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.