number of these vacancies were in Food Services.

When you look at middle and high school student to teacher ratios you will find little or no change, and in fact, you will find that the ratio is going down in middle schools. The reason that there is little change is because the District is already staffed to the maximum class size cap in the teachers’ contract at these grade levels. The reason the middle school ratio is going down is because the District staffed over the cap in 2008-09.

The Total Budget amount I posted in the survey of $76,206,471 is not the amount you will find in the 2009-10 Adopted Budget. The total General Fund budgeted expenditures reported in the 2009-10 Adopted Budget is $83,341,353. As was reported in the Budget there were $7,134,882 in “additional adjustments” that were approved too late to get into the official State Budget forms. This is all explained on pages 3 through 14 in the 2009-10 Adopted Budget on the District’s web site. The Sacramento County Office of Education understands fully what we did and why. It was a timing issue.

You will see that when you look at projected spending per student that it goes down from $8,132.18 in 2008-09 to $7,003.03 in 2009-10, which is to be expected with all the budget adjustments. What you might not expect is to see it go up in 2010-11 to $7,274.51. The reason for this is because a lot of the adjustments in 2009-10, particularly the Federal Stimulus funding are one-time and will not repeat in 2010-11.

You really need to refer to the attached list for the survey question “Other Program Cuts 2009-10.” There was no way I could include all these adjustments in your little survey box.

It is never simple to explain comparisons of one school district to another, but I hope this is of some help.

John Christ
Assistant Superintendent, Business Services
(916) 567-5457

Dolly McClellan
Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
Natomas Unified School District
916.567.5401
dmcclellan@natomas.k12.ca.us

Call Your Legislators Today

ACTION NEEDED TODAY!
Urge Lawmakers to Pass Compromise Budget
California educators are calling on the Legislature and the Governor to quickly approve the budget plan crafted by the "Big 5", which will restore the billions of dollars our schools and colleges are owed by law.
Contact your lawmaker and tell them toPASS THIS BUDGET NOWand VOTE 'YES' ON AB 3 AND SB 3!
Call Toll-Free (888) 268-4334
E-mail Your Lawmaker

Natomas USD in the News, July 23rd, 2009

http://www.sacbee.com/budget/story/2048693.html

This Week's Events

Monday, July 13th 4:30 - Meeting with Board member Lisa Kaplan, Giovanni's Pizzaria
Monday, July 13th 6:00 pm - Meeting with Board member, Jules Tran, Giovanni's Pizzaria
Tuesday, July 14th 9:30 am -12:30 - Layoff hearing for teachers at District Office
Tuesday, July 14th 4:00 pm - Meeting with Board member, Bruce Roberts, Giovanni's Pizzaria
Tuesday, July 14th 5;30 pm - Meeting with Board member, Teri Burns, Giovanni's Pizzaria
Wednesday, July 15th 9:30 am - Layoff hearings for teachers at District Office
Wednesday, July 15th 11;30 pm - Teacher rally at Capitol
Wednesday, July 15th 6:30 pm - NUSD School Board Meeting

Call to Action - Teachers please attend this rally next week

GOVERNOR, DON’T LET
CALIFORNIA GO UP IN SMOKE!
“Schwarzenegger reclined deeply in his chair, lighted an eight-inch cigar and declared himself ‘perfectly fine,’ the fiscal debacle and personal heartsickness all around him. ‘Someone else might walk out of here every day depressed, but I don’t walk out of here depressed,’ Schwarzenegger said. Whatever happens, ‘I will sit down in my Jacuzzi tonight,’ he said. ‘I’m going to lay back with a stogie.” New York Times Magazine, 7/5/09

Governor Schwarzenegger’s fiscal mismanagement has led to a 26.3 billion budget.
Middle Class families are suffering. Police and firefighters are facing layoffs. Seniors, kids and people with disabilities are getting hit hardest by the leadership to solve these historic problems, our Governor is puffing on cigars.

Join a coalition of seniors, educators, people with disabilities, interfaith leaders, labor leaders and others to tell the governor:

GOVERNOR, DON’T LET CALIFORNIA GO UP IN SMOKE!
CA State Capitol
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009, 11:30 AM – South Steps

Hearing Dates Set

Layoff teacher hearing are being held July 14 and July 15th at the NUSD District Office next week. If you have not met with the attorney and need to, please contact us to get their contact information so you can be represented.

A Message from David Sanchez, CTA President

California’s Assembly recently passed a compromise budget fix that repays schools more than $3.9 billion in desperately needed funding, but because a few Republican Senators failed to act and the governor threatened a veto, the governor is now calling a special session of the Legislature and is asking for the suspension of Proposition 98, the minimum school funding law.

We must let the governor and our friends in the Senate know that it is unacceptable to suspend Prop. 98 and take more money away from students. That’s why I am urging you to call them today and tell them to vote against suspending Prop. 98. Click here for more details and numbers.

Instead of trying to balance the budget on the backs of public school and students, the governor and the legislature need to sign a fair budget that limits cuts and closes corporate tax loopholes.

Make These Important Points with your Legislator:
· Do not suspend Proposition 98!
· The proposed cuts would have a devastating impact on our students and public schools (give local examples).
· The Governor’s call to suspend the state’s minimum school funding guarantee is unacceptable.
· California public schools have already been cut by a record $12 billion!
· Any approach to solving the state budget crisis must include increased revenues.
· It is time to rescind the corporate tax breaks handed out earlier this year!
· Big Oil and Big Tobacco need to pay, too!
· Stop the political games! The partisan politics and gridlock are destroying our state.


http://www.cta.org/media/newsroom/releases/20090702_1.htm
http://www.cta.org/action/alert/Alert20090702.htm

David A. Sanchez, CTA President

Second Meeting for Layoff Teachers

Monday, July 6th, 3;30 at NUSD District Office - to meet with the CTA Attorney regarding hearings for layoff teachers.

Reminder - CTA Meeting for NTA Members

If you are an member of the Natomas Teachers' Association, and if you receive a letter (next week) and/or email (check Friday's school email) stating a layoff, please attend a meeting next Thursday, June 25th, at 3:30 in the District Office Boardroom, to meet with the CTA attorney, for a Q & A, and to set up your hearing appointment.
If you are a "fee-payer" (not an NTA member) or did not receive the email on Friday, there is no need for you to attend this meeting.

As you might imagine, this news comes with deep regret and anguish for our teaching and counseling staff. :-(

A Message from David Sanchez, CTA President

June 16, 2009 - State Budget Deficit Grows

CTA Calls for Rescinding Tax Breaks to Businesses
With the defeat of the Special Election initiatives and further declining revenues, the state budget deficit is once again at $24 billion and Governor Schwarzenegger has once again proposed cuts to education, health care and other vital services. Public schools and colleges are looking at another $6 billion in cuts on top of the $11.6 billion as part of the budget agreement approved in February.

First, I want to thank everyone for all their work in the May Special Election. From the beginning, we knew this was going to be a tough campaign as voters were rightfully upset with lawmakers for failing to do their jobs, but I am proud of all of the phone calls and work by CTA members in this effort. CTA has already started legal action to ensure that our schools and colleges are paid the money they are owed under the state�s minimum school funding law and is working with legislative leaders to include a payback provision as part of the final state budget legislation. The �maintenance factor� owed to schools and community colleges is now nearly $10 billion.

