Wednesday, November 07, 2012

L.A. TEACHERS UNION CALLS FOR RESTORING FULL SCHOOL YEAR

— Howard Blume  | LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/QoPC39

VIDEO: L.A. voters discuss 2012 electionPhoto: Union member Mariana Molina holds a Proposition 30 placard at a rally Monday in support of the measure in Panorama City. The L.A. teachers union is calling for the full school year to be restored with the passage of the proposition. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

November 7, 2012 | 12:13 pm  ::  The morning after a state tax measure passed, teachers union officials in Los Angeles called for a full restoration of pay for employees and for bringing back a full school year for students in the L.A. Unified School District.

The passage of Proposition 30 by state voters on Tuesday means that the current budgets in school districts are protected from $5.4 billion in cuts that were otherwise scheduled to take effect. Proposition 30 does not provide for new revenue immediately, but a union statement spoke of a different school-funding landscape.

“We recognize that Proposition 30 will not fix all our schools’ fiscal problems, but it is a tremendous step that is expected to cancel teacher furlough days and bring back the 180-day school year,” said Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles on Wednesday. In his statement, Fletcher underlined the word "expected."

To balance this year’s budget, teachers had accepted up to 10 unpaid furlough days — five of them being instructional days for students.

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said Wednesday that he is optimistic about achieving a partial restoration. He estimated that the school system could return up to three days of instruction to the schedule.

How this would affect school calendars was unclear Wednesday. The current schedule calls for a week off from school for Thanksgiving, which is fast approaching; normally that week would include three school days. There are no current plans to reopen schools for all or part of the week of Thanksgiving, said district spokesman Tom Waldman.

Proposition 30 will increase the sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years. And for seven years, it raises taxes on individuals after their first $250,000 in income and on couples after their first $500,000 in earnings.

The measure passed statewide with 54% of the vote. In Los Angeles County, voters supported the temporary tax increase with a plurality of 60%.

 


UTLA: Post-Prop. 30 Furlough Update!

United Teachers Los Angeles

Prop. 30 victory & furlough days: How days get cancelled/restored now that the measure has passed

Published on United Teachers Los Angeles (http://www.utla.net)Source URL (retrieved on 11/07/2012 - 6:15pm): http://www.utla.net/node/3875

 

Congrats to everyone who reached out to voters and talked to friends and family to secure this much-needed victory. Our constant refrain during the campaign was that the measure was the path to a full school year and the cancellation of some or all of the 10 furlough days for this school year.

Now that Prop. 30 has passed, here’s what happens next:

2 furlough days will be cancelled immediately because of the LAUSD year-ending budget surplus (the money was previously set aside for this purpose but could not be used unless Prop. 30 passed). These days will be added onto the end of the school year.

LAUSD will receive payment of “deferred” money that will be used to cancel additional days. These funds might not arrive until June, but LAUSD now knows that the money is coming and can make determinations based on that information.

Under the jobs restoration and furlough agreement from last June, the District is required to use Prop. 30 money to cancel furlough days. But, as we have seen in the past, the District does not always keep its promises. That’s why UTLA will be activating our Crisis Committee to plan actions to pressure LAUSD officials to follow the agreement.

While this process moves forward, it’s likely that LAUSD will continue to deduct furlough money (roughly one day per check for most members) until the Prop. 30 money arrives. Once that money arrives and furlough days are cancelled/restored, employees will be made whole. The District will have the option to do this by either adding additional paid days onto the school year or by simply reimbursing employees. Our agreement states that LAUSD must reimburse employees for lost pay (up to seven days) if the District imposes any of the potential furlough days, but it turns out at the end of the fiscal year that funding levels were sufficient to avoid them.

REMEMBER: Schools will still be closed the week of Thanksgiving. These specific instructional days will be restored by being added onto the end of the school year.

We will keep you informed as updates are available. For now, enjoy this important victory for our students and our schools.


The jobs restoration agreement created a sliding scale of furlough days from 0 to 10 and requires LAUSD to use any leftover general fund money to reduce the number of furlough days for 2012-13. This week, LAUSD announced that its carryover funds (called the “unrestricted balance”) totaled $24.7 million, which is enough to cancel 2 furlough days.

The jobs restoration agreement created a sliding scale of furlough days from 0 to 10 and requires LAUSD to use any leftover general fund money to reduce the number of furlough days for 2012-13. This week, LAUSD announced that its carryover funds (called the “unrestricted balance”) totaled $24.7 million, which is enough to cancel 2 furlough days.

Read more here [1].

On July 13, 2012, the District provided a memo to all schools and offices about the implementation of furlough days. The memo basically reiterates the furlough days observed and payroll impact days that were previously published in the June 2012 Tentative Agreement. Note that the actual number of furlough days is subject to reduction based on the outcome of Proposition 30.

Parts of the July 13 memo that pertain to UTLA members are:

Furlough Day Observed

Payroll Impact Date

Nov. 19, 2012 (Instructional Day)
Nov. 20, 2012 (Instructional Day)
Nov. 21, 2012 (Instructional Day)
Jan. 21, 2013 (Paid Non-Work Day)
Feb. 18, 2013 (Paid Non-Work Day)
Mar. 29, 2013 (Paid Non-Work Day)
May 27, 2013 (Paid Non-Work Day)
June 3, 2013 (Instructional Day)**
June 4, 2013 (Instructional Day)**
June 5, 2013 (Pupil Free Day)**

Sept. 17, 2012
Nov. 20, 2012
Dec. 28, 2012
Jan. 21, 2013
Feb.18,2013
Mar. 29, 2013
May 27,2013
April 1, 2013
June 4, 2013
June 5, 2013

    ** School-based administrators on B and D basis will serve their June furlough on June 10, 11 and 12. School-based administrators on E basis will serve their June furlough on June 18, 19 and 20. Those AALA-represented administrators on B, D, or E basis on calendars other than single track will have their final three furlough days moved to the end of their basis.

    Early Childhood Education
    (A-Basis)

    Furlough Day Observed

    Aug. 31, 2012
    Nov. 21, 2012
    Nov. 23, 2012
    Dec.24, 2012
    Jan. 2, 2013
    Jan. 21, 2013
    Feb.18, 2013
    Mar. 25, 2013
    May 27, 2013
    June 28, 2013

    • From General Guidelines
      Certificated employees (with the exception of A-basis certificated employees) will take furlough days as negotiated and noted below.

      K-12 Single Track
      (Includes SRLDP & CSPP early education teachers at ES)

    For multi-track and adult education furlough day calendars, see the 2012-13 Jobs & Services agreement [2].

    Also see the LAUSD 2012-2013 Instructional Calendars [3] on the LAUSD website.

    • From Time-reporting Responsibilities
      Although these furlough days are a reduction in the employees' hours over the course of a work year, the reduction of hours will not affect an employee's anniversary date or seniority credit, or create a break in service. Furlough days will not affect the accrual of vacation and sick leave or the payment of health benefits.

    Note:
    Salaries for all certificated employees remain annualized. Any change would have to be negotiated separately.


    Links:
    [1] http://www.utla.net/system/files/faxblastfurloughunrestrict9-10-12FINAL.pdf
    [2] http://www.utla.net/system/files/agmt_june82012.pdf
    [3] http://home.lausd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=178941&type=d

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