Date: April 26, 2010
To: Lisa Scharmann- CUCPTSA President
Kim Anderson- CUCPTSA Legislative
Co- Chair
Lori Abbott- CUCPTSA Legislative Co-
Chair
Julia Walsh - CUCPTSA Legislative
Co- Chair
CC: The Las Palmas PTA Executive Board
Julie Hatchel (Chief Communications
Officer for CUSD)
Interim Superintendent Dr. Roberta
Mahler
Trustees
Friends and Families of CUSD
All Media Contacts
Re: CUCPTSA position on PTA leader neutrality
during contract disputes does not comply with the National PTA, California
State PTA and the CUCPTSA Not for Profit Charter, By-Laws, Mission Statements
or Advocacy Platforms. As a result, parents of CUSD have been severely
handicapped in their ability to obtain information about contract issues that
reflect the stated position of the PTA which is to advocate for “What is in the
best interest of children”.
STATEMENT OF
FACTS:
The PTA (Parent Teacher Association) is the
largest volunteer child advocacy
association in the nation. The National PTA’s stated mission is to be:
A powerful voice for all children,
A relevant
resource for families and communities, and
A
strong advocate for the education
and well- being of every child.
As an “Advocacy Organization”, it is the PTA’s responsibility, to influence
public policy and to ensure that it’s advocacy efforts reflect what is in the “best interest of children”.
The National PTA’s full mission statement can
be found on the National PTA web site at the following link: http://www.pta.org/1162.asp
The California State PTA is
a branch of the National PTA, serving as a connecting link between the national
organization and its membership within the state of California. The California
State PTA mission statement is the same as the National PTA, and can be found
on the California State PTA web site at the following link: http://www.pta.org/1162.asp
The Capistrano Unified Council of PTSAs (CUCPTSA)
is a branch of the California State PTA and is composed of PTA leaders from 52
CUSD schools. The stated mission of the CUPTSA is to support and speak on behalf of all children and youth in the
schools, in the community and before governmental bodies and other
organizations that make decisions affecting children; to assist parents in
developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children; and to
encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of this nation.
The Power of the PTA comes from Parents who trust the PTA
Organization to advocate from the position of: “WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF
CHILDREN”.
While the PTA is not suppose to choose sides in
a dispute over contract issues between the District and its Employees, the PTA has a duty and a responsibility to study contract
issues, and to help influence contract negotiations so that the final contract
will not be entered into without regard for the PTA perspective of: “WHAT IS IN
THE BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN”.
The California State PTA Tool Kit is the
authoritative guide for how PTA units should conduct PTA business in order to
comply with the PTA Charter, By-Laws, and Mission Statements. The Tool Kit also
provides official PTA positions on issues that affect the quality of education
for our children such as the issue of class size reduction.
Throughout this entire collective bargaining process, PTA leaders have
been under extreme pressure from the PTA Board to “remain neutral” in the
dispute between the District and its Employees citing the California State PTA
Tool Kit section 4.5.54 on page 146. The
Tool Kit can be found at the following link: http://www.capta.org/sections/resources/toolkit.cfm
The California State PTA Tool Kit is very clear
and specific about the role of the PTA in Public involvement in School Governance
and must be read in it’s entirety to understand the PTA’s responsibility during
the collective bargaining process Section 4.5.53 Public Involvement in School
Governance on page 145 of the PTA Tool Kit through page 154 including the Position
Statements which follow.
Section 4.5.54 of the California State PTA Tool Kit (Page 151) states:
“… PTA involvement in the collective bargaining process
should be through a Public Notice Sunshine Committee. This approach will allow
the PTA organization to maintain its neutral position regarding any dispute(s)
that may arise, and will preclude offending any one segment of PTA membership.
A Public Notice Sunshine Committee was not set up. As a result, there has
not been a voice throughout the collective bargaining process that represents
the voice of “what is in the best interest of children”. As a result, parents
have not had access to objective factual information that studies the contract
issues from the perspective of “what is in the best interest of children”. The tool kit further states:
“The community has a high stake in
its public education system and, therefore, should be equally concerned about
the negotiations which result in the final contract. While negotiations are
usually conducted in private meetings between representatives of the school
district and the employee group, the public must study the issues, evaluate
their impact on the educational system, and know how the collective bargaining process
works and how the public can fit into the process…
When local school boards and
employee groups meet at the negotiating table, the decisions made are of great importance
to the quality of education provided for students. Parents and concerned
community members have realized that negotiations by school employee groups
such as those representing teachers, school office personnel, aides, custodians
and cafeteria personnel greatly influence events in the classroom and have an
impact on the overall cost of education.
It is essential that public input
into this process be based on knowledge of the operations of the local school
district. It is only in this way the public can become a valid part of the
process and present viewpoints pertinent to the current contract or proposals,
PTA Tool Kit 4.5.54f Public
Involvement in Collective Bargaining Process
According to Education Employment
Relations Act (EERA), any person or representative group may comment on the
issues to be negotiated or on the contract itself at any meeting of the board
of education. The PTA does not advocate the inclusion or exclusion of certain
clauses in the contract. PTA members should ask, however, that each clause be analyzed
to determine "WHAT EFFECT THIS WILL HAVE ON ALL CHILDREN." When feasible, PTA involvement
in the collective bargaining process should be through a Public Notice Sunshine
Committee. This approach will allow the PTA organization to maintain its
neutral position regarding any dispute(s) that may arise, and will preclude
offending any one segment of PTA membership.