May Revision and More Revenues
Technically, the state budget has been approved, but the Legislature must now make final �adjustments� to close the growing deficit. CTA, the Education Coalition and other labor unions are calling on lawmakers to support additional revenues as part of the adjusted budget agreement. It starts with rescinding the corporate tax breaks approved by lawmakers over the past two years, which would raise more than $2.5 billion annually. Students and public schools should not be taking additional budget cuts, while businesses are getting tax breaks. CTA also supports proposals for an oil severance tax. Democratic leaders are putting together a compromise budget proposal and are expected to send it to the Budget Conference Committee this week. State Controller John Chiang has warned lawmakers that a final budget must be approved by the end of the month to avoid a complete fiscal meltdown in the state by July 28.

August Layoffs
CTA�s Legal Department is helping chapters prepare for August layoff notices. About 17 school districts have indicated they are planning summer layoffs. The final deadline is August 15. So far, nearly 16,000 of the layoff notices sent in March have been confirmed, while more than 11,000 notices have been rescinded.

Duncan and Data
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been talking a lot about California lately and, unfortunately, he has a few facts wrong. Following a visit to a school in San Francisco, Duncan attacked California�s statewide data system for failing to uniformly link student test scores to teachers and determine teacher effectiveness. In reality, California law reflects CTA�s strong belief in local control. It allows student data, including scores on criterion referenced tests, to be used in local districts to improve student learning, help guide instruction, identify professional development needs and evaluate teachers. CTA believes those decisions are best made at the local level, rather than creating another costly statewide bureaucracy.

New Hope for National Health Care Reform
With more than 47 million people, including 6.6 million in California, without health insurance, it is way past time for health care reform. CTA and NEA are working with a broad coalition of organizations to support affordable and quality health care for all as President Obama rolls out his plan this week. CTA and NEA support health care reforms that guarantee a choice of health care plans and providers through existing insurance plans, and that provide a government-sponsored public health insurance plan. Visit the Health Care Action Center at www.nea.org for more information.

Getting a Complete Count
The 2010 Census is just around the corner and as the state prepares to ensure that every Californian is counted, I have been appointed to serve on the state�s California Complete Count Committee. The committee represents the diverse population, geography and organizations in California and will work with the Census Bureau to coordinate outreach. The Census determines how federal funds are distributed throughout the state and the number of congressional seats designated for California. For the first time in its 150 year history, California could lose a seat.

Time for CTA Summer Conferences
As the traditional school year ends, CTA Summer Conferences begin. The National Education Association�s Annual Representative Assembly will be held over the July 4th weekend in San Diego. More than 1,200 CTA delegates will attend. A number of policies and issues will be discussed, including the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is now scheduled for next January. Education Secretary Duncan will listen to educator concerns during a town hall meeting at the RA on July 2.
The 54th CTA President�s Conference will be held at the end of July in Monterey. With state budget cuts and a gubernatorial election, it is going to be a busy year. And finally, whether you are looking to polish your bargaining skills, understand school finance, organize your local community, or build a culture for success at your school, register to attend the CTA Summer Institute. The Summer Institute will be held August 2-7 at UCLA in Los Angeles. You can register online at www.cta.org.
California Teachers Association

Teacher Layoff Hearings Mtg- Updated Date and Location

Announcing a meeting for potential layoff teachers, tentatively scheduled to be held at the District Office Board Room for Thursday, June 25th, at 3:30 pm.
Although the names have not been finalized, and those teachers have not been notified, please keep this date and time open for you to attend if you are in the bottom of the district seniority list - we have approx.540 teachers on the list, so anyone over 400 should save the date, just to be on the safe side. We will know more after Wednesday night's school board meeting.
Update - as of 5:00 pm Thursday - still no list given to NTA!
Update #2 = as of 8:30 am Friday - still no list. !!
Update #3 = Email went out on district email. Teachers, please check your school emails.

General Membership Meeting

Announcing a General Membership meeting for all NTA members on Tuesday, June 9th, 4:00 pm at Natomas High School Library. (note change from other notices)

We need to hear from members on negotiable items before the traditional school year is out, so that NTA can move forward with negotiations, and the ever-changing and unprecendented state budget crisis affecting our district budget.

Natomas USD in the News

The following articles have come out in the past week regarding the Natomas USD:

http://www.sacbee.com/latest/story/1917562.html (regarding the latest budget cuts)

http://www.sacbee.com/breton/story/1913928.html (addressing the SRO cuts)

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1893840.html (regarding Grand Jury Report)

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1893291.html (regarding Grand Jury report)

http://www.sacgrandjury.org/ (Grand Jury report)

A Message from the Natomas USD Superintendent

Good Afternoon Everyone:

Last night our school board met again to address the worst budget crisis of our time. They approved a $2.9 million package of budget cuts, and are scheduled to meet weekly throughout the month of June to consider up to $8 million more in cuts by month’s end.

These are the highlights of the reductions approved last night:

- Reassign teachers facing layoffs into a pool of longterm substitute teachers, savings to be determined – potentially up to $1 million
- Increase class sizes in grades 2 and 3 to 30 students to 1 teacher, $750,000
- Close under-enrolled Regional Occupational Program (ROP) classes, $232,000
- Increase student meal prices by 50 cents and open new points of sale at Natomas High’s Terrace Cafe to generate more sales, $230,000
- Cut 2.5 positions for secondary social studies, $145,000
- Make further reductions in the support staff at the Education Center, $166,000
- Increase the distance students walk before busing is provided, $100,000
- Eliminate an unfilled elementary vice principal position, $96,000
- Reduce use of the Tungsten program, $45,000
- Cancel elementary summer school but keep high school summer school (middle school summer school will be addressed next week), $28,000
- Implement further energy savings including keeping the swimming pool at Natomas High open only June-September and turning off the stadium lights at Natomas High and Inderkum High in the evenings, $24,500
- Trim staff development budget for certificated staff, $21,516
- Reduce the contribution to the Natomas Schools Foundation, $16,000
- Reduce school decentralized supply budgets by 10 percent, $70,000

As you may know, the state budget crisis is worsening by the day and school districts across the state are having their state income reduced even more drastically than anticipated just weeks ago.

To put this in some context – during the Great Depression, budgets for education were cut by 25 percent over a five-year period. In California, we are facing a 25 percent reduction in state funding over just two years, according to some estimates.

