focus

On educators

focus on educators is an award winning publication of the Pittsburg Education Association/CTA/NEA www.peateachers.org

California Teachers Association

Statement of Mission
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of
teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity
and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

SEPTEMBER 2015

Volume XXIV, Number 1

Dear PEA Members,

Welcome back to a new school year
full of extraordinary possibilities! I
hope you are all well rested and
excited about what will happen here
in very sunny and HOT Pittsburg,
California. As you know, our former
president, Dawn Cova, has moved
into a staff position with CTA. With
the vacancy of the presidency I had
the opportunity to step into the role
for the full term of office as your
president for the next two years. Im
feeling energized by the many
messages of encouragement and
congratulations Ive received from
members. Thank you all for your

support and confidence as we begin

this new journey together.
Not to take us back to summer, but I
need to describe something awesome
I want all of us to think about doing in
the future. I was a NEA RA State
Delegate this summer in Orlando,
Florida. My second assembly was
better than my first one because I did
have some concept of what to expect.
The first choice I made was to be a
Green Delegate. That meant not
picking up all the papers one needs to
accomplish the job of learning of the
proposed amendments to the
constitution, bylaws, and standing
rules that would be discussed and
voted on. Instead I used my phone to
access the information. The
Assembly still held that sense of awe
for me as I recognized that policies
for public education would be
discussed and decided on that week.
There of course was down time for
one day and I ventured out to
Universal Studios solo. I walked the
two parks only to see one thing,
everything Harry Potter!!! I geeked
out and smiled broadly in Diagon
Alley and Hogsmeade. I rode the
Hogwarts Express, drank butterbeer
(non-alcoholic), toured Hogwarts

School, and watched a dragon breathe

fire on top of Gringotts Bank. I
couldnt stop taking pictures!
The rest of the week was full. I was
able to meet new people, listen and
learn what NEA and its members
proposed for us as educators, vote as
a state delegate, and cheer on many
speakers that inspired me with the
vision of our future and our students
futures. It was amazing and all I
wanted was to see more of us from
Pittsburg there together. So, next
year lets make it a party!
Back to the new school year of 20152016, we have a lot to look forward
to. I want us all to have that broad
smile on our face. I hope you feel
geeky and giddy with anticipation for
all you want to accomplish with our
students. As PUSD educators youve
shown your dedication to your
profession and your willingness to dig
deeper in advocating and gaining
success in your students learning. I
know you will make this year count!
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Tammy Carr
PEA President

PEA Leadership 2015-2016

Rep. Council Meeting Calendar (Tuesdays)

President

September 15

Tammy Carr

October 20

Highlands Elementary/PEA Office

Elementary Vice President

November 17

Vacant

December 15

Secondary Vice President

January 19

Bertha Ramos

February 16

Rancho Medanos

March 15

Secretary

April 19

Michell Redfoot

May 17

Willow Cove Elementary

Treasurer

***********************************

Vicky Krywokulsky

School Board Meeting Calendar

Stoneman Elementary

September 9 & 23

Committee Chairs:

October 14 & 28

Grievance Committee

November 18

John Kleinjans Pittsburg High

December 9

Chris Coan Willow Cove Elementary

January TBD

Negotiations Team
Mark Maselli - Chair

February TBD

Political Action Committee Chairs

March TBD

Chris Coan

April TBD

Jim Vaughan

May TBD

Elections Chair

June - TBD

Ruth Foster

***********************************

Human Rights & Womens Issues Chairs

Yvonne Burton

Are You Getting Your PEA Information?

Najah Perkins

Having our Site Reps collect your input, attend the monthly Rep
meeting

O-Team Chairs

and

then

report

back

to

you

is

vital

in

communication chain of our Association.

Arthur Pruyn
Marissa Young-Padilla

Roll call at last June 1st Rep Council Meeting:

CTA State Council Representatives

Mark Maselli PEA

Adult Ed. absent

Stoneman present

Arthur Pruyn (Alt.) - PEA

Foothill present

Willow Cove present

Membership Chairs

Heights absent

MLK Jr. absent

Highlands present

Hillview - present

Lisa Gunderson
Yvonne Burton

Los Medanos present Rancho Medanos present

Technical Editor
Susan Harrison PEA Office Administrator

Focus on Educators
is a publication of the
Pittsburg Education Association CTA/NEA
159 East 4th Street
Pittsburg, CA 94565
Phone: (925) 432-0199
email: info@peateachers.org
website: www.peateachers.org

Marina Vista present

PHS - present

Parkside present

Black Diamond present

the

8. Be familiar with the PEA/PUSD collective bargaining

agreement (contract). Assist members in
answering questions about the contract.
9. Attend meetings with members as their Association
Representative, when requested.
10. Know your duty of fair representation.
11. Support teachers at your site in any way you can.

