Have better days come for the teachers in the San Diego school district? A revived economy might put an end to the San Diego Education Association's plans to repeated efforts to draw the line on teacher funding cuts.
Expect an Diego to get more funding now that Governor Jerry Brown has announced the 2.7 billion dollar increase in funds fro the K-12 schools in California in 2013-14.
Last year's "uncertain budget situation" has gone away, though the need to solve the deficit problem remains. Additional money might come to San Diego once the state funders decide SDUSD can account for dfiicult learning conditions within the district.
But, will it make teaching work easier? Or give the teachers jobs and salary increases they can count on? SDEA has not become convinced the changes will all be for the teachers good. The 2013 year is supposed to be year there is job stability and security in a state 70 percent of the educators are women who do not have social security. But, the union has not gotten all its basic demands met.
Union members still take a position against the comprehensive pension reform that ends the opportunity for California teachers with more tan 25 years service to use their highest pay year to calculate their retirement benefits. The pension reform, the union says, makes it "more difficult to recruit and retain experienced teachers."
Local educators will find out in June if they have to pay more into retirement than 8 percent of salary the legislature has approved for over 40 years. The rate is no longer fixed, and depends on a financial expert's calculation on how much in a retirement account balance is due from teachers.
To restore retirement security, SDEA is asking San Diegans to take action y sending a message to Governor Jerry Brown and state legislators that new legislation is needed to put a stop to the extra savings burdens agreed on during the passage last year of the assembly bill Governor Brown signed into law.
After the long drain on teacher's finances, the union efforts on getting the district to agree to not cut any of the 14,000 teachers' position and give them their postponed pay raises, without furlough days, are not finished. A decision the school board made before Brown's announcement on the increased funding to increase the district's human resource department budget slowed down the steps the district is taking to return the teaching funds to the old status quo. No one on the board is leaning over backward, SDEA informs their teachers, to make students the district's number one priority.
A decision still has not come from the school board that guarantee the teachers will get their fair share of the increased funding.
This is a Front Story Clip.
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