- Town Hall Meeting…come meet your elected members, ask questions at our lunch time town hall Stay tuned for next date and time! Our CVEU Town Hall meeting will take place during our duty free lunch time.
Town Hall Meeting Follow-up
October 17, 2017
October 17, 2017
November 1st Strike Vote.
We made an important announcement during our union Town Hall meeting. We have scheduled a strike authorization vote for November 1st thru the 3rd. Your CVEU leadership team recommends that all CVEU educators vote to authorize our Bargaining Committee to call a strike if CAVA administration fails to agree to a fair contract settlement.
We made an important announcement during our union Town Hall meeting. We have scheduled a strike authorization vote for November 1st thru the 3rd. Your CVEU leadership team recommends that all CVEU educators vote to authorize our Bargaining Committee to call a strike if CAVA administration fails to agree to a fair contract settlement.
This is an important step for our union and our school, and one we do not take lightly. Since we started negotiations, we’ve made progress on some issues. Unfortunately, administration has so far failed to address key concerns that are important to so many of our colleagues. Teacher turnover is too high. Pay is too low, caseloads are too high and teachers are unable to meet the needs of CAVA and their students. Unfortunately these issues do not just affect our teachers they also affect our students. We can do better. To fix CAVA requires alleviating our current workload, improving job security, and ensuring fair compensation for all CAVA educators. By addressing these problems, we can improve stability and create an environment in which both students and staff thrive.
Authorizing a strike does not mean we will strike. Our hope is that we will be able to resolve our union contract with administration and that no strike will be necessary but we must be plan use all our resources to ensure we gain a fair contract. Our next mediation session will take place on October 30, 2017 and we hope as a consequence of our growing unity progress will be possible. However, we believe it is critical we demonstrate that we are united to improve our school and that our core issues must be fixed. Starting November 1st we will be able to do just that.
Over the coming two weeks, we will continue to update everyone about the process. We will have conversations, town hall meetings, share emails, answer questions, and report out about any relevant progress in bargaining. In the meantime, please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or if you want to help.
Watch the recording from yesterday's Town Hall (10/17/17)to find out more about:
What a strike vote means
Why we are moving forward with a strike vote
What a strike will in a virtual school may look like
We look forward to working with you to improve our school.
In Solidarity,
CVEU President, Brianna Carroll
CVEU Vice President, Sheryl Carruth
CVEU Secretary, Erin Krizek,
CVEU Treasurer, Amy Koller
CVEU Rep Liaison, Michelle Thornburg
Town hall recording link: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2017-10-17.1216.M.52FB6FB63FC0FF4140B7430BD3D334.vcr&sid=559
What a strike vote means
Why we are moving forward with a strike vote
What a strike will in a virtual school may look like
We look forward to working with you to improve our school.
In Solidarity,
CVEU President, Brianna Carroll
CVEU Vice President, Sheryl Carruth
CVEU Secretary, Erin Krizek,
CVEU Treasurer, Amy Koller
CVEU Rep Liaison, Michelle Thornburg
Town hall recording link: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2017-10-17.1216.M.52FB6FB63FC0FF4140B7430BD3D334.vcr&sid=559
Town Hall Meeting Follow-up
August 22, 2017
On August 22, 2017 participants in our CVEU Town Hall asked lots of good questions about the Union’s efforts to improve CAVA, the status of contract negotiations, and the relationship between CAVA and K12 Inc. CVEU leadership wanted to get back to our colleagues with the answers to those questions. If you have any follow-up questions, don’t hesitate to ask. You can always reach out to your rep or email [email protected].
If you missed the meeting, below is the link to the blackboard recording.
https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2017-08-22.1241.M.F158427B4F4851AD1A7894B203217B.vcr&sid=559
Teacher Survey
Please take a few moments to complete the teacher survey if you haven’t already done so. Your input on the direction of CVEU helps us ensure that we are representing all of our members:
https://goo.gl/forms/oWuk10rnwNELnkpZ2
Thank you for your continued support and please look for us on the following Facebook groups: Watercooler and CAVA PTSA
Questions on Bargaining
Question: What seems to be the biggest sticking points between what the Union wants & what CAVA wants?
Answer: CVEU is focused on helping our students succeed by retaining highly qualified teachers who are respected and compensated for their experience and professionalism. We want to secure educators’ jobs so that they can build connections with families from year to year and we want to help provide students the flexibility they were promised when they enrolled with CAVA.
Question: If we cannot work out salary by winter, will we strike?