Site Reps Wanted!

12. Ask for assistance from the Executive Board when

you are unable to answer members questions.

Attend 1 meeting per month at the PEA office

$20 stipend per meeting
Hold 1 10-minute meeting at your site per month
Raffle & prizes for attendance and for holding your
10-minute meeting
Stay informed & be the first to know whats
happening!
Be selected for joint PEA/PUSD committees and
interview panels
Hear what the hot topics are at all the school sites
Become a strong advocate for Pittsburg public
schools, teachers, and students
Site rep training provided!

***********************************

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Site Reps Job Description

1. Attend the monthly Representative Council meeting
at the PEA office.
2. Represent the views and input of the membership at
your school site.
3. Collect the FOCUS and any other materials from
the Rep Council meeting and distribute to the
members at your school site.
4. Hold a monthly 10-minute meeting at your site after
the Rep Council meeting; gather any site concerns
or questions to forward to the Executive Board.
5. Collect the email addresses of the members of your
school site. Forward messages from the Executive
Board to members. Distribute email messages from
PEA to your members.
6. Conduct elections at your site: distribute ballots,
encourage members to vote, collect and return
ballots to PEA by the required dates.
7. Survey site members or collect site data as
requested by the PEA Executive Board.

Member Benefits Corner

Welcome

Did you know that your CTA and NEA

associations provide you with a wide array of member
benefits? I didnt until I attended a CTA Member Benefits
Workshop last month. I was amazed at the vast amount of
services available for all of us, like the CTA Well Baby
Program, a CTA Cash Rewards credit card, or an NEA
program guaranteeing savings on new car purchases.

New Teacher Orientation

August 14, 2015
New Teacher Orientation was held on August 14 at the Elks
Lodge, Pittsburg. PEA was able to host the lunch portion of
the orientation with food from Las Panchitas. It was
wonderful to see the 81 new members joining our district
(PUSD), as well as, our Association! The new teachers were
able to ask questions and learn more about PEA.

If youre a Facebook friend of mine, you know my 2003

Volkswagen Bug is running on its last leg. Ive taken it to
several local mechanics and my dealership only to hear, I
can try to fix it for $800, but it probably wont pass smog. In
California if I cant smog it, I have to junk it. I needed a new
car so I went shopping through my NEA Auto Buying
Program. Online, I was able to search for the type of car I
wanted and get instant quotes from several local dealers. For
each competitive quote, I was issued a certificate stating that
my quote was good for 30 days.
So sometime soon, Ill be sporting a 2015 Kia Soul! If youre
interested in buying a car, check out:
http://www.neamb.com/shopping-discounts/nea-auto-buyingprogram.htm
The NEA Auto Buying Program offers members Guaranteed
Savings through local dealers. Search for any new vehicle
and view a wide range of used vehicle listings. There is
never any cost to use the service or obligation to buy plus all
dealers are prescreened to provide you with the best car
buying experience.
See Guaranteed Savings on NEW CARS

Members have seen an average savings of $3,221 off

MSRP*
Get a price and your Guaranteed Savings** before going
to a dealership
Work with pre-screened dealers for customer savings
and a great experience

NEA Member Discounts on USED CARS

Save up to $1,000 off used vehicles

Used car pricing tool lets you know youre getting a great
deal
Free CARFAX reports and/or warranties on select
vehicles
Respectfully submitted,
Yvonne Burton, Foothill Elementary

NEWS

This Month in Politics

By, Chris Coan & Jim Vaughan
Political Action Chairs

2015 Summer Institute Conference

Los Angeles, California

This article is designed to inform our members of the recent

political activity effecting students in the classroom and our
professions. For more information, consult your CTA and
NEA websites.

