New Contract for 2009-10 and 2010-11 |
On Friday, May 28th, 2010, the Kern High School Teachers Association’s (KHSTA) bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the Kern High School District (KHSD) on contract language covering the 2009 and 2010 school years.
On Tuesday, June 1st, 2010, the KHSTA Executive Board, moving on recommendation of the bargaining team, voted to approve the tentative agreement for recommendation to the Association’s Representative Council.
On Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010, The KHSTA Representative Council voted to accept the tentative agreement for ratification by members of the KHSTA.
The ratification vote was conducted over a two day period beginning on Thursday, June 3rd and ending on Friday, June 4th. At the conclusion of the ratification vote, it was determined that members had unanimously agreed to accept the tentative agreement with the District.
On Monday, June 7th, 2010, the KHSD Board of Trustees approved the ratification of the tentative agreement. The agreement was moved by Trustee Batey and seconded by Trustee Perry and unanimously passed by the five-member board.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Kern High School District and the members of the Kern High School Teachers Association bargaining unit covers the 2009 and 2010 school years. Negotiations for the 2011 school year will begin in 2010-11.
The KHSTA bargaining team would like to thank everyone for their support and for their commitment to our profession. It was a long, hard fight.
Jesse Aguilar – KHSTA Bargaining Chair
*For more information on the CBA please see the CBA Summary or the CBA itself.
Attached are the district’s last two financial reports showing estimated reserve levels for the 2010-2011 school year at over 89 million dollars in their first report and 79 million dollars in the second report. Both of these numbers are well beyond the 7 million dollars the state requires a district of our size to have.
This recession has been hard on California’s working families both in the private and public sector. It is true that in some districts teachers are facing pay and benefit cuts, as have been felt in many sectors of the State’s economy. Some have suggested that because of this we should be open to the same kind of reductions. This argument, however, fails to acknowledge our past sacrifices that have lead the District to their unique financial circumstance. Our district’s reserves are an insurance policy that was promised to keep us safe when times got tough. Their refusal to use these reserve funds now that we need them is just like an insurance company denying a legitimate claim after years of a customer paying premium.
Remember, budgets always reflect one’s values. Protecting loyal employees who have acted responsibly in the past to help provide a needed safety net would prove that those who lead our district keep their promises and value our labors. As our employer, they need to stop seeing us as an expense and start seeing us as an asset. They need to pay for our benefits because they can and you, and your family, deserve it.
It is more important than ever that the District understand that all of us care about this issue. Our association representatives will be holding meetings in the near future to provide you details as we move forward.
Please be ready to get involved.
Respectfully submitted,
KHSTA Executive Board