Answer: If we cannot reach an agreement through mediation and fact finding that addresses our community’s concerns about salary, job security, and workload, there is a possibility that we will go on strike to ensure that our members have a fair contract. While we do not want to have to go on strike we believe that our goals, which are to be treated and compensated as highly qualified professionals and provide our students with the individualized education they were promised, are important enough to do whatever it takes to be successful. A decision to call a strike would follow a vote by our members of the CVEU bargaining unit.
Question: Is it true that newer job offers are higher than what current employees are receiving?
Answer: According to the starting teacher salaries advertised on Ed Join, CAVA K8 teachers with a Bachelor’s degree start at 40,000 per year ($3,640 per month for 11 months) and high school teachers start at $42,000 per year ($3,822 per month for 11 months).
Question: When will it be determined if mediation worked?
Answer: We have mediation sessions scheduled for August 30 and September 21. Depending on what happens on those two dates, we may schedule additional mediation sessions or we may end mediation and go to the next stage, fact-finding. We hope we make significant progress that results in a fair contract, but are concerned that administration is not taking our colleagues concerns seriously enough.
Question: If we have to teach 15 hours, what will be cut to allow us time to plan?
Answer: We asked this same question to administration last year however rather than a reduction of tasks we have seen an increase in administrative tasks. Until we have a contract that limits administration from writing a blank check on our time they will continue to try to make us do more and more with little compensation.
Question: How many CAVA educators are in the CVEU bargaining unit?
Answer: As of August there are 402. This includes kindergarten through 12th grade GE teachers, SPED teachers, counselors, psychologists and other certificated support staff. At the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, there were 524 CAVA educators (according to our records).
Question: Does our charter specify how much CAVA can pay teachers?
Answer: No, that is determined by the CAVA governance boards.
Question: Can we be disciplined or terminated if we go on strike?
Answer: No. Union activity, including the right to strike, is protected under the Education Employee Relations Act. If CAVA teachers decide to strike, it would be done in a lawful manner and would be considered protected activity under the laws of California.
Question: Do you think retro pay will be likely or will we just get lucky by getting a raise?
Answer: CVEU will be presenting the argument for retro pay. Teachers must stand together to demonstrate these issues are important if we want to move administration towards making positive decisions for this school.
Question: How can we get an equitable salary schedule in place that is competitive with public schools?
Answer: CVEU has tried negotiating with CAVA on a salary schedule that is competitive with other charter schools. Our proposed salary schedule starts at $52,000 with subsequent steps. CAVA did not make a counter-proposal. You can find our proposed step salary schedule in SharePoint under Union Communications.
Questions on CAVA’s Relationship with K12 Inc.
Question: I thought the PERB decision prevented CAVA from being in debt to K12 Inc..
Answer: No, the PERB decision did not initiate that. The California Attorney General’s settlement with K12 Inc., CAVA, Insight, and IQ schools states that K12 Inc. shall expunge all balance budget credits accrued by CAVA schools from 2005-2015, and that no future years budget deficits shall be carried over (Pg. 17, Paragraph 9, Line 16). The deficit is applied to CAVA, however every year K12 Inc. is required to forgive that debt.
https://tinyurl.com/AG-K12-Settlement-7-8-16
Question: What percentage does CAVA spend on Curriculum versus our Salaries?
Answer: 2015 - 2016 Audited Budget shows 60% of our funding spent on books and supplies and 33% spent on teacher salaries. This is compared to an average school in California spending 14% of their budget on books and supplies and 62% on certified salaries.
Question: Do we have to stay with K12 Inc. because that is how our charter is written?
Answer: No, our charter does not limit us to a specific curriculum provider. We are concerned that CAVA chooses to stay with K12 Inc. because K12 Inc. seems to play a significant role in determining the outcome of important decisions that are made at this school.
Question: Are we paying the same for K12 Inc. curriculum as other schools?
Answer: We are paying K12 Inc. for curriculum and for management services, therefore our payments to K12 are significantly more than other non managed schools. We believe that K12 inc. currently charges so much for curriculum and management that CAVA is not able to afford other important costs such as adequate staffing. We are concerned that K12 Inc. representatives may play too big a role in determining the priorities of CAVA’s budgeting decisions and are looking into that in more detail.
Question: Why is a K12 Inc. representative sitting in on negotiations, isn’t that a conflict of interest?
Answer: CAVA is allowed to bring anyone they want to the negotiating table. CAVA has not explained to us why a K12 Inc. representative is at the table. One can reason that K12 has a vested interested in the outcome of our contract.
