TVEA Spotlight TVUSD Governing Board Meeting 9/14/2021

(Jeff Kingsberg) Good Evening,

Thank you for the opportunity to present the TVEA Spotlight for September 2021. Tonight, I will be joined by three fellow TVEA leaders in sharing our TVEA 2021-22 Back on Track Bargaining Platform with the Governing Board, District, and Community.

Following me will be TVEA Executive Board Member Melissa Gibson, Site Representative Amber Kott, and TVEA Vice-President Edgar Diaz.

TVEA Bargaining and the Executive Board developed three overarching areas of interest for our Bargaining efforts for 2021-22 TVUSD/TVEA Successor Contract Negotiations

This “Bargaining Platform” was brought to the TVEA Leadership Council on September 2 as an action item and was approved unanimously by the elected leaders representing our twenty-nine (29) school sites.

Before my fellow leaders share these foundational TVEA interests, I will share a number with you as I did at the August 17th meeting. You may recall that at that meeting the number I spoke to was “31”. According to CTA data, TVUSD teachers and specialists rank 31st out of 32 Riverside and San Bernardino County Districts in Salary Schedule Percentage Growth since 2013.

Tonight’s number is “76”. What is the significance of this number? It has been seventy-six (76) days since the TVUSD-TVEA Collective Bargaining Agreement dated from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021 expired. As the days and weeks move on, I expect our membership’s angst to increase as the duration of this expired contract increases.

It is our hope that with a Joint Ad Hoc Budget meeting Thursday, and four full day negotiation sessions scheduled before the Thanksgiving holiday that a new contract can be tentatively agreed to and subsequently ratified by TVEA membership.

Thank you.

(Melissa Gibson)

My name is Melissa Gibson

I have been a Speech and Language Pathologist in TVUSD for 8 years.

I am currently serving students at Vail Elementary.

The first component of the TVEA Bargaining Platform is:

Support for Special Education Students

Special Education enrollment has increased as a percentage of overall district enrollment. Our students need individual attention and support from our highly trained and credentialed specialists. We are seeking to set targets and maximums for our class sizes and caseloads in specialist roles so they can effectively support students.

(Amber Kott)

My name is Amber Kott

I have been both a Special Education and General Education Teacher in TVUSD for 6 years.

I am currently serving students at Red Hawk Elementary

The second TVEA Platform Component is:

Meaningful Professional Supports for Educators

We seek to have evaluation tools be relevant and specific to their job titles and duties so educators can meet their targets. We wish to clarify job titles and the transfer process, so educators have clarity on expectations and support available to them while in positions that allow them and their students to thrive.

Edgar:

My name is Edgar Diaz

I am currently the Vice-President of TVEA and represented TVEA members for more than 11 years.

I have been both an elementary and middle school teacher in TVUSD for 14 years.

I am currently serving students at Gardner Middle School.

The third component of the TVEA Bargaining Platform is:

Fair and Competitive CompensationWe need to ensure TVUSD can retain the quality educators they have hired and attract additional quality educators as vacancies occur. Being competitive in compensation and benefits with other districts in the region will ensure our students have the highest quality educators.