Negotiations Stall in Santa Cruz

By Casey Carlson, Greater Santa Cruz Federation of Teachers

GSCFT members leaflet at Back to School Night

Fellow CFT members: we need your support to resolve our contract negotiations so that we can once again come together as an educational community.

In 2011-2012, teachers took five furlough days (for a 2 1/2% pay cut). We have had healthcare costs increase annually, and we have not received a cost-of-living increase since 2008. We offered to take five more furlough days if Proposition 30 did not pass, but we all worked really hard, and Prop 30 passed!

We are trying to settle our contract from last year, 2012-2013, a year in which SCCS received the windfall amount of $2.6 million. The district closed the books on the 2012-2013 Budget on September 11 and revealed that there were 1.1 million additional dollars. Please contact our school board and tell them to give the teachers, librarians, counselors, and psychologists their share of this windfall now.

You can email S CCS trustees at trustees@ccs.santacruz.k12.ca.us

And call:
Ken Wagman, 426-8458
Sheila Coonerty, 454-9449
Deb Tracy Proulx, 251-0943 (Board President)
Steve Trujillo, 251-3329
Claudia Vestal, 476-1728
Patty Threet, 419-7715
Cynthia Hawthorne, 419-3969

Looking ahead to the November 2014 Santa Cruz School Board elections, GSCFT is looking to support progressive, teacher-friendly candidates. We anticipate three openings and look forward to working with candidates to raise funding and awareness.

Soquel High teachers wear black to stand for a fair contract