Question: If we have the option to just purchase curriculum from K12 and not have them manage the school, what is preventing them from wanting to do that since it seems that would save a great deal of money?
Answer: I think this is a great question and one we should ask CAVA to further explain.
Other Important Questions
Question: I saw other virtual schools start at $50k. Are we seeking to move closer to that number?
Answer: Yes. CVEU is proposing a salary schedule comparable to what other teachers in traditional and online schools make. We are asking for a starting salary of $52,000 with a step system similar to other charter schools and district schools in California. The exact proposal presented by CVEU can be found in SharePoint under Union Communications. CAVA receives similar state funding to surrounding schools. We work hard. We do not believe we deserve less than others in our profession.
Question: What is the deal with administration wanting to monitor us all day? Like, why?
Answer: Our understanding is that K12 Inc. management along with CAVA’s upper administration does not believe that teachers are working to their full capacity.
Question: Are we allowed to meet during lunch on blackboard?
Answer: Yes, as stated by Educational Employment Relations Act section 3543.1 employee organizations have the right to access areas in which the employees work to meet and inform members.
Question: I heard that the 15 hours will be enforced for all virtual schools in upcoming years. Does anyone know about this?
Answer: This is incorrect, there is not a federal or state law stating how many hours virtual teachers must provide live sessions a week.
Question: Why is it that Inspire Academy can pay up to $75K a year and CAVA can’t or does not?
Answer: Unfortunately, we have found that CAVA chooses to spend as little as possible on teacher’s salaries while prioritizing their budgets on sending as much money as they can to K12 Inc.
August 22, 2017
On August 22, 2017 participants in our CVEU Town Hall asked lots of good questions about the Union’s efforts to improve CAVA, the status of contract negotiations, and the relationship between CAVA and K12 Inc. CVEU leadership wanted to get back to our colleagues with the answers to those questions. If you have any follow-up questions, don’t hesitate to ask. You can always reach out to your rep or email [email protected].
If you missed the meeting, below is the link to the blackboard recording.
https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2017-08-22.1241.M.F158427B4F4851AD1A7894B203217B.vcr&sid=559
Teacher Survey
Please take a few moments to complete the teacher survey if you haven’t already done so. Your input on the direction of CVEU helps us ensure that we are representing all of our members:
https://goo.gl/forms/oWuk10rnwNELnkpZ2
Thank you for your continued support and please look for us on the following Facebook groups: Watercooler and CAVA PTSA
Questions on Bargaining
Question: What seems to be the biggest sticking points between what the Union wants & what CAVA wants?
Answer: CVEU is focused on helping our students succeed by retaining highly qualified teachers who are respected and compensated for their experience and professionalism. We want to secure educators’ jobs so that they can build connections with families from year to year and we want to help provide students the flexibility they were promised when they enrolled with CAVA.
Question: If we cannot work out salary by winter, will we strike?
Answer: If we cannot reach an agreement through mediation and fact finding that addresses our community’s concerns about salary, job security, and workload, there is a possibility that we will go on strike to ensure that our members have a fair contract. While we do not want to have to go on strike we believe that our goals, which are to be treated and compensated as highly qualified professionals and provide our students with the individualized education they were promised, are important enough to do whatever it takes to be successful. A decision to call a strike would follow a vote by our members of the CVEU bargaining unit.
Question: Is it true that newer job offers are higher than what current employees are receiving?
Answer: According to the starting teacher salaries advertised on Ed Join, CAVA K8 teachers with a Bachelor’s degree start at 40,000 per year ($3,640 per month for 11 months) and high school teachers start at $42,000 per year ($3,822 per month for 11 months).
Question: When will it be determined if mediation worked?
Answer: We have mediation sessions scheduled for August 30 and September 21. Depending on what happens on those two dates, we may schedule additional mediation sessions or we may end mediation and go to the next stage, fact-finding. We hope we make significant progress that results in a fair contract, but are concerned that administration is not taking our colleagues concerns seriously enough.
Question: If we have to teach 15 hours, what will be cut to allow us time to plan?
Answer: We asked this same question to administration last year however rather than a reduction of tasks we have seen an increase in administrative tasks. Until we have a contract that limits administration from writing a blank check on our time they will continue to try to make us do more and more with little compensation.
Question: How many CAVA educators are in the CVEU bargaining unit?
Answer: As of August there are 402. This includes kindergarten through 12th grade GE teachers, SPED teachers, counselors, psychologists and other certificated support staff. At the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, there were 524 CAVA educators (according to our records).
