There were also a few relatively minor points of interest for our members which I will touch upon briefly below. However, the segment of the meeting that perked my ears and will certainly affect the most of us (indeed, all of us) came toward the end, as Superintendent Alberto Carvalho addressed the School Board with not unsurprising, but always unwelcome, news from Tallahassee of the budget situation from here forward. The conversation seemed, to my sensibilities as a public school teacher anxiously awaiting news about our salary step and our benefits (as are we all), a straightforward declaration that not only should we not expect a step or even to retain the benefits we currently have, but that we should be prepared to consider ourselves lucky if we are still employed within two years. I will discuss this topic at length further in this post.
Zelda Glazer Institute
UTD President Karen Aronowitz took the microphone to express her support for continuing funding of the Zelda Glazer Writing Institute for teachers, and also expressed her concern that students are losing writing instruction because of the testing that is increasingly turning to multiple choice. Schools are necessarily losing focus on writing.The board members also expressed support for the writing institute and the critical support for writing it provides teachers in Miami-Dade County.
I3 Grants
The audience observed the "Investing in Innovation Fund" signing ceremony for a grant with University of Florida and early childhood teachers, which will allow them to earn a Masters degree in early childhood education and subsequently to mentor other early childhood teachers, in an effort to achieve the best outcomes. President Aronowitz praised the grant: "We talk about paying teachers and compensation and bonuses in hard to staff areas...yet we know that the most bang for the buck for children comes from early childhood education...It is very important first off to acknowledge the work of our early childhood teachers and to understand their importance in a child's development. We're not talking about test scores for three- and four-year-olds, but about opening a world to them...This is an important grant and speaks to the importance of the education of our educators. Advanced degrees make a difference, and we are entrusting those who earn these advanced degrees to go on and mentor other teachers."Indeed, numerous studies show that school readiness goes a very long way in determining lifetime educational outcomes, and the United States lags far behind other countries in preparing its youngest for lifelong learning.
The subject quickly shifted to teacher salaries.
Board member Dr. Marta Perez inquired as to the median teacher's salary and Assistant Superintendent/Chief Financial Officer Richard Hinds responded that we budget for $55,000. Perez followed up, "I just would like to say that we have this year more people making over $100,000 than last year, and they are certainly not teachers. We need to make sure we keep that balance."
Televising high school sporting events.
Board member Raquel Regalado wants the School Board to look into televising sports events so that parents and members of the community who cannot attend the events can watch them on TV. She said that this is something that has been available to some private schools and a few charter schools for years and which is very popular among them, and that she would like to see public school students have the same opportunity. The request is to investigate the feasibility of a pilot program, not to actually enter into the pilot program immediately.
Dr. Perez put forth the point that we do get revenue from attendance at the sporting events, from ticket sales to food sales, and that there is the possibility that this could be hurt by the events being televised.
Regalado responded that, as a single mother, she knows that she would go to every game if she could, as would most all parents, but that circumstances sometimes prevent this, and that this would simply provide an opportunity for those who could not physically attend games, rather than dampen attendance at events. She said it could also provide some free advertising for our schools, as the televising would be done cost-free to the district.
State of the state: dire budget forecasts, "all options on the table."
Superintendent Carvalho entered the meeting late, having just returned from Tallahassee, and proceeded to discuss his visit, saying that we had been able to balance the budget and restore our credit rating to what it was years ago. The reception from the Senate Chair of Appropriations was very warm. However, there was little other good news from his meetings.
Carvalho reported, "The state is still dealing with a total deficit of $3.5 billion...We should expect a dramatic reduction in funding, 1 to 2%. It may not sound like much, but 1% in operating funding could mean $30 million...These are times to be careful, frugal, and absolutely determined in continuing the practices we started three years ago. If we stay the course we will emerge, no doubt after a dramatic sacrifice...I urged the members of the committee...to consider the critical impact that high-quality education has and will continue to have on the state of Florida."
Board member Regalado said, "Obviously we are mandated by law to have a certain amount of reserves. Whether that mandate is enforced or not is another question. If you could explain exactly what they were saying about the reserves..."
Carvalho responded, "The statute basically says that districts should maintain a reserve of at least 3%; if they fall below 2% they have to provide the state with a plan for how they will build back up the reserve...If a district falls below the acceptable reserve value and is deemed to be in fiscal emergency, the state then has the right to mandate upon you privatization of key elements of the operations of the school system. This is a bill that passed out of committee yesterday. For our own sake, for our credit rating, for the benefit of our employees, this is an arena that we should not test with the state considering the state's current policy pendulum swing."
