News From Your ITA President
March 2020
COVID-19
By now, everyone has received the news that our schools will be closing for two weeks plus spring break, re-opening on Monday, April 6. During this time, we will continue to receive our pay and service credit with CalSTRS. We are also expected to provide Emergency Distance Learning (EDL, the new education acronym!).
According to law, all public employees are declared to be “disaster service workers” subject to such disaster services activities as may be assigned by their supervisors or by law. Therefore, we may be asked to perform some tasks which are new to us, such as what EDL might require, but we will not be expected to replicate classroom instruction.
There are many details yet to be clarified, but please know that ITA has been conferring with IUSD’s leadership as well as CTA and other local teachers’ unions constantly to acquire and share the best information regarding this crisis.
You will hear more from the district later today. They are waiting for more information from the governor. For now, your principal will be your source of information about what your site will be doing, but expect to report to your site on Monday. In the meantime, everyone is working overtime to prepare for the closure, including extra nightly cleaning crews who have been working at our sites for the past week or two.
ITA is advocating for as many options as possible for our members. The key goals for the district are that kids keep learning, that staff are safe, that day care needs of staff are accommodated, that staff and their families are healthy, and that everyone respects social distancing.
For now, we all need to be good community members and do what’s best for ourselves, our families, and our students to help all of us to remain healthy.
ITA Elections
Information about candidates and voting dates will be posted as usual on site bulletin boards. In addition, we will email the info to all Site Reps to share, and post the info on our website and our Facebook page. The voting is not scheduled to take place until the week of April 13, so we are hoping that we will be back to normal health by then.
February 2020 Newsletter
OC Board of Education!
There are three seats open. CTA members interviewed and endorsed the three candidates who are best qualified to serve all of our students. Please vote for the endorsed candidate in your area and tell your friends and family that these are the TEACHERS’ CANDIDATES!
Professor Beckie Gomez, Area 1
(parts of Santa Ana, Tustin, Garden Grove, and Fountain Valley). Beckie teaches at Cypress College and is an incumbent who has worked hard to communicate with teachers, parents, and students to make fair decisions for all our children.
Andy Thorburn, Area 3
(parts of Anaheim, Lake Forest, Dove Canyon, Irvine, Brea, Orange, Yorba Linda, Villa Park). Andy is a former public high school English teacher who recognizes that the current board majority is putting its personal interests before those of our students, many of whom are the most vulnerable in Orange County.
Jordan Brandman, Area 4
(Buena Park, Placentia, La Habra, Fullerton, parts of Anaheim). Jordan is a former Anaheim school board member who was hand-picked by the outgoing OCBE member and friend of teachers, Jack Bedell; Jordan has worked in Sacramento with both Republican and Democratic governors on education issues.
It is imperative that Beckie, Andy and Jordan be elected to stop the on-going practice of the current three-member majority on the OCDE board from overriding the decisions of local school boards and approving inferior charter school applications.
CTA-endorsed candidates for state office:
Melissa Fox, Assembly District 68; Cottie Petrie-Norris, Assembly District 74; Dave Min, Senate District 37. These candidates are supportive of public education, local control, and teachers!
Proposition 13, 2020:
CTA is also endorsing Proposition 13 on the March ballot. This bond initiative will provide funds for school facilities repairs, safety, and upgrades.
Local School Bonds on March ballot need your vote:
Capistrano USD, Measures I and H; Saddleback USD, Measure M; Tustin USD, Measure N.
Schools and Communities First petitions:
Please be sure to sign a petition with your Site Rep to put the SCF initiative on the November ballot. This measure protects residences, agriculture, and small businesses while closing the loophole that has enabled corporations to avoid paying $12b/year in property tax, while homeowners have seen continuous increases. For 40 years, corporations have been paying the equivalent of 1% tax on only 60% of their property value! With this loophole closed, IUSD can see up to $750/year more in funding PER STUDENT! We need to close this unfair loophole and strengthen our communities.