Below are some of the possible budget cuts that may be under consideration at the June 11 special meeting of the Board of Trustees:

- Closing schools, $300,000 to $400,000
- Temporarily closing Bannon Creek Elementary for construction safety concerns during the conversion of the campus from a K-5 to a K-8 school (this construction project is using bond dollars that cannot be used for other expenses such as staff salaries and student supplies), $250,000
- Authorizing targeted layoffs, variable savings
- Eliminating athletics, $357,425
- Putting more/all schools on multi-track year-round schedules with a school closure, $400,000
- Having a four-day school week, $250,000
- More energy savings that include letting our lawns go brown, $40,000 or more
- Not purchasing school workbooks, $300,000
- Eliminating all bus transportation except for special education students (a mandated service), $862,000
- Eliminating all Tier III categorical programs, $1.4 million
- Staff furloughs, variable savings
- Eliminating P.E. for high school juniors and seniors and only offering the class at the freshman/sophomore level, $232,000
- Further review of increasing class sizes at the K-1 level (the Board already approved increasing class sizes at every grade level by 1), savings to be determined

Still to be addressed are issues of employee compensation that are subject to negotiations. Please note the following potential savings:

- Freeze step-and-column increases, $1.68 million or the equivalent of 29 teaching positions
- Implement furlough days, $283,363 per each furlough day or the equivalent of 5 teaching positions
- 3 percent salary reduction for all employees and administrators, $1.644 million or the equivalent of 28 teaching positions
- Eliminate compensation for class size overages, $236,000 or the equivalent of 4 teaching positions

In a related matter, our district is working to resolve the issue of School Resource Officers at Inderkum High and Natomas High. I’d like to note that we are in discussions with other agencies to provide this service at a lower cost than our contract with the Sacramento Police Department which ends June 30.

I’d also like to provide clarification on another important issue: How we pay for one-time land purchases/school construction vs. how we pay for ongoing expenses like salaries and school supplies:

- The funds for land purchases/school construction come from separate money “pots,” if you will, and can’t be comingled with funds for salaries and school supplies.

- We have built our new schools, modernized our campuses and purchased the West Lakeside property for future school use with voter-approved school bond money and land developer fees, among other sources dedicated just for this use.

-We pay for our salaries, school supplies and all other ongoing educational expenses out of the general fund – typically money that comes from state and federal sources.

As I said in yesterday’s message, I wish there was better news to report on the state budget crisis and how it’s affecting school districts across the state. I look forward to the day when education once again is made the top financial priority that it deserves to be in California.

NTA Election Results

Partial ratification of contract - passed by an official vote count of 266 to 29.

Incoming officers:
President - Cynthia Connell
Vice President - Scott MacMillan
Secretary - Amber Allison (incumbent)
All officers were voted in by a vote of at least 97% of all official ballots.

May Events

May 11th - 3:30 - NTA General Membership Meeting at Leroy Greene Middle School Library
May 11th - 5:00 - Meeting with Board Members Jules Tran, and Sue Heredia at Starbucks on Gateway Oaks [note change in time and place]
May 12th - 4:00 - Meeting with Board Members Bruce Roberts and Lisa Kaplan at Giovanni's Pizza
May 12-14 - Contract Ratification Voting and NTA Officers Voting

May 13th - DAY OF THE TEACHER - Congratulations Everyone!

May 13th - 6:30 pm - Natomas USD School Board Meeting
May 27th - 5:00 - Natomas Retirement Celebration at Inderkum HS Theater
May 27th - 6:00 - Natomas USD School Board Workshop on the District Budget

General Membership Meeting

All NTA members are encouraged to attend a general membership meeting on Monday, May 11th at 3:30 in the Leroy Greene Middle School Library. Information and questions about the partial contract ratification will be provided at the meeting.
Voting will take place at the sites on May 12-14, ballots to be returned by 4:00 pm on Thursday, May 14th so that results can be reported on Friday, May 15th. Once the contract is ratified, then Transfer and Reassignment can proceed.
In the event that the contract is not ratified, then the district will proceed to perform additonal collapses of classes before starting T & R.
We hope to commence T & R with the district immediately after the ratification.

May 19th Special Election

May 19th – Special Election to keep schools funded – please don’t forget to vote and ask how you can help!

All initiatives below will appear on May 19, 2009 Special Election ballot.
If these initiatives don't pass, we can expect teacher layoffs in July and August of this year.

Prop. 1A – Reform and Stabilize State Budget (Budget Stabilization Fund). Prop. 1A provides long-term reform to our broken budget system by stabilizing future state spending and creating an enhanced rainy day reserve fund. Without impacting the state’s minimum school funding guarantee, Prop. 1A requires the state to direct 3% of revenues into a rainy day fund each year, except when the fund is full or during economic downturns. It increases the overall size of the state’s rainy day reserve from 5% to 12.5% of the budget. Part of the money from the Prop. 1A reserve fund is used to repay the $9 billion owed to public schools. If Prop. 1A fails, there will be no mechanism in place to restore the funding to schools and community colleges. Prop. 1A does not downsize government, or give the governor authority to make midyear cuts to education. By stabilizing state spending, Prop. 1A puts the brakes on the state budget roller coaster; prevents wild peaks and valleys in state spending; and helps protect funding for vital programs like education, public safety and health care. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1A.

Prop. 1B – Protect Education Funding (Prop. 98 Restoration). Read Ballot Argument on Prop. 1B.The budget crisis has cut more than $12 billion from our schools and colleges. Over 5,000 teachers and education support professionals have been laid off and thousands more are threatened. Prop. 1B starts the process of paying back our schools and community colleges as economic conditions improve. Prop. 1B sets up a repayment plan to ensure schools are repaid the $9 billion they are owed under the state’s minimum school funding law. The payments to schools would come out of the newly-created rainy day fund established in Prop. 1A and are dependent on the passage of Prop. 1A. Payments would not begin until 2011-2012. If we don’t pass 1B, CA will be permanetly downgrading its public school system. The future of our state depends on the investment we make in our public schools. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1B.

Prop. 1C – Lottery Modernization Act. Prop. 1C will increase the performance and accountability of the state lottery and bring immediate funding to the state without raising taxes. By modernizing the lottery, Prop. 1C will immediately raise $5 billion in new revenues to immediately help with this year’s budget deficit and billions more in future years. The measure also guarantees that public schools will receive the same amount of funds they currently receive from the lottery. In fact, Prop. 1C takes education funding out of future lottery proceeds and places that money under the Prop. 98 minimum school funding guarantee. So schools will actually receive more money in future years due to cost of living increases. If Prop. 1C fails, there will be a $5 billion hole in the state budget, meaning schools and other programs could face additional cuts. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1C.

Prop. 1D – Children’s Services Funding. Prop. 1D temporarily redirects a portion of excess funds from the voter-approved tobacco tax to pay for children’s health and social services over the next two years. Currently the Children and Families Trust Fund has about $2.5 billion that has not been spent. Prop. 1D diverts a portion of this unexpended money to prevent deeper cuts to Children’s health care and other human services programs. Only a portion of these tobacco tax funds would be redirected, thereby protecting existing programs currently funded by the tax. Failure of Prop. 1D creates a more than $600 million hole in the state budget and means deeper cuts for children’s health and social service programs. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1D.

Prop. 1E – Mental Health Funding. Prop. 1E would temporarily redirect a portion of the funds from the Mental Health Services Trust Fund approved by voters in 2004 to fund children’s health programs that are at risk of elimination due to the state budget crisis, including health care screenings, diagnosis and treatment for children’s health. Failure of Prop. 1E means the state budget deficit grows by $227 million and means those programs face deeper cuts or even elimination. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1E.

