Approved

OEA Representative Council Minutes

Monday, January 13, 2003

Bret Harte Middle School

Call to Order 4:00pm

OEA Site Reps present: Allendale, Arts/Far West, Ascend, Bella Vista, Bret Harte (3), Brewer, Burbank, Burckhalter, Carter, Castlemont (3), Chabot, Claremont, Cleveland, Cox (3), Dewey, Early Childhood Education (5), Elmhurst (2), Emerson, Franklin, Fremont (3), Frick (2), Fruitvale, Glenview (2), Golden Gate, Grass Valley, Hawthorne, Health Services, Highland (2), Hillcrest, Howard, International Community School, Independent Studies, Jefferson (3), Kaiser, King Estates (2), M.L. King, La Escuelita, Lafayette, Lakeview, Laurel, Lazear, Life Academy, Lincoln (3),  Lockwood, Lowell, Madison, Horace Mann (2),  Manzanita, Markham, McClymonds, Melrose, Melrose Leadership Academy, Montera (2), Munck, Music Pullout, Neighborhood Centers, Oakland High (3), Oakland Tech (4), Parker, Parochial, PEC, Peralta, Piedmont Avenue, Prescott (2), Psychological Services, Redwood Heights, Roosevelt (3), Santa Fe,  Sequoia, Shands Adult (2), Sherman, Calvin Simmons, Skyline (6), Sobrante Park, Speech Therapist (2), Stonehurst (2), Substitute Representatives (6), Swett, Toler Heights,  Washington (2), Webster (2), Whittier (2), Woodland

There were 133 OEA Site Reps present.

OEA Executive Board Members present: Quintana, Visnick, Gorham, Miele, Swayne, Rendon, Ough, Mandel, Balderston, Allen, Mordecai, Ellis, Traylor, Griffin, Turner, Wong

CTA Staff: Bruce Colwell, Ara Prigian

Guest Presentation Christy Forward, California Casualty Insurance Benefits

Rep Council Minutes of 12/2/02 approved (Miele/Hutchinson)

Rep Concerns

Need for internal OUSD audit to get to members; Get well Cards for Clarence Johnson; Need strategy to fight consolidations; Plea to cut Superintendent’s and School Board’s budget; Opposition to state takeover; Success in fighting High Point can translate to current fight; Supreme Court Affirmative Action; OUSD must make payroll; Concern over current contract nullification; Small Schools; Eliminate testing for 1^st grade since state doesn’t require it; Target Charter Schools not NSAS: OUSD should not be renting to schools when we have the space to do so; Concern that NSAS not represented by OEA in recent literature; Can’t underestimate threat of State when State is root cause of our problems: Need for union control over all District dealings; No cuts by new sources of funding, funding should come from corporate rich; School Board responsible for current situation; Critical to operate as individual force; OEA Budget;

Rep Concerns Cont.

PE Consolidations mid year; Need for OEA to take strong stand against state takeover and fight for local control; Concerns about repeating Compton, Richmond, & Los Angeles; Demonstrate against war; Cuts must not affect classrooms, Integrity of sites must be maintained; Strategies to improve ADA; Sites should not make cuts; Request CTA to organize one day statewide walkout.

President

We oppose cuts.  Everything in current contract cost blood, sweat, and tears and the first thing OUSD did was attack teachers.  We went to Sacramento to get money back and OUSD spent it.  President asked for recommendations from body to address concerns but we oppose all cuts.

1/6/03 Meeting with Chaconas and OUSD Unions: Chaconas - four schools would be closed, moratorium on Charters, cut proposal.  Quintana said no way to accept.  We have a bargaining team.  Quintana asked about current settlement package, Chaconas said he couldn’t get any support for it.  Chaconas said he wanted trustee.  If we had an administrator, we would be in worse shape. 

Chaconas wants a bailout but with him retaining control.  Toler Heights, Foster or Lafayette, Munck, Peralta are possible school closures.  This news came from Perata not Chaconas.  Quintana – Strange to close some, open others.

Quintana thinks Chaconas should resign because community is being divided under his leadership.  Chaconas’ proposed cuts were then analyzed line by line with contradictions and folly highlighted.