Assistant Superintendent/Chief Financial Officer Richard Hinds added, "2% for us represents for us roughly $55 million. Some of these reserves are not just money in a savings account; many are put in for specific purposes. For example, we face the risk of not collecting all of our property taxes, so we established a reserve for that eventuality...Our best estimate right now of reserves, and we will be returning to the Board at the retreat with a full-blown projection of estimations and reserves, is that we are currently operating with about $100 million of reserves. That represents roughly about 3% of our operating budget. That is acceptable but certainly a slim margin."
Carvalho: "Part of that $100 million ensures the district's viability regarding the 95-96% collection of tax revenues. It also reflects the Board's policy of not having to increase taxes this year, but also not positioning yourself in a way that could force you to increase taxes next year. The way the equation works is this: the state is not going to give you any additional money. The calculation is going to be how much will they take away. If we incur additional liabilities to the budget this year, it becomes its full value next year once annualized. To cover that increase in liability next year at times when revenues are down and property values are decreasing is almost asking for one of three things: a dramatic reduction in programs that we all value, and I will never bring that recommendation to you; it will be a recommendation that would lead to hundreds if not thousands of people losing their jobs; or the only other alternative, and this would not be my recommendation either, which is supplement themselves with a quarter-mill supplemental millage tax. Perhaps we can take something else from areas we have targeted time after time. If we are to just cut administration...You can take everyone out of downtown and still not cover the hole." He said that finding long-term solutions is his non-negotiable.
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| Superintendent Carvalho explains the "three things" the district will be forced to consider in light of deepening budget cuts. |
Let us be clear from the start: when the superintendent talks about "incurring additional liabilities," he is referring to our step increases, to our health insurance benefits and possibly to our pensions. As our members are well aware, UTD is currently in an impasse with the district, who was willing to extend our current health insurance plan that does not require a monthly premium for employees, but refused to give us our step increase, offering instead a one-time "service incentive award" of about 1% of our annual salary and which would not go toward our retirement.
He seems to imply that continuing our movement along the salary schedule, which in many places is a given that does not even require annual negotiation, would be a liability that could cost hundreds or thousands their jobs.
Still on the subject of the reserves, Regalado added, "What we should also consider is what the impact will be if we reduce our reserves to our credit rating."
Hinds replied, "Broward County Schools has just been downgraded. The rating agencies have been consistent not in criticizing us but in pointing out that we operate with minimal reserves. How this works out in terms of future debts is unknown. Right now we are planning to restructure our debt structure sometime in the next several months...It's absolutely critical that we maintain our credit rating."
Regalado went on, "Broward is an example of...their ratings have been criticized. It's not a perfect science. But I think that it's important to discuss the impact that this will have on our ratings. It's also important to consider historically that whenever there is a change, even on the part of the state, if we get to the 2%...We are being pushed to a breaking point. I want our representatives in Tallahassee to really understand the impact on our debt management..."
Hinds elaborated, "We could be facing shortfalls in the $200 million range, which is in the 10% range...the jobs bill funds expire at the end of 2012, so going into '12-'13 there is another surprise as those funds disappear."
Carvalho clarified further: "If I were to recommend to you longterm expenditures that go into next year...health care is a primary concern...Your recommendation to me was hold down the cost to employees, but that costs money. 83% of our expenditures go directly into employees at payroll...we spend about $320 million a year in health protection for our employees. A minor tweak going into next year could prove dramatic in its impact."
I invite the superintendent to correct me if I am making false connections, but his statement implies to me that he would like to pass on the inflated cost of health care--a problem not caused by employees--to the employees, and almost certainly without raising our salaries to compensate for it.
Soon the conversation turned to another problem for our budget: charter schools and voucher students taking students out of our public schools.
Hinds pointed out that we have the same number of charter school students as New York, though we have only 350,000 students in our system instead of New York's million. He also pointed out that "corporate scholarships" (a.k.a. vouchers) had been expanded and that there were many out there not being used yet within our district but that could be used at any time. "Corporate scholarships could increase...we have many enemies at the gate, not only our own HR problems but from outside, when we are doing everything we can to balance the books."
Regalado made an excellent point about the vicious cycle that Tallahassee puts us in time and again: "The lottery money is a good example of how things sort of run away from the state. If we consider historically what Bright Futures was supposed to do and what Bright Futures does at this moment, there's a big difference." Bright Futures was intended to provide the opportunity for successful high school students whose parents were of modest means to attend college. "If you look at what has occurred with Bright Futures, it has provided many students with scholarships, which is wonderful for their achievements, but whose parents could clearly afford to put them in our state schools, and this is something that has occurred to the detriment of many lower-income students who could have benefited from Bright Futures. My concern is that we are being told by Tallahassee to do more with less, do more with less...We need to be prepared as a Board to respond to this constant attack of do more with less, do more with less. If we do cut our successful programs, if we do limit what we provide our students with, we will have lower enrollment in the following years; it's a continuous cycle. I think that we all agree, but it's something we should bear in mind, because to survive one year and then find ourselves in a worse position the following year is a sad commentary on our decisions and priorities as a School Board. It's going to be a matter of distinguishing ourselves from other districts."