Prop. 1F – Restricts Elected Officials’ Salaries. Prop. 1F prohibits legislators, the governor and other state politicians from getting pay raises whenever our state budget is running a deficit. By stopping legislative pay raises during state budget deficits, we can save CA millions of dollars when they’re needed most and bring accountability to the Legislature and governor’s office. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1F.

April Newsletter

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter April 2009

Calendar of Events:
§ Rep Council Meeting – Thurs, April. 1st 4:00 pm, LFG, Room 406
§ School Board Mtg. – Wed, Apr. 8th, D.O. 6:30 pm

Board Member Meetings:
§ Lisa Kaplan - Monday, Apr. 6th, 4:30
§ Jules Tran- Monday, Apr. 6th, 5:30 pm
§ Bruce Roberts- Tues. Apr. 7th, 4:00
§ Teri Burns – Tues. Apr. 7th, 5:30pm

Board member meetings will all be held at Giovanni’s Pizzeria (2701 Del Paso Rd) and are generally the Monday and Tuesday before board meetings each month.


Don’t forget to check out the NTA blog:
http://natomasteachers.blogspot.com

Negotiations Update
There were no negotiations were held in March. The details of the district’s PIE and BRIDGE classes at the elementary level have been discussed and will be resolved shortly. Negotiations are scheduled to resume in April.

May 19th State Initiatives – 1A through 1F – please vote yes! Learn how you can help get the word out to the community.

Natomas Budget Watch
At the last board meeting, it was decided to save 2 million dollars and not open up Hight Middle School. Instead, Natomas Middle School will move to the Hight site, and NP3 Charter will move to the old Natomas Middle site. Other budget saving items that were added to the balance sheet are listed on http://www.natomasteachers.blogspot.com/

Stand Up For Schools
Thanks to all the Natomas teachers who represented Natomas at the Pink Friday event on March 13th at the Capitol.
You can see pictures of us at the event at the http://www.standupforschools.org/ website
or http://www.pinkfriday09.org/ (same site)

Future Events of interest:

Transfer and Reassignment paperwork and processing – April 20th and May 1st

May 3-9th – Teacher Appreciation Week

California Day of the Teacher – May 13th

Election of NTA Officers – May

May 19th – Special Election to keep schools funded – please don’t forget to vote and ask how you can help!

May 19, 2009 Special Election
All initiatives below will appear on May 19, 2009 Special Election ballot. If these initiatives don't pass, there could be more teacher layoffs in July and August of this year.

Prop. 1A – Reform and Stabilize State Budget (Budget Stabilization Fund). Prop. 1A provides long-term reform to our broken budget system by stabilizing future state spending and creating an enhanced rainy day reserve fund. Without impacting the state’s minimum school funding guarantee, Prop. 1A requires the state to direct 3% of revenues into a rainy day fund each year, except when the fund is full or during economic downturns. It increases the overall size of the state’s rainy day reserve from 5% to 12.5% of the budget. Part of the money from the Prop. 1A reserve fund is used to repay the $9 billion owed to public schools. If Prop. 1A fails, there will be no mechanism in place to restore the funding to schools and community colleges. Prop. 1A does not downsize government, or give the governor authority to make midyear cuts to education. By stabilizing state spending, Prop. 1A puts the brakes on the state budget roller coaster; prevents wild peaks and valleys in state spending; and helps protect funding for vital programs like education, public safety and health care. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1A.

Prop. 1B – Protect Education Funding (Prop. 98 Restoration). Read Ballot Argument on Prop. 1B.The budget crisis has cut more than $12 billion from our schools and colleges. Over 5,000 teachers and education support professionals have been laid off and thousands more are threatened. Prop. 1B starts the process of paying back our schools and community colleges as economic conditions improve. Prop. 1B sets up a repayment plan to ensure schools are repaid the $9 billion they are owed under the state’s minimum school funding law. The payments to schools would come out of the newly-created rainy day fund established in Prop. 1A and are dependent on the passage of Prop. 1A. Payments would not begin until 2011-2012. If we don’t pass 1B, CA will be permanetly downgrading its public school system. The future of our state depends on the investment we make in our public schools. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1B.

Prop. 1C – Lottery Modernization Act. Prop. 1C will increase the performance and accountability of the state lottery and bring immediate funding to the state without raising taxes. By modernizing the lottery, Prop. 1C will immediately raise $5 billion in new revenues to immediately help with this year’s budget deficit and billions more in future years. The measure also guarantees that public schools will receive the same amount of funds they currently receive from the lottery. In fact, Prop. 1C takes education funding out of future lottery proceeds and places that money under the Prop. 98 minimum school funding guarantee. So schools will actually receive more money in future years due to cost of living increases. If Prop. 1C fails, there will be a $5 billion hole in the state budget, meaning schools and other programs could face additional cuts. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1C.

Prop. 1D – Children’s Services Funding. Prop. 1D temporarily redirects a portion of excess funds from the voter-approved tobacco tax to pay for children’s health and social services over the next two years. Currently the Children and Families Trust Fund has about $2.5 billion that has not been spent. Prop. 1D diverts a portion of this unexpended money to prevent deeper cuts to Children’s health care and other human services programs. Only a portion of these tobacco tax funds would be redirected, thereby protecting existing programs currently funded by the tax. Failure of Prop. 1D creates a more than $600 million hole in the state budget and means deeper cuts for children’s health and social service programs. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1D.

Prop. 1E – Mental Health Funding. Prop. 1E would temporarily redirect a portion of the funds from the Mental Health Services Trust Fund approved by voters in 2004 to fund children’s health programs that are at risk of elimination due to the state budget crisis, including health care screenings, diagnosis and treatment for children’s health. Failure of Prop. 1E means the state budget deficit grows by $227 million and means those programs face deeper cuts or even elimination. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1E.

Prop. 1F – Restricts Elected Officials’ Salaries. Prop. 1F prohibits legislators, the governor and other state politicians from getting pay raises whenever our state budget is running a deficit. By stopping legislative pay raises during state budget deficits, we can save CA millions of dollars when they’re needed most and bring accountability to the Legislature and governor’s office. CTA has taken a SUPPORT position on Prop. 1F.


Transfer and Reassignment
For this year only, T & R timelines have been extended. Teachers will receive their T & R form by April 20th, to return the forms by May 1st. You will then be notified of first round changes by May 15th. By delaying this process, teachers will have a better idea of what job might be opened for the upcoming year. We advise teacher to put on the list your ideal position because you never know what could open up at the last minute.

Capitol Bathed in Pink on the Eve of Pink Friday

PINK FRIDAY - A teacher rally was held today at the west steps of the Capitol and the President of CTA was joined by the presidents of the Sacramento area school districts to speak to the crowd of pink shirted educators.
See video:
http://www.kcra.com/video/18928725/index.html
http://www.cbs13.com/video/?id=49910@kovr.dayport.com

School Board Meeting Update - March 11, 2009

The following was written by school board member Lisa Kaplan. Thank you Lisa for your summary, and thanks to the board and Dr. Farrar for demonstrating that you are truly working with your bargaining units on budget saving ideas. Much appreciated!

Good Evening:
In a short version since it is late tonight, the following is a brief summary of the major actions the Natomas School District made tonight:

1) The Board approved expanding NP3 from a 9-12 to include 6-8, thus creating a 6-12 charter school.

