AVP Report of Substitute Teachers

AVP Report of Substitute Teachers for Meeting of February 16, 2011

What has been happening since the last Exec Board Meeting of January 11, 2011?

SAN BERNARDINO: The Working Committee met on February 4, 2011. The report submitted was reviewed and because of the current budget restraints action upon it was temporary tabled. The next meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2011, and the topic will be credentials for substitute teachers.

Twenty substitutes went through orientation on January13, 2011. There will be ten more scheduled for the last orientation of the school year on February 17.

Two more substitutes were taken off the spin system by Elaine Alessandres’s office. Both were accused by students of the same class at the same site of making inappropriate comments. The substitute from Costa Rica, who we had helped before, has a very heavy accent and when they said hail it definitely sounded like HELL! The sub scheduled an appointment with Elaine and was told they did not need union representation. The sub had second thoughts and called for Union support and was reinstated but with a final warning. In the response letter the substitute requested permission to tape classes they taught. In a meeting with Dr. Vollkommer on Tuesday February 15 that request was denied due to the probability of things appearing on facebook and falling into the wrong hands. The second substitute was accused of using the term “dumbass” in regards to another teacher and asked for our help after being referred to us by Al Cline. That term was denied being used because of religious convictions. We have scheduled a meeting to review substitute file before scheduling an appointment ASAP. We have not heard from the other substitute that had been removed from the system for tweaking a student’s ear.
On January 20, 2011, Carlos, Dave, Steve Gianni and Ron met with the SBCUSD negotiating team in response to the Demand Letter that the Union had sent on December 21, 2010. The Demand Letter had asked for fair compensation for substitutes that were working at SIG mandated schools that were in session for longer than the normal school day. After three hours it was agreed that the substitutes that worked at these schools would receive a commensurate percentage of the Board adopted per diem rate of pay. Interpreted that means instead of $125 or $135 per day they would receive $147 or $159 per day and that this pay was retroactive to the date of the Demand letter of December 21.

RIALTO: The Stakeholders committee met on January 19, 2011. The Extended Cabinet Meeting was held on January 24, 2011.

The Union started contact re-opener talks on January 21, 2011. The topic had to do with the creation of the position of Resident Substitute. Talks will continue on Friday, February 18, 2011. The union committee is consists of Carlos, Dave, Suzanne Mayes, and Ron.
One new substitute was hired and orientation was given on Friday February 11, 2011. This substitute also is a coach for basketball.

On Monday, January 31, 2011, Suzanne and Ron met with a substitute who had received a call from Rhonda Kramer, the new head of personnel for Rialto. While representing the substitute, Ronda also informed us of two more meetings that were being held with substitutes that followed this one. One of the substitutes was scheduled to be released because of a possible dangerous situation that the substitute had unknowingly place a young female student in. Suzanne was able to convince Rhonda that there were mitigating circumstances such as the substitute had been called to the school after the start of the day and that testing involving a lot of student movement from class to class was going on and that the substitute could not be held accountable for all the students when there was no method in place to say where the students were suppose to be at any given moment. Thus the case brings the importance of having attendance sheets with picture ID’s of students into focus.

FONTANA: Heather Estruch has continued to make calls to recruit new members from Fontana.

GENERAL: On Tuesday, February 8, 2011, Steve Gianni, Richelle Capozio, Heather Estruch and Ron Fletcher attended the honorarium for Dr. Judy White, who is leaving San Bernardino as a Deputy Superintendent, to become Moreno Valley’s Superintendent of Education.
There were three new attendees at the monthly Tuesday night substitute meeting. Two discussed an interest in becoming stewards. The next steward training for substitutes starts following the March substitute meeting. This training will be one night a month on the second Tuesday for four meetings with graduation scheduled for June.

On Wednesday the 9th of February, Ron Fletcher spent the day taking steward Telma Hill, who had fallen over a protruding door jamb at Hunt Elementary and hit her head, back to the doctor. After getting cleared to return to work in the late afternoon, Telma was able to join Steve Gianni, Heather Estruch, Richelle Capozio, Ron Fletcher and sixty other substitutes for SBCUSD training given that evening at Arroyo Valley High School. This training is paid for by SBCUSD and substitutes receive a half days pay by attending. This training is a cooperative effort between the district and the Union.

A Resident Substitute has been hired by SBSUSD as a Test Coordinator and Program Facilitator at Arroyo Valley High School. This is the school the resident substitute had been working at.
Both Rialto at 12 million and San Bernardino at 25 million will be holding special meetings to develop ideas to handle the shortfalls in their districts due to possible upcoming budget cuts. At the February 15 meeting the SBCUSD is asking for a 5% cut across the board in wages along with other reductions in staffing. How this affects the substitute is that by California Education Code those teachers who are laid off by a RIF (Reduction In Force) action have first right for any substitute work for 39 months.

Monthly Meeting: Our next substitute meeting will be held on Tuesday evening the 8th of March.

The substitute’s web site at http://substitutebuzzon-line.blogspot.com is used to run articles that may be of interest to substitutes. It has a link to the CWA site. Mr. “C” is working to keep it upgraded.