The sessions I attended at the 2015 Summer Institute

Conference were so informative and current. The presenters
were excellent and professional. The scheduling of the
sessions offered was well timed and arranged. Staying in
the dorms made attendance easy. The evening activities
were so much fun. Meeting new fellow educators and
working together made the summer one of the most
memorable of my Professional Developments, thus far. I
look forward to attending next summer and highly
recommend the experience to all PEA members for
professional and personal growth!

Recently, Governor Brown signed into law legislation that

suspends the requirement for high school students to pass
the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to receive a
diploma for students who completed their credits to graduate
last school year! There is legislation being proposed to
suspend the requirement for students to pass the tests
(English and Math) in order to receive their diploma this year
as well.

Respectfully submitted,
Najah Perkins, Foothill Elementary

CTA is a co-sponsor of a law (AB 709) that will require

Charter Schools to comply with public law governing the
operation of publicly funded schools. Currently, Charter
Schools are not being required to conduct their business with
public access to important information and records. This
allows them to act as though they are a private entity while
they are receiving public funds to operate the school. The bill
specifies that Charter Schools have to comply with the Brown
Act, the Political Reform Act and Government Code 1090.
Election Year 2016 is upon us! We need volunteers from
each site to help get the word out to voters. Volunteers will
have the opportunity to express our views on candidates and
issues impacting the education our students receive and the
conditions under which we work. Please notify your Site
Representative if you are willing to help make a change in
our political environment that better serves the needs of
students in public education.

Najah Perkins and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome

And locally
Did you know that the School Board makes decisions that
affect your teaching and working conditions? We have
decided to begin our School Board 2016 campaign by putting
together a timeline of action for the next year. With two
School Board seats opening up in November of 2016, PEA is
committed to filling those two seats with School Board
Members who listen and understand the challenges we face
each and every day as educators. We will need the support
of local Pittsburg teachers and residents of Pittsburg to
ensure viable candidates that are effective for our school
board. Please stay tuned and be willing to help!
Yvonne Burton and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome

Know Your Contract

Why You Need a 403(b) or 457 Plan

Now that school has begun we still have a shortage of

substitutes and so this is how it may affect you:

Could you live on just over half of your teaching salary? What
would retirement be like on less than two-thirds of your
income?

If you are asked to give up your prep to cover a

class you need to be compensated at the full class
coverage hourly rate. Please notify your office
secretary and check your pay stub. Article 6.4.1

It sounds scary, but in fact, its reality for educators who are
counting on CalSTRS or CalPERS as their sole retirement
plan. Consider these facts:
60%-65% = Percentage of salary the California State
Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) pension replaces,
on average, for current and retired members.*

If you are a prep teacher and are usually the person

who gives up their teaching day to cover a class
without a sub, then that is a problem. Article 6.4.3
states that members shall be requested to
substitute on a fair and equitable basis.

$0 = Amount CalSTRS participants can expect in the form of

federal Social Security benefits. (Please note that educators
participating in the California Public Employees Retirement
System (CalPERS) do pay Social Security taxes and are
eligible to receive benefits. In addition, CalSTRS participants
may be eligible for Social Security benefits from a spouse's
earnings or earnings from other jobs, but those benefits may
be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (or
Government Pension Offset.)

If one person is being asked to cover class without

a sub, then that is a problem of equity. Here is what
your site rep needs to discuss with your principal as
per the contract: Each site administrator shall
compile a list of bargaining unit members who wish
to volunteer for class coverage. The volunteer list
shall be posted at a central location chosen by the
site administrator. A second roster shall be
compiled listing the remaining bargaining unit
members at that site. If no volunteers are available
for substituting, substitutes are to be selected from
the second list. The second list shall be made
available to any bargaining unit member to review
upon request. Bargaining unit members shall be
requested to substitute on a fair and equitable
basis.

90%- 100% = Percentage of salary financial experts

recommend replacing in retirement to maintain same
standard of living as your working years.
30%-40% = Percentage of CTA members who take
advantage of a 403(b) retirement savings plan to supplement
their pension plan.
The bottom line: The majority of educators are facing a
retirement savings shortfall. Thats why you need a 403(b) or
457 plan to make up the difference. Lets take a closer look
at these sources of retirement income:
CalSTRS and CalPERS state pension funds. Your pension,
or defined benefit plan, is an important part of your retirement
savings. These retirement systems continue to provide a key
benefit to educators. Your benefit is based on your age at
retirement, years of service and final compensation level.
You can run the numbers and estimate your benefit level by
using the calculators on your pensions Web site
(www.calstrs.com or www.calpers.ca.gov ).