2) The Board approved opening HAH middle school by moving next year all existing students at Natomas Middle School over to HAH middle as a full middle school - by doing this the District saved the start-up costs associated with opening a brand new middle school and ordering all new text books and supplies.

3) The Board approved moving NP3 over to the Natomas Middle School campus to share with Westlake Charter School. This decision saved the District approximately $1.2 million dollars its first year and approximately $700,000 thereafter by not renting property in the community to house NP3. NP3 middle will open next year with 150 - 6th graders / 50 - 7th graders and 50 - 8th graders, thereby easing overcrowding at both middle schools.

4) The Board gave direction to the district to work with the middle school design team (MSDT) to create partnership academies at each middle school (the intent is to create 2 small schools within each middle school with approximately 450 kids at each school)

5) The Board approved approximately $ 6million dollars in cuts (including savings by moving NP3 to NMS campus / increasing class size by 1 student district wide approx $1 million - the other cuts include deferring retirement costs / moving categorical money around with the flexibility given to us in the State budget and a host of other cuts that none of the board really like making). These cuts were needed because the State already reduced our budget by 15% this year and is cutting the District funding by 20% next year.

Don't hesitate to call the District 567-5400 (ask for John Christ - email our business director jchrist@natomas. k12.ca.us) or send me an email if you have further questions.

Lisa Kaplan
General Counsel, L&B AssociatesTrustee, Natomas School Board

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter, March 2009

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter
March 2009

Calendar of Events:
§ Rep Council Meeting – Thurs, Mar. 5th 4:00 pm, LFG, Room 406
§ School Board Mtg. – Wed, Mar. 11th, D.O. 6:30 pm
§ Sacramento Educ. Coalition, Tues. Mar. 10th, 5:30 pm at CTA on Truxel.

Board Member Meetings:
§ Lisa Kaplan - Monday, Mar. 9th, 4:00
§ Jules Tran, Sue Heredia- Monday, Mar. 9th, 6:00 pm
§ Bruce Roberts- Tues. Mar. 10th, 4:00
§ Teri Burns – Tues. Mar. 10th, 5:30pm

Board member meetings will all be held at Giovanni’s Pizzeria (2701 Del Paso Rd) and are generally the Monday and Tuesday before board meetings each month.

Don’t forget to check out the NTA blog:
http://natomasteachers.blogspot.com

Negotiations Update
Negotiations were held Thursday, February 19th You should have received an update last week. T & R, Class Size, Special Education, Compensation, and Calendar were among the items discussed. Please refer to the update or your site rep for the details.
May 19th State Initiatives – 1A through 1F – please vote yes!

Transfer and Reassignment
For this year only, T & R timelines have been extended. Teachers will receive their T & R form by April 20th, to return the forms by May 1st. You will then be notified of first round changes by May 15th. By delaying this process, teachers will have a better idea of what job might be opened for the upcoming year. We advise teacher to put on the list your ideal position because you never know what could open up at the last minute.

Natomas Budget Watch
A community forum was held this week to discuss the opening or delaying of Hight Middle, and the best use of categorical flexibility. There was some Natomas staff that attended, as well as parents that spoke. In general, the teachers/staff that spoke were concerned about spending the million it would cost to open Hight, but the parents that spoke all spoke in favor of opening. And on the catagoricals, GATE parents spoke up for maintaining and increasing GATE, while others expressed concern about a lack of instructional materials and resources for classrooms, recognizing the need to increase resources. Yes, even the parents can see we are short on resources in the classrooms!
Next Wednesday’s Board meeting – March 11th – will be when board members make their final decisions on budget cuts.

Stand Up For Schools
Pink Friday is March 13th – a gathering /event at the Capitol at 4:30 – supporting teachers across Sacramento County, and our schools that have substantially lost precious funding. There will be stickers and signs at the event for teachers to wear and hold. Teachers can wear their NTA shirts to that event, if they have one, so don’t let the “pink” attire thing keep anyone away.
If you are planning to attend, please let your site rep know or email exec bd so that we can let the organizers know.

Did you know that you can save money as a CTA member and Natomas teacher? Here are some ways:
Cell Phone companies will give you a discount on your plan– call them and find out how.
If you have BlueShield PERS Choice – go to their on-line contact and complete a survey and you can receive $50.

THE 2009 BICYCLE AND BICYCLE ACCESSORY REBATE Opened NOW through April 30th
Who is eligible?
Because you work in North Natomas, YOU are!
How do I sign up?
Just fill out an application and visit a local bike shop for a quote! They will help you get fitted for the correct bike for your needs, abilities and body type.
Just looking for an accessory to make your riding better?
A bike shop can help you pick up just what you need to make cycling a reality.
Detailed instructions are on the application and are available online at NorthNatomasTMA.org or in hardcopy in Heidi Van Zant's Office. If you
have questions, contact the North Natomas TMA at 916.419.9955 or sarah@northnatomastma.org.


If you have any association questions or issues please contact your site rep(s):
· American Lakes: Naomi Nakahara
· Bannon Creek: Linda Wells
· Discovery HS: Therese Collentine
· H. Allen Hight: Allyson Kirby
· Heron: Kou Moua, Peter Talbot, Cara Kruse
· Inderkum HS: Patricia Hite-Leach, Ken MacPherson, Scott MacMillan
· Jefferson: Maureen Ramos
· Leroy Green MS: Kristen Rocha, Justin Vorhauer
· Natomas HS: Joel Schweiger, Ruth Ward, Ben Layne
· Natomas MS: Emilio Moran, Anthony Katsaris
· Natomas Park: Lauren Frazer
· Two Rivers: Phil Cox, Jerry Lovejoy
· Witter Ranch: Tanya Praest, Jim Clarke, Kim Chambers

Here are the school board members home
e-mails. Feel free to contact them:

Bruce Roberts bruceroberts4natomas@yahoo.com
Jules Tran jules.tran@sbcglobal.net
Sue Heredia heredias@csus.edu
Teri Burns terib@sia-us.com
Lisa Kaplan kaplan4kids@yahoo.com


Future Events of interest:

Pink Friday – March 13th – Capitol at 4:30 pm

Transfer and Reassignment paperwork and processing – April/May

May 3-9th – Teacher Appreciation Week

California Day of the Teacher – May 13th

Election of NTA Officers – May


District Outlines New Priority List at February Board Workshop
The district outlined at a recent board workshop their own personal wish list of priorities for the categorical flexibility and here is what they mentioned:

1. 90 minute weekly collaboration time ($500,000)- [NTA estimated the cost to be $1,300,000]
2. Hire instructional coaches for ELA, Math and EL – 4 for Elem, 3 for Middle and 3 for HS, at approx. $900,000. [Maybe TESA?]
3. Professional development, Professional Learning Communities, Cultural Competency $100,000+ instructional materials adoption at approx. $1,000,000
4. Basic Core Instructional Materials approx $1,000,000 + intervention, acceleration, culturally diverse pops. $250,000.

