focus

on educators
focus on educators is an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org

California Teachers Association
Statement of Mission
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the
conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure
that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable,
and democratic society.

MAY 2014


Volume XXII, Number 9
In this Issue
- W.H.O. Award Winner Photos
- Political Action Update
- CTA V.P. Article & Photos
- Grievance Update
- CTA/NEA News
Presidents Message

Dear Colleagues,

Its hard to believe were heading into
the final stretch of the school year! Im
sure you are all very busy with
assessments, grades, parent meetings,
end of year activities, transitions, and so
much more. Be sure to find time to rest
and take care of yourself over the next
few weeks.

Hopefully by now, youve received
several messages from PEA through
email. One of our association leadership
goals is to have a well-informed
membership and two-way
communication with our members. I
hope that youve been able to read the
bargaining news and other updates that
were sent out. If you have not received
these messages, we dont have your
current personal/home email address.
Please notify your rep or email me
(dawn@peateachers.org) with the
address youd like used (it cannot be
your district email.)

I also encourage you to complete the
member surveys and let us know your
thoughts on current issues. We are a
member-driven organization so
everything we do is for the benefit of
the collective group. In order to act on
behalf of our members, we need to hear
from you regularly.

Dont forget there is a primary election
in 2 weeks! Send in your absentee ballot
as soon as possible or be sure to go to
the polls to vote June 3
rd
. The
Superintendent of Public Instruction
race is so important to us! We need to
reelect Tom Torlakson so he can
continue advocating on behalf of public
schools, students, and educators. We do
not need a privateer seeking to divert
public funds from our community
schools into for-profit charter schools.
Please tell your friends and family and
get out the vote! Also, if youre in Joan
Buchanans district (AD 16), there is a
tough fight between teacher & CTA
member Tim Sbranti (current mayor of
Dublin) and an anti-union opponent.
Not only will Tim be a great activist for
public schools, he will also fight for the
issues that are important to working-
class families. If you have one hour to
contribute to support our candidates,
there are many opportunities for
precinct walking and phone banking.
Please see your site rep or email me
ASAP.

Lastly, while there are only a few weeks
of school left, we must give our input
regarding the draft of the Local
Control Accountability Plan. That
plan will determine how the district
spends money that is no longer
designated by restrictive categoricals.
The most glaring omission we saw in
the plan: no mention of attracting and
retaining qualified teachers. At 17
th
out
of 20 in Contra Costa County, the
district should be actively seeking to
improve salaries and benefits in order to
attract and retain the best educators in
the county. Shouldnt that be part of the
plan? Check it out and submit your
input on the districts website.

In solidarity,
Dawn Cova

2

PEA Leadership 2013-2014
President
Dawn Cova
Rancho Medanos/PEA Office
Elementary Vice President
Tammy Carr
Highlands Elementary
Secondary Vice President
Shelly Bascomb
Rancho Medanos
Secretary
Chris Coan
Willow Cove Elementary
Treasurer
Gale Higgins
Stoneman Elementary
Committee Chairs:
Grievance Committee
Chris Coan - Willow Cove
John Kleinjans Pittsburg High
Negotiations Team
Mark Maselli - Chair
Political Action Committee
Iris Contreras - Chair
Elections Chair
Ruth Foster
Human Rights Committee
Tasharie Ameral
Womens Issues Committee
Allison Azevedo - Chair
O-Team Chair
Shelly Bascomb
CTA State Council Representative
Iris Contreras PEA
Alternate
vacant
CTA Director District C
Terri Jackson
NEA Director for California, District 3
Greg Bonaccorsi
Technical Editor
Susan Harrison PEA Site Secretary


Focus on Educators
is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4
th
Street
Pittsburg, CA 94565
Phone: (925) 432-0199
fax: (925) 432-4854
email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org
Rep. Council Meeting Calendar

May 21
June 4
************************************
School Board Meeting Calendar

May 7
May 21
June 4
June 25

************************************
Are you getting your PEA
information?

Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the
monthly Rep meeting and then report back to you is
vital in the communication chain of our Association.