Question: Does our charter specify how much CAVA can pay teachers?
Answer: No, that is determined by the CAVA governance boards.
Question: Can we be disciplined or terminated if we go on strike?
Answer: No. Union activity, including the right to strike, is protected under the Education Employee Relations Act. If CAVA teachers decide to strike, it would be done in a lawful manner and would be considered protected activity under the laws of California.
Question: Do you think retro pay will be likely or will we just get lucky by getting a raise?
Answer: CVEU will be presenting the argument for retro pay. Teachers must stand together to demonstrate these issues are important if we want to move administration towards making positive decisions for this school.
Question: How can we get an equitable salary schedule in place that is competitive with public schools?
Answer: CVEU has tried negotiating with CAVA on a salary schedule that is competitive with other charter schools. Our proposed salary schedule starts at $52,000 with subsequent steps. CAVA did not make a counter-proposal. You can find our proposed step salary schedule in SharePoint under Union Communications.
Questions on CAVA’s Relationship with K12 Inc.
Question: I thought the PERB decision prevented CAVA from being in debt to K12 Inc..
Answer: No, the PERB decision did not initiate that. The California Attorney General’s settlement with K12 Inc., CAVA, Insight, and IQ schools states that K12 Inc. shall expunge all balance budget credits accrued by CAVA schools from 2005-2015, and that no future years budget deficits shall be carried over (Pg. 17, Paragraph 9, Line 16). The deficit is applied to CAVA, however every year K12 Inc. is required to forgive that debt.
https://tinyurl.com/AG-K12-Settlement-7-8-16
Question: What percentage does CAVA spend on Curriculum versus our Salaries?
Answer: 2015 - 2016 Audited Budget shows 60% of our funding spent on books and supplies and 33% spent on teacher salaries. This is compared to an average school in California spending 14% of their budget on books and supplies and 62% on certified salaries.
Question: Do we have to stay with K12 Inc. because that is how our charter is written?
Answer: No, our charter does not limit us to a specific curriculum provider. We are concerned that CAVA chooses to stay with K12 Inc. because K12 Inc. seems to play a significant role in determining the outcome of important decisions that are made at this school.
Question: Are we paying the same for K12 Inc. curriculum as other schools?
Answer: We are paying K12 Inc. for curriculum and for management services, therefore our payments to K12 are significantly more than other non managed schools. We believe that K12 inc. currently charges so much for curriculum and management that CAVA is not able to afford other important costs such as adequate staffing. We are concerned that K12 Inc. representatives may play too big a role in determining the priorities of CAVA’s budgeting decisions and are looking into that in more detail.
Question: Why is a K12 Inc. representative sitting in on negotiations, isn’t that a conflict of interest?
Answer: CAVA is allowed to bring anyone they want to the negotiating table. CAVA has not explained to us why a K12 Inc. representative is at the table. One can reason that K12 has a vested interested in the outcome of our contract.
Question: If we have the option to just purchase curriculum from K12 and not have them manage the school, what is preventing them from wanting to do that since it seems that would save a great deal of money?
Answer: I think this is a great question and one we should ask CAVA to further explain.
Other Important Questions
Question: I saw other virtual schools start at $50k. Are we seeking to move closer to that number?
Answer: Yes. CVEU is proposing a salary schedule comparable to what other teachers in traditional and online schools make. We are asking for a starting salary of $52,000 with a step system similar to other charter schools and district schools in California. The exact proposal presented by CVEU can be found in SharePoint under Union Communications. CAVA receives similar state funding to surrounding schools. We work hard. We do not believe we deserve less than others in our profession.
Question: What is the deal with administration wanting to monitor us all day? Like, why?
Answer: Our understanding is that K12 Inc. management along with CAVA’s upper administration does not believe that teachers are working to their full capacity.
Question: Are we allowed to meet during lunch on blackboard?
Answer: Yes, as stated by Educational Employment Relations Act section 3543.1 employee organizations have the right to access areas in which the employees work to meet and inform members.
Question: I heard that the 15 hours will be enforced for all virtual schools in upcoming years. Does anyone know about this?
Answer: This is incorrect, there is not a federal or state law stating how many hours virtual teachers must provide live sessions a week.
Question: Why is it that Inspire Academy can pay up to $75K a year and CAVA can’t or does not?
Answer: Unfortunately, we have found that CAVA chooses to spend as little as possible on teacher’s salaries while prioritizing their budgets on sending as much money as they can to K12 Inc.