These are items we might want to speak with board members and district office staff about. I am not sure what teachers groups were consulted when coming up with these priorities. Maybe this was gathered by talking with administrators. In any case, it doesn’t appear that the catagoricals in Tier 3 add up to these amounts, but perhaps as funds permit these will be looked at to be adopted. Although all of these are aimed at teacher training and classroom materials, I would be interested in gathering further information from teachers as to their thoughts on these items. Please send us your input!

PINK FRIDAY IS MARCH 13th

Fight Pink Slips, Stand Up For Schools

Join teachers, parents, students and community members and Stand Up For Schools on March 13, the deadline for teacher layoff notices from school districts. Thousands of educators are expected to receive pink slips -- or Reduction in Force (RIF) notices -- this year. In fact, 17,777 pink slips have already been issued!
For more information, please go to http://www.cta.org/

Here is our local activity - please join us:
On March 13 (Fri) we are planning a 4:30 rally of our members converging on the capital. WE would love to have a show of solidary with all of the teachers from districts surrounding the capital to join us. We will ask our teachers to wear their NTA T-shirts or school shirts and we will have stickers and some will wear pink armbands. I know there will be a lot of frustration and anger and this provides an outlet with an organized activity, and it would publicize how teachers are being effected by the budget cuts. Please let us know if this is something you can participate in. Other local districts will be joining us such as Sac City TA and San Juan TA among others. It would be a great show of solidarity for ALL CTA TEACHERS in the area to join together - "an injury to one is an injury to all".

In the Sacramento Bee Today

Stockpile could save Natomas district from making job cuts
By Robert Faturechirfaturechi@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 - 12:00 am Page 6B

Next month, school officials across the state will notify teachers and librarians that they might be laid off. But at Sacramento's Natomas Unified School District, employees are breathing easy because the district is not expected to send out the warnings, despite one of the worst economic downturns in recent memory. District administrators have stockpiled reserve funds to insulate staff and programs from cuts in state funding. State law requires layoff notices for certified employees – mostly teachers and librarians – who might be let go by the end of the school year.
With deep midyear cuts expected from the state, more of these notes will go out this spring, and from more districts, which makes Natomas' situation even more unusual. For years the district has enjoyed growing enrollment – a major source of funding. It has built a hefty rainy day reserve of more than $10 million, about four times greater than the 3 percent reserve most districts strive for. "This is certainly a rainy day," said board President Teri Burns. "But we are counting on those reserves."
The district expects to use $5.4 million of those funds this school year, allowing it to avoid layoffs. That's a sharp contrast to neighboring districts where dozens, and in some cases hundreds, of employees will receive layoff notifications. By March 15, notices are expected to go to 600 to 700 employees of the Elk Grove Unified district, 100 to 200 at Folsom Cordova Unified, more than 100 at Rocklin Unified, and up to 3,000 at San Juan Unified.
Though districts don't usually lay off all, or even most, employees they notify, the notices can give an idea of the upper limits for layoffs. Natomas Unified's skipping the notices cannot be attributed solely to good planning. Enrollment at the district has grown in recent years as the district rode a wave of development in the area. Propped up by years of prosperity, and motivated by a budget scare caused by overstaffing in 2001, district administrators have been able to slowly build their reserves better than most other districts. "At that time we had vowed we'd start to rebuild reserves and have been steadily doing that since," said John Christ, assistant superintendent of business services. "Everyone's spending a little less than their budget."
Without the reserves, Burns said, some athletic programs and reduced class sizes would likely have been on the chopping block this year. "At the end of the year, if we have extra money, we put it in the reserve rather than just spend it," Burns said. "Unlike the state of California."

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter, Feb. 2009

Calendar of Events:
§ Rep Council Meeting – Thurs, Feb. 5th 4:00 pm, LFG, Room 406
§ School Board Mtg. – Wed, Feb. 11th, D.O. 6:30 pm
§ Sacramento Educ. Coalition, Thurs. Feb 5th, 6:00 pm at CTA on Truxel.

Board Member Meetings:
§ Lisa Kaplan - Monday, Feb. 9th, 4:30
§ Jules Tran, Sue Heredia- Monday, Feb. 9th, 6:00 pm
§ Bruce Roberts- Tues., Feb. 10th, 4:00
§ Teri Burns – Tues. Feb. 10th, 5:30pm

Board member meetings will all be held at Giovanni’s Pizzeria (2701 Del Paso Rd) and are generally the Monday and Tuesday before board meetings each month.

Don’t forget to check out the NTA blog:
http://natomasteachers.blogspot.com

Negotiations Update
A negotiation session was held Thursday, February 5th (today) so there are no details at the time of this publishing, however we know that the retirement incentive is being discussed. Site reps will be updated as soon as details are known.

Budget Watch
District: The superintendent told NTA leadership that they will post an updated list of possible budget cuts on the website and additionally send through email to employees. As soon as NTA receives any definitive information, it will be disseminated to site reps. If need be, we’ll call a General Membership meeting for our members to get more information and for a forum for you to ask questions.
We believe the board will be discussing the budget at the Feb. 11th Board Meeting, and then again at a special board meeting Feb. 25th. In talking with other surrounding districts (Elk Grove, Sac City, San Juan and Folsom-Cordova) their association leadership have been notified of several special emergency board meetings dealing with possible budget cuts (you may have seen some of this in the media). Ultimately, our own school board will be making these decisions, but in speaking with our superintendent, as of Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, he says he does not plan to do layoffs. He is, however, very interested in categorical flexibility and is likely to recommend this towards CSR. Again, this is up to the board to decide. (Items regarding the contract will of course have to be negotiated and you will be notified of these.) Dr. Farrar says the district’s list will have a lot of ideas on the table. It appears that the superintendents are frequently talking to each other. You can view Folsom-Cordova’s similar list at their web site:
http://www.fcusd.org/budget/Budget%20Reduction%20Brainstorming.asp


If you have any association questions or issues please contact your site rep(s):
· American Lakes: Naomi Nakahara
· Bannon Creek: Linda Wells
· Discovery HS: Therese Collentine
· H. Allen Hight: Allyson Kirby
· Heron: Kou Moua, Peter Talbot, Cara Kruse
· Inderkum HS: Patricia Hite-Leach, Ken MacPherson, Scott MacMillan
· Jefferson: Maureen Ramos
· Leroy Green MS: Kristen Rocha, Justin Vorhauer
· Natomas HS: Joel Schweiger, Ruth Ward, Ben Layne
· Natomas MS: Emilio Moran, Anthony Katsaris
· Natomas Park: Lauren Frazer
· Two Rivers: Phil Cox, Jerry Lovejoy
· Witter Ranch: Tanya Praest, Jim Clarke, Kim Chambers

Here are the school board members home
e-mails. Feel free to contact them:

Bruce Roberts bruceroberts4natomas@yahoo.com

Jules Tran jules.tran@sbcglobal.net

Sue Heredia heredias@csus.edu

Teri Burns terib@sia-us.com

Lisa Kaplan kaplan4kids@yahoo.com


Brenda’s School Visitation Schedule

Thurs. Feb. 5th – Natomas Park Elem.
Tues. Feb. 10th – Leroy Greene MS
Wed. Feb. 11th – Natomas HS,
Discovery HS
Thurs. Feb. 12th – Natomas Middle
Friday, Feb. 13th – Inderkum HS
Wed. Feb. 18th – Bannon Creek Elem.
Friday, Feb. 20th – Jefferson Elem.
Wed. Feb. 25th – American Lakes
Thurs. Feb. 26th – Heron K-8