Roll call at April 16 Rep Council Meeting:
Foothill present Willow Cove absent
Heights absent MLK Jr. absent
Highlands present Hillview - present
Los Medanos present Rancho Medanos present
Marina Vista present PHS - present
Parkside present Black Diamond absent
Stoneman present Adult Ed. present

************************************






Region I Leadership Conference
Fairmont Hotel in San Jose
Friday, Sept. 12 Sunday, Sept. 14

PEA would like to send 4-5 members who
are interested in learning more about our
association and how they can become
advocates for public education!

Please email info@peateachers.org if you
are interested in attending.


3

WHO AWARD RECIPIENT
TAMMY CARR
Pictured from left to right: Heather Asselin, Carmen Belt, Richard
Higgins, Tammy Carr, Gale Higgins, and Marc Sternberger

Tammy Carr has been an outstanding advocate for students
and teachers in Pittsburg. Through her work as a PEA site
rep, Secretary, Vice President, Community Outreach Chair,
and a member of the Bargaining Team, Tammy has worked
tirelessly on behalf of the 550 members of the Pittsburg
Education Association. Tammy got involved in association
work by delving in and learning everything she possibly could
about how the union worked. She volunteered her time and
efforts for many PEA events and went to countless CTA
conferences.

She has blossomed into a model teacher-activist and an
invaluable member of the PEA leadership team.
************************************

Political Action Update
WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Contra Costa Labor Council, AFL-CIO
June 3rd Primary Phone Bank &
Precinct Walk Schedule:
Phone Banks
EVERY Monday Thursday,
4:00 pm 8:30 pm
At the Labor Council office,
1333 Pine Street, Martinez 94553
Contact: Margaret@cclabor.net

May 27, 28, 29 & June 2
4:00 pm 7:00 pm
At the CTA Office in Concord
2177 Diamond Blvd.
Snacks & Prizes each night!
RSVP: lmartin@cta.org

Precinct Walks
EVERY Saturday, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm from
three locations:

Martinez Labor Council office, 1333 Pine
Street. Contact: Margaret@cclabor.net or (925)
228-0161

Pleasant Hill Mt. Diablo Education
Association, 2255 Contra Costa Blvd., Ste. 202,
Pleasant Hill, 94523. Contact: Rick Wathen (510-
364-2811 / rwathen@cta.org)

Dublin - IBEW 595 Hall, 6250 Village Parkway,
Dublin. Contact margaret@cclabor.net or
(925) 228-0161

Labor will do it again and deliver the victory in the AD
16, but only if we turn out our members!
We have six short weeks to make a difference in the
AD 16 race. Adopt a night at the phone
banks and a precinct walk. RSVP today!

Also, dont forget to tell your friends and family to
vote to reelect Tom Torlakson for Superintendent of
Public Instruction. He is a great ally to public schools
and will push back against the corporate privatizers!

SEND IN YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT NOW OR GO TO
THE POLLS ON JUNE 3!

4




************************************
Common Core State Standards
Collaboration Time

Theres not much time left to use your collaboration time as
outlined in the MOU between PUSD & PEA! Elementary unit
members have 13 hours 40 minutes and secondary unit
members have 14 hours 50 minutes of per diem to use
before June 30
th
. You have 2 days per diem next year as
well. This time is teacher-directed collaboration. Principals
can offer suggested topics, but ultimately it should be
decided by teachers as you know what you need to prepare
for implementation. Several principals have approved
conferences and trainings as part of the MOU, but it is at
their discretion because most occur off-site. Be sure to
submit your time sheets and templates in order to get paid.
This is like receiving a 1% raise in your salary for THIS year!
Dont leave money on the table.



PEA Welcomes the CTA Vice President!
On Wednesday, May 7, CTA Vice President Eric Heins
visited Pittsburg schools! He met with the Superintendent
and PEA President and made several site visits. Eric was
able to talk to classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and
principals at several school sites. One of the highlights of the
day was having lunch at Willow Cove Elementary, which is
where Eric is a teacher on leave. Eric also came to the PEA
Executive Board meeting where he was able to give an
update on state-wide issues and hear what the association is
doing locally. We are grateful to have Eric as a great
advocate for public schools and teachers and we are proud
he is a PEA member!