District has put us in the condition where amount needed is largest ever.

Implications of AB1200 (Conditions of Emergency Loan) and Spot Bill #39:

If district doesn’t request loan, we will be out of money by May.

If process is followed according to law, we will be bargaining with an administrator and financial negotiations could prove tough.  Full process laid out on Volume 11, 1/13/03 Bargaining Update.

Perata can go forward with legislation without district approval.  District should ask for money because it would show they are serious about acting on deficit.

School Board did not even agendize issue per Ed Code.  Quintana made plea to members to call School Board to agendize issue for 1/15/03 School Board meeting.  Quintana reviewed OEA’s recommendations to close OUSD deficit.

Repeated plea to increase attendance (2hours a day for ADA).  We need ADA funding.

We will make it through and find a way to protect members.

Bargaining Update Janice Lord-Walker

Walker reemphasized that everything has to go to the table.  If that fails, we strategize with a clear vision of what we want and will be doing.  All steps clearly stated on current Bargaining Update (Vol. 11 1/13/03).

Renee Swayne says we should go asking for more knowing we may get nothing.

1^st VP

Unprecedented crisis requires new ideas for the future.  Our politicians are not committed to putting our children first despite their rhetoric.  Untapped wealthy in Oakland can help our public schools.

Need more Reps at Arts, Brookfield, Carter, Garfield, Hoover, Marshall, Maxwell Park, Montclair, Westlake, Bunche, Dewey, Rudsdale, Village, KIPP, and Pleasant Valley Adult.

Chaconas is not respecting our bargaining process or contract language particularly on lesson plans. 

We will mobilize on January 29 School Board to continue fight.

Please recycle at Bret Harte.

Refer to Ben’s reports

2^nd VP

Calendar presented

4^th and 5^th grade teachers urged to attend task force meeting on Jan. 30^th.

Committee Reports:

Rosenda Thomas – Social Committee: Toy drive went well. Best Pro Practices: urge to attend Good Teaching Conference.

Judi Hirsch – Peace and Justice Caucus and Peace and International Relations Committee: update on resources for Jan. 14 teach-in.

Jonah Zern – Peace and International Relations Committee, appreciates workers, anti war march and teach-in info given.

Jennifer Ough – Political Involvement Committee: meeting on Jan 29.  PIC can take position on current crisis.

Sally Sumer – Reform Committee: meeting Jan. 23 to address current crisis.

Betty Jo Griffin - African American Read-in.

Happy Birth Day Trish Gorham

Treasurer

OEA Financial Oversight Committee forming to balance budget. 

We hope to have a budget for Reps next month to view figures.

Secretary

Rally troops, preserve dignity, teachers move kids forward not programs.

Move to Accept Executive Board Minutes of 11/21/02, 12/4/02, 12/19/02 (Miele/Kane)

Executive Board Minutes Accepted (Visnick/Kane)

New Business

Motion #1  (Hutchinson/Mordecai)

·        That we return to the 4-6pm time frame for Rep Council while bringing motions through the committee system as modeled by CTA.

The Motion failed.

New Business cont.

Motion #2  (Airgood/Flanagan)

·        That the OEA opposes state-takeover of the Oakland Schools by an appointed state administrator or trustee, and demands that a democratically elected local school board retains authority for running the Oakland schools.  The OEA calls upon the state to provide the additional funding necessary to restore the Oakland School District to financial solvency and opposes all cuts to educational programs and all attacks on OEA and other union members.

The Motion passed.

Motion #3  (Mandel/Ellis)

·        That the OEA will hold a march and rally at downtown Oakland sites, including City Center, to demand confiscation of corporate superprofits to fund our schools.  We will march to PG&E to call for municipalization of utilities and to City Hall to demand increased taxes on the very wealthy and on corporations to fund schools not cops.  This event will take place by mid – February.  OEA will invite all the other OUSD unions to join us.

A move to refer the motion to the Executive Board failed.  Before a vote for the main motion commenced, time expired and a move to extend the clock was rejected.  The motion was not voted on.

Adjournment 7:37pm

Minutes

Tony Miele

Secretary ^OEA