You are invited
to an
NTA social
WHEN: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20TH
WHERE: MALABAR RESTAURANT
2960 Del Paso Road
TIME: 2:30PM-6:30PM
Come relax, and enjoy the company of your fellow colleagues
Hors D’oeuvres provided by NTA - drinks on your own
Raffles will be held throughout the evening (must be present to win)

Future Events of interest:

Feb 13th – Budget Action Day (everyone please wear blue in solidarity)

Non-re-elect deadline and RIF deadline (also known as “black Friday”) –March 12th (March 13th is a non-work day in Natomas)

Transfer and Reassignment paperwork and processing – March/April

May 3-9th – Teacher Appreciation Week

California Day of the Teacher – May 13th

Election of NTA Officers – May

State Budget: CTA is monitoring the latest budget activities from the legislature and governor. You can check out the CTA website for what is happening and things that you can do at www.cta.org

Also, CTA is hosting the Sacramento Education Coalition, which will be meeting on Thursday, Feb. 5th at CTA on Truxel, 6:00 pm. The Ed. Coalition includes CSEA, PTA, superintendents, board members… etc. Last year we also worked with state workers, daycare and elder care agency workers, and even firefighters on activities to help get the budget passed (to try to break the stalemate.)

BLUE BUDGET FRIDAY

REMINDER

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009

BLUE DAY

WEAR BLUE IN SOLIDARITY TO MOURN THE BUDGET THREATS

Education in the News, Across the State

State deficit puts schools in 'precarious' position(San Francisco Chronicle © 02/04/2009)
(02-03) 20:15 PST -- In his grimmest State of Education address yet, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell pointed to a "precarious" school system all but collapsing under the weight of California's fiscal crisis. Schools expect to lose $10 billion this year alone, resulting in teacher layoffs, soaring class sizes and fewer librarians and nurses, O'Connell said in his sixt...
Hayward parents outraged by education cuts(KTVU-TV (Fox) Oakland © 02/04/2009)
Hayward Education Association President Kathleen Crummey, along with Hayward Unified parents and teachers, express outrage over state education cuts and plans by Hayward Unified to eliminate K-3 smaller class sizes....
Teachers protest education cuts(KGO-TV San Francisco © 02/04/2009)
By Lyanne Melendez SAN FRANCISCO (KGO-TV) -- The proposed cuts to education compelled teachers and parents in San Francisco to take to the streets. A major rally was underway around 5 p.m. Tuesday evening at San Francisco's City Hall. The state superintendent of schools says it's a precarious time for education. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said if these cuts go...
California's low credit rating: Investors win, taxpayers lose(Los Angeles Times © 02/04/2009)
When the state of Georgia sold 10-year bonds on Monday, it paid an annualized tax-free interest yield of 2.99% to the investors who bought the IOUs. If California tried to sell 10-year bonds now, it probably would have to pay about 4%. That shows the hard-money penalty that taxpayers of the Golden State incur for its low credit rating, which sank even further on Tuesday: Standard & Poor’s do...
O'Connell urges education improvements despite likely funding cuts(Inland Valley Daily Bulletin © 02/04/2009)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell urged educators and policymakers to continue closing the achievement gap even as their schools prepare for staggering cuts in funding. "These times are turbulent with no clear skies ahead," O'Connell said in his state of education address. "The national economic downturn and the budget shortfall facing our state are creating...
Possible budget cuts draw parents concerns(Riverside Press Enterprise © 02/04/2009)
10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 By ERIN WALDNER The Press-Enterprise BEAUMONT - Dozens of parents voiced concerns and asked questions about possible budget cuts at the Beaumont Unified School District during a public forum Tuesday night. The district is facing a $7 million shortfall for the 2009-10 school year. As a result, a budget review committee has proposed the district elimina...
Salinas Union High School District plans no layoffs this year, but still needs to cut its budget(Californian © 02/04/2009)
Salinas Union High School District leaders on the one hand are vowing no layoffs this year but on the other are drawing up an employee seniority list - just in case. The board of trustees met Tuesday night in a special session focused solely on discussing the district's budget for the remainder of this year and the next two years. But with no one knowing what cuts the deficit-ridden state may...
LIVERMORE: OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS STATE BUDGET'S IMPACT ON COMMUNITY COLLEGES(KPIX CBS Channel 5 © 02/04/2009)
* Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:55E-mail PrintLIVERMORE: OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS STATE BUDGET'S IMPACT ON COMMUNITY COLLEGES LIVERMORE (BCN) Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi and state Chancellor of California Community Colleges Jack Scott will hold a briefing today at Las Positas College in Livermore to discuss the impact of the state budget on community colleges, workforce development in the green tech indu...
Tulare, Tipton school districts brace for more cuts(Visalia Times-Delta © 02/04/2009)
BY VICTOR GARCIA vdgarcia@visalia.gannett.com Tulare-area school districts are preparing for midyear budget reductions by making spending cuts outside the classroom. The Tulare City School District is expecting as much as $3 million in midyear cuts. It plans on cutting summer school altogether this year and curtailing its energy usage. The district has also implemented a hiring freeze, a confe...
Fears of fiscal solvency arise as area school districts work toward positive certifications(Santa Maria Times © 02/04/2009)
Several Central Coast school districts say they might not be able to meet their financial obligations through 2011 if the state Legislature passes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget. State law requires districts to file budgets with their respective county Office of Education that certify they will remain fiscally solvent for at least three years. By filing a “positive cert...
Novato schools plan would cut 60 teachers and all sports(Marin Independent-Journal © 02/04/2009)
The wide-ranging cuts, which the district board will consider at a Feb. 10 meeting, are based on the assumption that the state will eliminate the funding the Novato district receives to reduce the number of students in a classroom. Officials will not know the actual cost of the state's cuts until the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can agree on a solution to California's $42 million bud...
Controller, unions keep California furlough fight alive in 2 courts(Sacramento Bee © 02/04/2009)
With thousands of state workers facing their first unpaid day off on Friday, the fight over whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can legally cut employee hours and pay split into two courts on Tuesday. State Controller John Chiang asked a Sacramento Superior Court judge to clarify an earlier ruling that Schwarzenegger interprets as license to furlough 15,600 employees previously thought outside of ...

NTA SOCIAL - FEBRUARY 20th

NTA Teachers are invited
to an
NTA Social

WHEN: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20TH
WHERE: MALABAR RESTAURANT
TIME: 2:30PM-6:30PM

Come relax, and enjoy the company of your fellow colleagues

Hors D’oeuvres provided by NTA - drinks on your own

Raffles will be held throughout the evening
(must be present to win)

CA Initiative to Focus on Classrooms Only

Below is an article from the Sacramento Bee on the CTA Initiative designed to take education out of the political football game of the State each year. Because it looks as though education will be taking the largest hit in this current budget, classrooms somehow need a way to be funded directly and not keep allowing the money to be funneled through the administrative offices at each district that fail to ensure that resources reach the classrooms. After reading many of the comments from readers this article generated, it appears that voters are angry about the state of education, and in not appearing to get a noticable return for the investment education seems to be receiving. In reality, not much of the money coming in really reaches the classroom and students in the way site budgets keep shrinking and schools are understaffed - both classified and certificated. Nevertheless, from our perspective, this step is an attempt to correct this perpetual and unfortunate educational bureaucracy.

