The district nor the teachers union nor the PTSA are willing to explain to teachers and the community the true nature of the budget or the ongoing negotiations. Theirs is an elitist democracy where they all come together and agree to have us pay for the sins of the ruling class. We, the little people have no representation and the more in the dark we are, the easier it is for this cabal of elites to continue their destruction of our schools. Earlier in the year, the Bellevue PTSA leadership played a crucial role in designing a push/poll type community survey which is undoubtedly used by the district as a supporting document in its continuing attacks on our teachers. Up to this point, the PTSA has refused to even release the full survey results after repeated requests. Today, I heard from a parent that the PTSA does not take a side in the teacher negotiations. Regardless, that they take a side - that of the district against the teachers - is extremely clear by their actions. In fact not taking a side at this point simply means they take the side of the powers. Theirs is the action of cowards.
In such a situation, we - the small people - have to take it upon ourselves to use the scant resources available to piece together the story of our schools, its continued deterioration under the determined effort of a callous administration that pays lip service to slogans like the "child first" and turns around to stab child, parent and teacher all in their backs with customary charm.
The district has released three documents related to the 2011-12 budget. The first is a presentation (pdf) made by the Superintendent on August 4, 2011 to the School Board. Next is a summarized version (pdf) of the budget, followed by a more complete version (pdf). Dr. Cudeiro has also written an "open letter" to the community where she explains how the state-mandated 1.9% cut on teacher salaries is being used to demand a heavier work load and limit the freedom of teachers even more. It shows a remarkably misplaced confidence that parents will still side with the district, regardless of the ruthlessness of the attack. It seems that Dr. Cudeiro believes that our community can be understood by reading the drivel written in Seattle Times.
While drawing a salary of $225,100 according to data from kitsapsun.com, Dr. Cudeiro comments :
"We are facing very difficult economic times when many people are losing their jobs or suffering significant pay cuts. Some districts will not be reinstating the 1.9% state salary cuts for their teachers. The Bellevue School District is willing to reinstate the 1.9% state salary cut and add one paid professional development day in each of the two years of the agreement. We do so, because we value our teachers. This will cost the District nearly two million dollars in each year, but the District is asking to see movement on the issues stated above."
The "issues stated above" refers to the district's insistence that teachers upgrade grade books online in eight days as well as allow the administration to control the time of teachers to plan and co-ordinate activities on Wednesdays after early release of students. Since the Bellevue Education Association supported the merit pay provisions and accepted that as part of the negotiations, these two issues are the only major ones that now remain on the table.
Dr. Cudeiro signals she is ready to go ahead with the 1.9% salary cut if teachers did not agree on these two issues - this after the district got one of their biggest and most destructive designs on merit pay agreed to by the union. It is clear that the administration is not budging much. Whatever concessions have so far come from teachers in large measure, and that points clearly to the role of their union in betraying the interests of the teachers, time after time.
When Bellevue School District applied for the Race To The Top (RTTT) Funds last year along with the state of Washington, BEA agreed on provisions for merit pay for teachers. While the Washington state did not get funded, the district and the teachers union are committed to going ahead with the initial plan. BEA claims that it had to join the "Teacher and Principal Evaluation Pilot (TPEP)" to "take advantage of state funding, project research, and the good work of the pilot school districts."
In the "open letter", Dr. Cudeiro attempts to pass the wage freeze on teachers as something inevitable that needs to be done due to tough economic times. The union, from a position of asking for a pay raise for teachers have fallen back to the position of defending a wage freeze. However, looking through the 2011-12 budget shows that the issues are not simply a lack of money as a first principle, but rather the considerations and interests that determine how resources of society are allocated.
In the summary report, page 8 shows that from year 2010-11 to 2011-12 there is a budgeted increase of 3.2% in the average salary for the category that involves teachers, data coaches - now renamed to be "Instructional Technology curriculum Leaders (ICTL)" and other extra-curricular staff etc excluding central administration. For this same group, there is a 3.7% increase in average pay and benefits. However, we are told that the teachers would either face a 1.9% cut at worst or at best their salaries will not increase. This shows that certain "teachers" within this group are getting raises, and they could be substantial depending on the number of this sub group.