Section 4.5.54c GUIDELINES FOR
PTAS REGARDING PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE NEGOTIATIONS
The California State PTA strongly
urges all unit, council and district PTAs to closely monitor their respective school
boards’ compliance with the Public Notice section of the Employer-Employee
Relations Act. Unless a PTA does so, it will jeopardize its ability to make
meaningful, timely comments about the initial and subsequent proposals under
negotiation
Contract
Study Committee
PTA has a responsibility to become
knowledgeable and to inform the public about proposed contracts. To fulfill this
responsibility, the following steps should be taken:
1. Form a PTA study committee
including representation from all PTA units within the school district. School district
employees should not serve on this study committee because they have the
opportunity to express their views through their respective bargaining units.
Please Note: Where a council or
district PTA relates directly to a school district, the said council or
district PTA should appoint the study committee. Where a group of units or
councils relates to a school district, the units or councils should appoint
members to serve on a study committee.
2. The PTA criterion for any
study, including collective bargaining issues, must be, “WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT
ON ALL CHILDREN?”
3. Encourage other school-based
and community organizations to make their own studies of the proposed contract(s).
4. Study the current contract, the
school district budget, initial contract proposals and subsequent proposals from
the school board and employees’ organization.
a. Adequate lead time is essential
for any group beginning to study collective bargaining proposals since several
key documents should be reviewed first. The committee must react to contract
issues from a position of knowledge about the current fiscal condition of the
school district, and how the current agreement affects the education of
students.
b. Documents to be studied:
(1) THE BUDGET — A thorough
briefing on the current year’s budget is essential to understand a school
district’s financial condition and how funds are being allocated. This
information should be presented by school district financial staff members in a
clearly understandable format. (See Resource List, EdSource.)
(2) THE CURRENT CONTRACT — Almost
all school districts have an existing contract with each employee bargaining
unit. While it may seem to be a complex task, it is important that time be
allowed for the committee to become familiar with and knowledgeable about the
current contract language. Particular attention should be paid to the interests
of parents and students in the current contract.
(3) INITIAL CONTRACT PROPOSALS —
When each bargaining unit’s new contract is to be negotiated, the initial
proposals should be obtained from the employee group and the school district. Representatives
from management and the employee groups should be invited to give their interpretations
of the proposals. The language should be clear in its intent and the committee
should ask, “WHAT WILL BE THE
EFFECT ON ALL CHILDREN?”
The school board must allow time
for the community to study and then comment on the board’s initial proposals
before adopting them as the board’s negotiating position. The PTA should find
out what
the school board’s time frame is
for this process.
(4) SUBSEQUENT PROPOSALS — The
study committee should continue to monitor the negotiating process for the
introduction of new subjects arising after the presentation of initial
proposals. These subsequent proposals must be made public within 24 hours after
their introduction.
The PTA Leadership should have formed a Public
Notice Sunshine Committee to study contract issues and provide parents with
objective information about how specific provisions will affect the quality of
Education of their children at CUSD. Parents need the PTA to be the one voice of
truth – the voice that puts the best interest of children over everything else.
Throughout the
entire Fact Finding Process, there has been a “culture” on the part of the
CUCPTSA to emphasize the need for PTA Leaders to “remain neutral. The PTA did so without providing parents with
any place to go for non-biased third party information about contract issues. The call to remain neutral, without the benefit of a
Public Notice Sunshine Committee to present unbiased information to parents,
means that parents are not making informed decisions about negotiations, and
may actually be advocating against their stated interests in preserving
programs like Class Size Reduction.
In addition to failing to follow PTA guidelines
throughout the collective bargaining process, the CUCPTSA also failed to stand
up and advocate for stated PTA advocacy positions on issues such as class size
reduction.
The PTA at all levels
(National- State- Local) is explicit on its position to “advocate” for smaller
class sizes. The CUCPTSA had an obligation not to be silent or “neutral” on the
Fact Finders Recommendation to add two children to each class per grade as a
means of balancing the districts budget.
On April 29th, 2005, the California
State PTA passed a resolution entitled: “Class Size Reduction Flexibility”
directing the California State PTA to: “support a student:teacher workload that
does not exceed 25 students per teacher. The resolution directed the California
State PTA and its units, councils and districts to urge local school districts
to work toward reducing class sizes to no
more than 25 students per teacher in grades 4- 12 in academic classes. The
full resolution can be found on the California State PTA web site at the
following link: http://www.capta.org/sections/advocacy/downloads/A-CSRFlexibilityFINAL.pdf
The CUCPTSA Legislative Agenda for 2009-2010
states:
LOCAL
1. Advocate for educational programs
that will contribute to the long-term success of all students in CUSD
Advocate for the continued priority of smaller class sizes in
grades K-12.
2. Advocate for effective communication between parents, district
administrators and the CUSD Board of Trustees
Encourage opportunities for parent
participation in policy development discussions that affect all students.
The full agenda can be found on the CUCPTSA web
site at the following link: http://www.cucptsa.com/index.asp?scid=18
When the Fact Finding recommendations were made
public, the CUCPTSA had an obligation to advocate against the Fact Finders
recommendation of increasing class size in all grades by two students. They did
not.
The PTA has a legal, moral and ethical
obligation to up-hold its founding principals. The PTA’s failure to do so has
resulted in offending many of the PTA leaders in the District and has resulted
in substantial harm to the families in CUSD who have always looked to the PTA
to be a voice for the children.
As a result of the actions stated above, I am
no longer going to be a member of the PTA. I have resigned from all of my
positions on the Las Palmas PTA Executive Board and the CUCPTSA Legislation
Team. I will begin to look for other ways to remain a strong advocate for all
children in CUSD.
Dawn Urbanek
CUSD Parent
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