California teachers prepare a tax-hike initiative
By Steve Wiegand swiegand@sacbee.com q{

Published: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 Page 3A

The California Teachers Association has put together an initiative that would raise the state sales tax by a penny and dedicate all of the resulting revenue to education.
But whether the group pulls the trigger on gathering signatures to qualify the measure for a special election ballot later this year will depend on what happens in the next few weeks in budget negotiations between legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Our State Council of Education (CTA's top governing body) meets late this month and will make the final decision on how we move forward," CTA spokeswoman Sandra Jackson said, "after doing some internal research and looking at what the possibilities are with the governor's proposal."
Schwarzenegger has proposed a 1.5-cent hike in the sales tax for three years, as part of an effort to close the state's gaping $40 billion budget deficit.
The governor's 2-month-old plan has gone nowhere, mainly because tax increases require two-thirds approval of the Legislature, and Republican lawmakers have vowed to fall on their swords before voting for any tax increase.
Another part of Schwarzenegger's proposal would slice $5.2 billion from elementary and high schools and community colleges through the rest of this fiscal year and in the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The CTA initiative would generate an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion a year. Of that, 89 percent would go to K-12 schools, and the rest to community colleges.
The measure would restrict use of the revenue to specific purposes that include class size reduction, funding art, music and vocation education courses, and salaries for teachers and other school employees.
The money couldn't be used for administrative costs, and legislators and the governor couldn't touch the revenue. The money would be allocated to school districts based on their average daily student attendance.
There is little question the 340,000-member group, which is one of the most powerful interests in the state, could muster the money and troops to gather the 433,971 signatures of registered voters to qualify the initiative, and to run a politically credible campaign.
But the budget situation is so murky, it's difficult to handicap its chances with voters, who polls have shown love schools and hate taxes in about equal measures.
"Initiatives generally occur when the Legislature fails to solve the problem," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
"In virtually every revenue proposal (being discussed in negotiations), the sales tax is included. So if we solve the problem, then in all practicality it would be difficult to go to the voters to raise the state sales taxes for education."
Steinberg also said, however, that if no deal is reached and the initiative appears on the ballot, he would "most probably" support it.
Call Steve Wiegand, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1076.

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter, Jan. 2009

Natomas Teachers’ Association Newsletter
January 2009

Happy New Year!

Calendar of Events:
§ Rep Council Meeting – Thurs, Jan. 15th 4:00 pm, LFG, Room 406
§ School Board Mtg. – Wed, Jan. 14th, D.O. 6:00 pm
§ Sacramento Educ. Coalition, Tues. Jan. 13th, 6:00 pm at CTA on Truxel.

Board Member Meetings:
§ Lisa Kaplan and Teri Burns- Monday, Jan. 12th, 4:30
§ Jules Tran- Monday, Jan. 12th, 6:00 pm
§ Bruce Roberts and Sue Heredia- Tues., Jan. 13th, 4:00

Board member meetings will all be held at Giovanni’s Pizzeria (2701 Del Paso Rd) and are generally the Monday and Tuesday before board meetings each month.

Don’t forget to check out the NTA blog:
http://natomasteachers.blogspot.com

Budget Watch

District: The district office has released a proposal of budget cuts for the next 3 years. Site reps receive copies of the budget as it is updated. Please be sure to look over the proposal and provide any input that you have to your site rep.

State: CTA has been monitoring the latest budget activities from the legislature and governor and provides us with details and what it means for teachers. Our latest update was provided on Wed. Jan 7th and will be given to site reps at our monthly meeting. Please check out the CTA website for things that you can do.

Also, CTA is hosting the Sacramento Education Coalition, which will be meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13th at CTA on Truxel, 6:00 pm. The Ed. Coalition includes CSEA, PTA, superintendents, board members… etc. Last year we also worked with state workers, daycare and elder care agency workers, and even firefighters on activities to help get the budget passed (break the stalemate.)
If you are interested in activities related to the budget, feel free to attend with Brenda (she will be there). We are encouraging our board members, superintendent and other Natomas leaders to attend the Coalition and participate. Participation could include planning and executing letter writing and office visits to legislators to encourage an education-friendly budget.

CTA recommends that we notify our teachers as to how serious the CA budget crisis currently is, and for members to expect RIF notices in March if movement has not been made to settle the budget. The difference this time, evidently, is the state of the state economy.

Negotiations Update
Nothing new to report as everyone seems to be waiting for the budget negotiations at the state level to settle.

If you have any association questions or issues please contact your site rep(s):
· American Lakes: Naomi Nakahara
· Bannon Creek: Linda Wells
· Discovery HS: Therese Collentine
· H. Allen Hight: Allyson Kirby
· Heron: Kou Moua, Peter Talbot, Cara Kruse
· Inderkum HS: Patricia Hite-Leach, Ken MacPherson, Scott MacMillan
· Jefferson: Maureen Ramos
· Leroy Green MS: Kristen Rocha, Justin Vorhauer
· Natomas HS: Joel Schweiger, Ruth Ward Ben Layne
· Natomas MS: Emilio Moran, Anthony Katsaris
· Natomas Park: Lauren Frazer
· Two Rivers: Phil Cox, Jerry Lovejoy
· Witter Ranch: Tanya Praest, Jim Clarke, Kim Chambers


CTA will participate in the Martin Luther King Day march in Sacramento on January 19th, at the Convention Center. If you are interested in participating, please contact CTA for more information.

If you are interested in getting involved, CTA is offering the following academy for future PAC activities:
Region 2 Political Academy
Feb. 6-8 at Jackson Rancheria – Sierra Foothills
Please notify a member of the exec. board if you are interested in attending.


Here are the school board members home
e-mails. Feel free to contact them:

Bruce Roberts bruceroberts4natomas@yahoo.com

Jules Tran jules.tran@sbcglobal.net

Sue Heredia heredias@csus.edu

Teri Burns terib@sia-us.com

Lisa Kaplan kaplan4kids@yahoo.com



Brenda’s School Visitation Schedule

Wed. Jan 14th – Two Rivers Elem. (might be rescheduled)
Tues. Jan. 20th – Witter Ranch
Tues. Jan. 27th – Leroy Greene MSThurs. Jan. 29th – Natomas Park Elem
Friday, Jan. 30th – Hight Elem.
Wed. Feb. 4th – Inderkum HS
Wed. Feb. 11th – Natomas HS, Dicovery HS
Wed. Feb. 18th – Natomas Middle
Wed. Feb. 25th – Bannon Creek Elem.
Thurs. Feb. 26th – Jefferson Elem.
Fri. March 6th – American Lakes
Wed. March 11th – Heron K-8


Future Events of interest:

NTA Social – February TBA

Transfer and Reassignment paperwork and process - March

Day of the Teacher – May TBA

Election of NTA Officers – May