Since the district does not break down the cost structure for this somewhat diverse group, we need to look for clues in the budget document. Page 10 notes the existence of 22.6 ICTL personel and page 9 mentions that $2.45 M has been allocated from the Capital Fund for the same category. Thus, we see that ICTL absorbs at least an average of $108,407 whereas the more complete budget document in page 45 shows that the average elementary teacher salary for Bellevue is a mere $48,295. The highest salary for a teacher is shown to be $65,115 and the average salary for an elementary principal is $104, 339 - which is lower than the package for ICTL.
The reason ICTL are paid highly has to do with their role - they administer programs that are unpopular among teachers/students and in turn police the teachers to make sure they adhere to such programs. The term "data coach" was commonly used to describe them as their role is to use data to invent punishment systems for teachers and students, merit pay for teachers and high stakes testing for students. The reason that Dr. Cudeiro insists on teachers grading student work online in a timely manner has really nothing to do with any overriding concern for keeping parents informed of their children's progress. It has all to do with better enabling these number crunchers to present the administration with the proverbial whip to lash the teachers and students with.
The school board sees no real problem with any of this as they obligingly rubberstamp the decisions of the superintendent and her subservient cabinet. While the board does not strictly get paid, the budget does show an amount of $617,680 under "Purchased Services" and "Supplies/Materials". A breakdown is not given. This is a 8.9% increase from 2010-11 (around page 41, 98 of the more complete budget document).
The superintendent's office has seen a funding increase of 36.9% for the same period, while the district's propaganda arm - referred to in the category of "Public Relations" has grown an unprecedented 70%. The growth of the propaganda arm hints at the growing awareness of the public of the the general rotten nature of the administration - thus more money has to be spent to deceive us. (page 98 of the more complete budget document)
However, none of the people who actually administer the schools take home the biggest haul. That function is performed by the bond investor - the parasite, that instead of paying as high a percentage of tax as the average worker to help the schools, makes money from the worker paying taxes/levies into the school. This he does by buying bonds from the school. When you and I pay into a local levy, that goes to pay this gentleman's interest. To the extent that the district works at hiding these social relationships from us, its administration is allowed a few choice crumbs off the table. The bond holders have had their interest payments increased from $14.3M to $29.6 M, a full 106.8% from year 2010-11 to 2011-12.
While the General Fund has been increased from $182M to $192M, the funding per student has decreased from $10,586 down to $10,576 as the number of students increased from 17,224 up to 18,157 (page 2, 4 of the summary budget document). If we adjust the 2010-11 dollars for the inflation rate of 3.6% for the current year, up to July, then we actually see a decrease of $392 per student in the General Fund. Also, software licences that are generally paid via the Capital Fund are now being paid via the General Fund (page 26 of the summary budget document), to the tune of $1.5M and this represents another raid on the General Fund by corporate interests. [I will recall the reader to my previous exposure of the fund categories and the class interests that underly them - which upset the superintendent enough to most unceremoniously try to unsuccessfully shut me down in a public meeting last year.]
So what have we seen? Nothing but the continuing deception of the district who claims to put the child first, who claims that they are committed to student excellence in learning all the while hiding their true aims - that of supporting the current capitalist exploitative structures in gutting the public school system.
Our students are being sold down the river in an increasingly stressful environment that is conducive to anything but genuine learning. Our teachers have been deprived of their defenses by a union that speaks the language of the district. All the current leaders we have been handed down by history continue to manipulate us, isolate us, divide us and ultimately betray us. Where do we go from here?
I believe the first step is to reject the program of the district - reject this budget - completely. We need to come together to create a budget and program for our schools based on the broad interests of students, teachers and the average working person in our community. We started this work in the Bellevue Public Library recently. Much remains to be done. I ask anyone interested in developing this critical understanding of the social process happening around the public school to please contact me so we can continue to develop our own informed plan for a sound public school system for Bellevue.
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