Regalado seems to me to be pointing out something that is being done quite on purpose by Tallahassee while being disguised as something else: budget crisis, working to improve schools, etc. Many of our legislators (and, all evidence indicates, our new governor) would like to force public schools to make unpopular decisions such as cutting programs (or making massive layoffs, and forcing students into larger classes), so that public schools are set up to fail, while loosening restrictions on charter schools and schools receving voucher students in hopes of underenrolling public schools and consequently being able to give them (and us, as their teachers) even less funding. It is a double-edged sword and one that needs to be acknowledged and with which legislators must be confronted. They must not be allowed to do this in the cover of night, hiding behind excuses.
Board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla once again took the side of the legislature: "Doing more with less is an economic reality." He asked the Superintendent to explain a little more the mandate for privatization.
Carvalho explained, "I won't speculate on the motivations...The legislation was sponsored by Senator Gaetz. It mentions municipal and county governments and school districts."
Portilla went on, "The economic reality is quite distasteful...If we're going to have an honest and frank conversation, everything needs to be on the table, especially at the retreat where we're going to continue to explore these options. Employee layoffs...salary reductions...perhaps we should reassess what is really a core, quality education program in this district and reevaluate what is essential and what is superfluous and and unessential. I will never be in favor of a tax increase but it should be on the table because I'm only one of nine, and maybe some of the other members have other feelings about it...Regardless of the number of letters we get from constituents, coverage in the media."
Apparently, Diaz de la Portilla doesn't really care what his constituents think, or what we teachers think, or what parents think. He once again seems infinitely more concerned with what Tallahassee thinks. Each time I attend these meetings, I can't help but see him as a representative of the core of our state legislature infiltrated in our School Board.
Board member Dr. Martin Karp said, "It would be helpful to know specifics...For every action there has to be some sort of consequence, and I'd be happy to know what those were. Everyone can have a different view, but to have some of the specifics would help us so it's not just 'massive layoffs,' but actual details that would help with items."
Board member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall mused, "I'm wondering if others from the delegation or others who work for different constituents were available to you...I know that several of us sitting on the Board know the ins and outs of Tallahassee and know that we cannot do it by ourselves. We know who our friends are, or think we do...How do you recommend that we approach the upper House?...We know the Speaker, we know many of them, we know our colleagues, and I think they would receive us in a warm manner...but let's talk for a moment, if you will, on your recommendation for how we approach the people who make a lot of decisions for the lives of our children, our teachers and administrators."
Caravalho expounded, "I had a conversation with Senator Flores. She is the only member of the Dade delegation sitting on that committee. I do think we have friends in the delegation. I am inspired by the number of conversations I've had with members of the delegation this year. My best recommendation is this: a house divided does not stand. If we have less than a united voice facing Tallahassee, we will get nowhere. So the biggest recommendation is one single, united voice about what is best for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. It is one voice asking for one single thing. We have a chance and we should not squander it."
Regalado said, "I couldn't agree with you more. Since Portilla brought up the realities that we're facing, I think it's important to mention another reality, when we talk about what has occurred in the past and what we will face going forward as a Board. In the past we really have looked to the administration, and we're not the only ones. What occurred last year with the budget of Miami-Dade County, the positions their elected officials took, the response the administration recommended, fell on deaf ears. For many years that had been a viable excuse to doing what everyone thought was the necessary thing. We escaped that last year. However, there has been a dramatic change in people's understanding of government, and that is something that as a Board we should consider, and that's a positive thing. It's about time politicians own up to the decisions they make whether they agree with the administration or not. That's why our retreat is so important. Not only do we have to stand together as a Board, but we are going to together as a Board bear in mind that the decision of the administration will also be impuned upon us if we vote for them."
Perez noted, "I would just like to caution, yes, we should speak with one voice, but we should not just follow the administration blindly. We are elected to ask the questions of the administration...and that is why Tallahassee perhaps says why were you not better guardians of the trust that you have? So yes, it's very nice to say we should all speak with a united voice, and we should, absolutley, when it comes to bringing money down here; however we have to be responsible for keeping the Superintendent and the administration...making sure that what is told to us is true...it shouldn't be that we are just going along to get along, because that has gotten us into a lot of trouble in the past."