Pictured from left to right: Dawn Cova, Chris Coan,
CTA V.P. Eric Heins, Gale Higgins, Tammy Carr, and Shelly Bascomb

5

Grievance Update
A Level II grievance was filed on behalf of Resource
Specialists who serve students with IEPs as well as general
ed students. The contract limits their caseload to 28;
however, the district was not counting general ed students as
part of their caseload. The association argued that the
contract language was written at a time when Resource
Specialists were not supporting general ed students and
therefore the district was violating the intent of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Furthermore, Ed Code states
Resource Specialists shall not be teaching regular classes
while providing services to students with disabilities. At Level
I, we were able to come to an agreement for two of the
teachers; however there was one teacher who was still
affected so we escalated the grievance to Level II. The
district denied the grievance so we will now go to Level III.
The Superintendent and association can mutually agree to
work with a state mediator. The association wants our
members to be able to offer the highest caliber of instruction
and support for our students. It is completely unreasonable
for the district to not count general education students when
configuring caseload limits.

Additionally, a Level II grievance was filed at PHS due to
grossly unbalanced class sizes within the math department.
Some teachers have 35+ students while others have 25. The
association requested that the classes be balanced per the
CBA. The teachers were willing to work with administration to
balance the classes at Level I and Level II, however, there
was no change at either level, so again we will escalate the
grievance to Level III. The association is asking the district to
honor our contract and balance class sizes.
************************************
Community & Environmental Action

In April, the PEA Exec board and Rep Council passed a
resolution opposing WesPac and signed on to a letter
requesting Pittsburg be designated a Community Air Risk
Evaluation (CARE) community.

WesPac Energys proposed massive petroleum
storage depot in Pittsburg, California would have a
10-million gallon per day capacity
The type of crude oil being transported from the
Bakken region may be more flammable than
traditional heavy crude oil
WesPac Energy intends to build this gigantic oil
storage and railroad transfer facility right next to
Pittsburg schools, parks, churches, and hundreds of
homes
We believe this is unequivocally contrary to public
health and safety
The Pittsburg area has been identified by Air District
staff as a disproportionately impacted community
with a pollution-vulnerability index within the highest
15% of the Bay Area
Pittsburg has some of the highest rates of asthma
emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the
county, in some areas almost six times the rates of
other Contra Costa County communities

The PUSD School Board also adopted a resolution opposing
the WesPac proposal.

**********************************
Know your contract!

Calling in Absences:
Just a reminder- PEA Unit Members are only eligible for 3
categories of absences:
1. Illness
2. Personal Business
3. Personal Necessity

Illness: 10 days per year which are carried over each year.
You can be asked for a doctors note for MORE than 3
consecutive days of illness or a pattern of absences.

Personal business: Four (4) days per year out of sick
leave. Two (2) days can be used in one (1) week for any
reason without prior approval. Prior approval needed before
and after a holiday or to use more than two (2) days in one
week.

Personal necessity: Seven (7) days per year out of sick
leave. Bereavement (in addition to Bereavement leave
which is not deducted from sick days), accident, court
appearance, serious illness involving immediate family
member, paternity leave (1 day*), adoption (2 days*).
Personal necessity leave must be requested in writing upon
return from such leave.

See Article 7 for the complete contract language.

*Article 7 is currently in negotiations. PEA has proposed
increasing both of these leaves to 7 days.

Please be careful when entering absences because you
could be given Leave Without Pay if you do not enter the
correct category!

6




MAY 2014

5-21 PEA Executive Board/State Council Elections
7 PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4
th
St. 3:45 PM
7 PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:30 PM
11 Mothers Day
14 Day of the Teacher La Piata, 95 Bliss Ave., Pittsburg
21 PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4
th
St. 3:45 PM
21 PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:30 PM
26 Memorial Day (Holiday No school)





JUNE 2014

4 PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4
th
St. 3:45 PM
4 PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:30 PM
10 Last Day of Instruction
11 Last Day of Work
15 Fathers Day
21 Summer Begins
25 PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:30 PM

Next Deadline for Articles is Tuesday, May 27, 2014
STAY INFORMED @

peateachers.org

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