Charter Oak, Unions Optimistic Following Governor's May Revise

As teachers at Charter Oak Unified School District prepared for furlough days, lost family illness leave time and salary cuts, teacher unions expected more doom and gloom when Governor Jerry Brown presented his May revise Monday.

Surprisingly, the numbers left teacher unions and district officials optimistic that some of the 13 teachers certain to be laid off next year might return.

In the governor’s May revise of his January budget, $3 billion of the state’s tax revenue was allocated to public K-12 education.

In the months leading up to the May revise, school districts prepared budget cuts of $349 per pupil ADA – which at one point, was considered the worst case scenario. But with the governor’s failed attempt to get extensions of tax increases in front of voters this June, that number was suddenly considered generous. Some state education figures suggested cuts up to $1,200 per ADA.

Now, the bargaining collective is hopeful the extra funds headed to public schools will be reflected in the district’s final budget to be presented at the June 2 school board meeting.

Badillo Elementary School in Covina was the hardest hit of the teacher layoffs, with parents at Thursday’s meeting expressing frustration over losing some of their favorite teachers.

“There are some really positive things happening in the district and I’m excited to see that, but I’m also disappointed to say that I no longer feel that I’m confident that I’m making the best decision for my children,” parent Sherry Guerrero said of sending her children to Charter Oak schools. “We can blame Sacramento, but shame on us for not preparing for the worst. There has been plenty of warning that this day was coming.”

Phyllis Peters of the California Teachers Association pinned blame for public education’s budget woes on political figures in the capitol.

“We’ve talked to politicians and they have their own agenda not to fund public education,” said Peters. “Parents get angry at us, but it’s the politicians making decisions for our children.”

She cited a statistic that revealed California schools fell from the top 5 in the country in ADA funding per pupil to 49th.

Through negotiations with the district, teacher unions were able to save 10 of the 38 pink-slipped employees. Major concessions were made including six furlough days and a 3.42 percent reduction in salary.

“We did everything humanly possible that we can do to save our teachers, it was never our intent to see teachers laid off,” said Peters.

Peters said the saved teacher positions also prevented further loss of revenue for the district. With less teachers, the district proposed raising the student teacher ratio from 25 to 1 to 30 to 1.

“The two surrounding districts, Glendora Unified and Bonita Unified are staying at 25 to 1,” said Peters. “If we went 30 to 1, those parents would send their kids to those other school districts.”

Aside from budget constraints, the district is also seeing declining enrollment – a major source of revenue, said school board member Joseph Probst.

Along with teachers, Peters said concessions were made throughout the district, even at the management levels where salaries were also cut. In one such case, the district opted not to replace the assistant superintendent of business services.

“Negotiations with the district were a collaborative effort,” said Beth Smith, president Charter Oak Educators Association. “This is showing a lot of promise, a positive start for the next year.”