Remember that our contract is the AGREEMENT

between PEA and PUSD.

Respectfully submitted,
Chris Coan & Jim Vaughan
Political Action Chairs

Social Security. Educators with a CalSTRS pension do not

pay Social Security taxes. They contribute a greater
percentage of pay into the pension fund instead, and
therefore are generally not eligible for Social Security
benefits. (They may qualify for benefits earned through
another job, although those benefits may be reduced due to

the Windfall Elimination Provision. For more information, visit

www.ssa.gov/pubs/10045.html.)

If you are interested in becoming a member of the

Catastrophic Leave Bank, please complete the form that was
distributed, by October 6, 2015 and return it to the PEA
Office. If you have any questions, please call the PEA Office
at 925-432-0199. We look forward to your support.

Educators and school employees with a CalPERS pension

pay 6.2% of salary for Social Security and generally qualify
for Social Security benefits. Educators are often confused or
mistaken about what they will collect from Social Security in
retirement. If you are eligible for Social Security benefits, you
should receive an annual statement in the mail with an
estimate of your projected benefit from the Social Security
Administration.

*****************************************************

MOU Between the

Pittsburg Education Association

403(b) and 457 plans. The 403(b) is a tax-deferred

retirement plan available for eligible employees of public
schools and other tax-exempt organizations. A 457 plan is
available for eligible employees of public schools and
government workers. They are called defined contribution
plans, because the participant makes contributions and
investment decisions. It is different than your pension or
defined benefit plan through CalSTRS or CalPERS, where
you and your employer make contributions and CalSTRS or
CalPERS make all of the investment decisions. Ultimately,
you are in control of your 403(b) or 457 plan.

And
Pittsburg Unified School District
Resource Specialists
What happens if your caseload exceeds 28?

Prepare for a Financially Secure Retirement

When a Resource Specialists caseload goes above 28

students, he/she shall have the choice of serving those
students and shall be compensated as follows for each
student over twenty-eight (28):

The 403(b) or 457 plan is designed with features to help you

make the most of your retirement savings. In 2014, you can
contribute up to $18,000, or an additional $6,000 (total of
$24,000) if you are age 50 or better. If youre a long-term
employee who has not consistently contributed to your plan,
you may also be eligible to make lifetime catch-up
contributions.

1.
2.
3.
4.

*****************************************************

One (1) student over

Two (2) students over
Three (3) students over
Four (4) students over

= $ 225/month
= $ 500/month
= $ 800/month
= $ 1,125/month

Compensation shall be paid for each month in which the

Resource Specialist is over twenty-eight (28) students.

Open Enrollment Period for Catastrophic

Leave Bank:
September 16, 2015 through October 6, 2015
PEA, in conjunction with PUSD is excited to offer an
opportunity to join the Catastrophic Leave Bank. The Bank
is comprised of sick days that have been donated by those
members who join during the Open Enrollment Period.
Members will have an opportunity to apply for additional sick
leave when experiencing a loss of work due to serious illness
or long-term disability. There is a career maximum of thirty
days available to members upon approval of the
Catastrophic Leave Bank Committee. Since the
implementation of the Catastrophic Leave Bank in 2001, we
have been able to assist many members in their time of
need.

Calendar
SEPTEMBER 2015
1
PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
7
Labor Day
9
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
13 Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown
15 PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
18-20 Region 1 Leadership Conference San Jose, CA
22 Yom Kippur begins at sundown
23 PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
23 Autumn begins

OCTOBER 2015
6
6
12
14
20
20
28
31

PEA Executive Board PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Catastrophic Leave Bank Enrollment Closes
Columbus Day Mandatory Staff Development Day No school
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
PEA Rep Council PEA Office 159 East 4th St. 3:45 PM
Elementary V.P. Candidacy Forms Due
PUSD School Board Meeting 2000 Railroad Ave. 7:00 PM
Halloween
Next Deadline for Articles is Tuesday, October 13, 2015
STAY INFORMED @ peateachers.org

cta.org & nea.org

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