President Aronowitz took the microphone and said, "I appreciate this opportunity to bargain in the sunshine. When we speak with one voice, it's important that we include all voices. United Teachers of Dade and our teachers remain committed ot the highest quality education for our students...We remain committed to the children of our district to make sure their education is an appropriate, high-quality public education as the constitution mandates. If our district is growing smaller, the number of employees our district needs will be smaller as well. You have hired people for unencumbered positions as temporary. If we no longer need those employees, they should not be employed. This may sound harsh, but it is realistic. The sacrifice is again borne by employees to supplement the system. If we have the right number of people working for the county teaching our system, and we have the right programs, our numbers will increase. What we have is an attempt to dismantle public education, no less, and if we do not provide the highest quality public education then shame on us."
This is the truth. Cutting programs will succeed only in making parents angry enough to take their children out of public schools and place them in charter schools or take advantage of vouchers, especially with the recent (and undoubtedly upcoming) expansion of the corporate scholarship program. Wholesale layoffs will result only in programs cuts and larger classes, which amounts to the same. Our legislators need to be held to their consitutional mandate to provide a free, high-quality public education to ALL children.
During the public hearing, President Aronowitz continued along the same lines: "Today I stand before you as president of United Teachers of Dade to speak out for the teachers of our district and our state. The political rhetoric used in Arizona is no different from the political rhetoric being used here in the state of Florida against public school teachers. It is harmful language used to separate public school teachers from their communities. Yesterday at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce I heard our new governor speak. He spoke about eliminating teacher tenure. TEACHERS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA DO NOT HAVE TENURE. It is language used to make teachers fear for their jobs. You have been elected as School Board members to uphold our public education system and the rights of all children to a high quality public education. You must not be silent when our teachers are defamed. Your teachers will continue to speak out for all the children of Florida and their right to that public education. I am speaking up today for our public school teachers and for public education. No one, especially members of our School Board, can remain silent."
UTD Vice-President Artie Leichner then stepped up to the podium: "Isn't it amazing that even as we have moved in the ranking of the state from 14th to 8th and now to 5th...Maybe there really is something to that class size thing? Every year we've been getting higher and higher in the ranking, and they're still going after us; what's going to happen when we get to first? What are they going to do? We are a donor county. They keep on biting the hand that feeds them. What happened to the money they owe us from the class size amendment? We don't hold the legislators responsible for the things they don't do. They violate the constitution continuously. How can we as citizens allow them to do that?...We need something to monitor whether the virtual school activities are successful. Until we know how successful it is at the end of this semester, we should really examine it and reexamine it."
Virtual schools are seen by many as an attempt to "outsource" public education, as their teachers are not unionized, and their "classrooms" do not have to abide by class size restrictions. The new governor is a huge supporter of virtual schools, presumably because of their low cost, not because of any track record of success, as so far there is none.
Stewards Council Meeting
At the monthly Stewards Council Meeting following the School Board meeting, President Aronowitz, Vice-President Leichner and Secretary/Treasurer Fedrick Ingram addressed the UTD stewards to brief them on these discussions and their implications. Even after Florida's schools have been ranked #5 in the nation by Education Week, Republicans are happy to take credit for any improvement, yet unwilling to rethink their ideas of "reform." Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools and known for firing thousands of teachers and closing schools, and who was effectively fired when the mayor supporting her was voted out of office in a landslide, has been brought in by new governor Rick Scott as the "education transition team leader." We know what that means.
Rick Scott and many of his cronies in Tallahassee want to see teachers fired, and want to see the ones who are left standing so fearful for their jobs that they will do exactly as they are told without complaints and without demands. They want to see our union, and every other union in the state, dismantled. Why? Not because they "protect bad teachers"; in order to take credit for the #5 ranking, the state has to admit that it is not full of terrible, incompetent, lazy teachers. No; they want to dismantle our unions because they protect salaries, benefits and working conditions--those things that cost the state money. Their ideal for public education--until they can "drown it in a bathtub" and have it completely privatized--is to see a transient workforce, as demonstrated in an idealized form like Teach for America, of which Michelle Rhee is an alumnus. Why? Because they do not care that teachers--ALL teachers--improve with experience. They do not care about providing children in the state of Florida with a high-quality education. They care about taking the funding for public education and diverting it to private interests and especially corporate interests. When our schools are entirely staffed by inexperienced teachers who come in for a year, two years, three years, and then leave either because they are so disgusted with their salary and working conditions or because they are forced out by test scores or micromanaging principals, the state won't have high salary costs. They won't have high benefits costs. They won't have retirements to pay out.
And the money they save can be put toward their friends running charter schools or private schools, or in the standardized test industry (as is already the case), or, even better, can be dished out in massive corporate tax breaks to their friends who put them in office.
Welcome to the Corporate State of Florida. A few members of our School Board seem ready to fight. We, as teachers and as a union, cannot afford not to armor up for the battle to protect not only our profession, but public education as an institution in this state. The situation could not be more dire, urgent or compelling.
