 |
 |
 |
Newsletter | |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
Newsletter | |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Next door to the high school was the Hercules Cafe (currently a second hand furniture store) a popular hangout for the high school teachers before and after school. One day in 1950 two high school teachers, Russ Orcutt and Jimmy Wilson sat discussing President Truman, the Korean War and plight of public school teachers. Teachers in the District, which had been formed in 1945, were paid a state minimum salary of $2500 per year but there was no salary schedule and individual teachers could negotiate raises with the superintendent if they wished. Over a cup of coffee the two discussed the idea of forming an organization to represent Central Valley teachers. Russ and Jimmy decided to put the idea to a vote of the teachers in the District. While some had misgivings, the idea was met with approval and the Central Valley Teachers Association (CVTA) was born.
The primary motivation for founding the CVTA was to plan a strategy to address the two important issues surrounding teacher’s salaries. The first was generally low pay and the second was the arbitrary way in which salaries and raises were determined. Of particular interest was the fact that women teachers were nearly always paid less than their male counterparts because, well, they were women. Russ, Jimmy and newly elected president of the CVTA, Stan Jeffers decided the best place to start was to have a conversation with Superintendent John Crabb. They proposed a solution that would establish a salary schedule based on experience that would make annual pay less arbitrary and provide for schedule pay increases. Superintendent Crabb agreed in principal but lamented that the District’s budget would not be able to fund the increased expense. He suggested that the three go see the county assessor about running a levy to fund the proposal and agreed to give them an afternoon off to do so. Subsequent talks between the District and the county led to a maintenance and operation levy being run to fund teacher raises. The voters in the District approved the levy with over a 60% favorable vote. The following year the Central Valley School District created a matrix that provided for the District’s first salary schedule.
The early CVTA was a far cry from the Central Valley Education Association of today but it provided the foundation of service to Central Valley teachers that guides our Association today.
Sources for this article were the CVSD website, The Spokane Valley: The Growing Years by Florence Boutwell and interviews with Russ Orcutt former CVSD teacher (and my junior US History teacher at University High School in 1962-63). kr
The answer to this question is everyone, ok, maybe not everyone, maybe no one. However, all employees should be aware that district email is district property and as such is available to anyone who files a public records request with the school district. Newspapers and broadcast media regularly file requests for information. I don’t believe the district has the time or interest to monitor your daily email. However, if they have reason to believe an employee is using district email improperly they have the right to review your email. If a public records request is made, the district has no choice but to turn over the information requested. If you have been reading the newspaper or watching the news you are aware of the troubles of some teachers and public servants over the use of email.
District policy 6255AP says, in part, the following regarding the use of district email:
Employees are subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal for the following inappropriate behaviors:
On a practical note, I do believe that district employees have been using mailboxes and email for personal use for years and will probably continue to do so. I doubt if the district is interested in disciplining someone for emailing their spouse to tell them what time they expect to be home for dinner or sending a happy birthday wish to a friend. I do believe however, that members should not use district email to send a message that would embarrass them and the district if it were to be published in the Spokesman Review or discussed in the evening news broadcast. kr
Last spring the legislature eliminated the gainsharing portion of teacher retirement plans after 2008. Gainsharing provided for increases in retirement benefits for Plans 1 and 3 when TRS investments experience “extraordinary investment gains”. This will result in a loss of several thousand dollars plus the interest it would accrue from members’ retirement accounts.
The WEA has sued the state for eliminating gainsharing in the retirement plans. The case has been assigned to King County Superior Court in Seattle and is currently in the discovery phase of the lawsuit. It will likely be at least a year before we receive a lower court decision. If there is an appeal by either side it will take another one or two years for a final decision.
The Association has begun preparations for bargaining a new contract with the district. We are currently in the third year of a three year contract that expires on August 31, 2008. Before bargaining begins next spring we will need to fill six vacancies on the bargaining team. CVEA bylaws stipulate that we will have a team of twelve. Six of the positions are filled by the executive board and six are filled from the general membership. Please consider serving. Applications are available from your building rep. If interested please fill one out and return to the CVEA office via the courier by Friday, November 30.
The following WEA governance positions are open for nominations:
If you’re interested in being nominated for any of these positions, please contact Dan Brown at 326-4046. The deadline is December14, 2007.
Below is a list of Education Associations and their annual local dues. In addition to Central Valley the list includes several Spokane area districts and others of comparable size to Central Valley.
| Auburn EA | $235.50 |
| Battle Ground EA | $212.64 |
| Bellingham EA | $262.08 |
| Central Valley EA | $168.35 |
| Clover Park EA | $157.56 |
| East Valley EA | $120.00 |
| Kennewick EA | $283.17 |
| Mead EA | $185.29 |
| Pasco EA | $298.17 |
| Renton EA | $259.00 |
| Richland EA | $392.33 |
| South Kitsap | $256.32 |
| Spokane EA | $218.00 |
I plan to be in the following buildings during lunch to meet members and answer questions. kr