Student Loan Debt Relief Information

American Federation of Teachers has been fighting for us with numerous lawsuits to make sure our members can get assistance when it comes to student loan debt. 

You can sign up for a webinar at the link below 

Webinar to Learn about Debt Forgiveness 

Student debt clinics provide our members with important information on two free federal debt relief programs

AFT recently held a debt clinic to inform members about federal debt releif programs,  you can find more information about programs and view the the recording below 

Learn more about debt relief here 

Dear Members:

This year has been one of the most challenging budget years since the 07-08 great recession.  At the second interim, CCUSD presented a budget where our end of year reserves would be at 2.2% of our total budget.  The state and county require all school districts to end the year with a reserve of 3%.  The district is now required to present a fiscal stabilization plan to the county showing cuts to get CCUSD to the 3% minimum reserve.  The recent position cuts approved by the board a few weeks ago and Dr. Lucas & Cabinet email sent yesterday is how the district plans to address the shortfall.  They are also working on ways to increase revenue and have increased some revenue through renegotiation of leases on district property.

One question we have been asked has been are current stipends and class size overage pay part of the cuts?  The answer is no.  Anything that has been negotiated between CCFT and CCUSD which are in our contract and on the schedule H stipend table won't be touched as they were legally negotiated items done at the bargaining table.  

The other question is how did we get here?  There are multiple factors as to why the district is in this situation.  First is a revenue problem.  CCUSD has lost revenue due to declining enrollment, lower average student daily attendance, lower state funding and one time Covid funds that have expired.  Secondly there is a spending problem, previous administrations and boards had approved budgets that included keeping positions that were paid for with one-time funding that had expired or was due to expire, outside contracts, increased substitute costs,  increased special education costs, extra pay that was not negotatiated nor budgeted, and overall inflationary day to day operating costs.  

A final question is how does the recent news about the Federal Government trying to close down the Department of Education affect us?  Potentially this could be devastating to our district and districts across the country as Federal money is used to fund TK-12 programs like Special Education and Title One. Although the recent executive order signed by the President stated those areas would not be touched at this time, massive staffing cuts to that department could result in delays and other issues with funding.  Our national union AFT is filing a lawsuit against the Administration for the attempt to reduce and/or close down the Dept. of Education, which can only be done by an act of Congress.  AFT President Randi Weingarten's response to the Executive Order is "See you in court"!

Please feel free to reach out with questions and have a relaxful spring break!

In solidarity,

Ray Long

CCFT President

US History Teacher

Culver City High School

On behalf of CCFT, I wish you a Happy Holiday season and a fantastic winter break!  Here are a few updates:

Social Security Fairness Act

The Senate took a procedural vote (73-27)  to close debate on the bill and bring it to a full vote of the Senate.  We are expecting a final vote today and if passed, President Biden is expected to sign. This would eliminate a provision that reduced the amount public employees received in social security benefits if they received a public pension like STRS or PERS.  Thank you to all of you who took time to write or call in to our Senators

Strikes Against Amazon, Starbucks and Kaiser

AFL-CIO have asked their affiliates (which we are one) to remind members to not cross picket lines and avoid Starbucks and Amazon this holiday season.  Kaiser Permanente has still not settled with its mental health workers.  If you would like to join a picket line against KP you can at the West LA medical Center on Cadillac any Thursday from 8am-2pm this break.

CCFT Negotiations

We return to the table in January.  We anticipate the district sending their calendar survey to the community after the break and hope to have the calendar wrapped up by the end of January.  CCUSD's finances will be tough this year, we are waiting to see what the proposed COLA will be in the Governor's budget in January.  More information to come.

Have a great break and Happy Holidays!

Ray Long 

CCFT President

Update - Breakdown in Bargaining 

On the advice of our CFT Field Rep, our bargaining session had to abruptly end today when the district engaged in bad faith bargaining.

CCFT had asked for (3) additional days of release time for our SDC teachers and (5) additional days for RSP/SAI teachers.  The district countered with (0) extra days for SDC and (2) days for RSP/SAI.  CCFT also asked that our Elementary RSP teachers be allowed to use Wednesday for making up IEP service meetings, writing IEPS in addition to providing normal service minutes.  This is currently a practice already.  The district rejected the Wednesday language. Then CCUSD decided to also take back the (2) days for RSP teachers they had put in their offer.  

Under the law this is regressive bargaining which is an unfair labor practice.  We will begin working with CFT and their lawyers on a potential charge against CCUSD.

In addition the district offered zero money toward salary and benefits, stating they still had to analyze our offer, despite us giving them our proposal a month ago.  While we understand there is a limited budget from the state, the COLA is still 1.07%.  The district also continues to deficit spend, while ignoring the financial need of their employees.

We also asked that Wednesday activities end by 3:45pm, a simple ask in a time where teachers are overworked and morale is low.   The district will not agree to dismissing staff at 3:45, wanting us to work a longer day than we do on normal days.

We also asked that Wednesday District PD be reduced to no more than (5) days, with the district being able to add (2) days if directed by the State or Board of Education.  CCUSD would not even agree to that.

We opened bargaining on November 28th of this year.  We had an offer, were well prepared and the district has strung us along for 6 months, with only a few minor agreements.

We plan to have some rallies in the next two weeks.  I do understand we are close to the end of the year, but we need to send a message loud and clear to CCUSD.

I encourage you to talk to parents and friends about how CCUSD is treating their teachers.  I encourage you to take to social media, write letters to elected officials, especially our Board of Education and spread the word that the district continues to overspend and does not want to take care of their staff.  We will plan rallies soon!   Keep an eye on our Website and Social Media for more information,

In solidarity,

Ray Long

CCFT President

CCFT would like to congratulate all of the recipients of Teacher of the Year as well as the Classified Employees of the Year for 2023-2024    

CCFT Would Like to Congratulate:

Spring Break Update 2024 From President Ray Long

On  behalf of the Culver City Federation of Teachers and our national and state organizations, AFT, CFT and AFL-CIO, I would like to wish you all a restful spring break!!

Union T-Shirts

Every site should have received an email with a spreadsheet for sizes for union t-shirts.  Please let me know if you did not receive the email or were not on a list.  We hope to have sizes collected when we come back from break so we can place the order.

Bargaining

The teams are currently working on Article 25 around hours of work and early release Wednesdays.  We have also proposed a retirement incentive and have asked the district to put on a retirement workshop.  We are waiting for a clearer picture from the state budget before going into salary and benefits

Facilities Bond

The Measure E facilities bond was approved by Culver City voters.  We would again like to thank all of you who participated in our surveys and with on-site meetings with the union and Superintendent.   We also thank board members Guerrero and Loredo who really engaged with staff at these meetings and at our CCFT meetings.  One thing we have made clear to the district is many of our members feel they did not have enough of a voice in the bond proposal and there were issues with trust.  We want to work closely with the Superintendent of the creation of bond advisory groups at each site.  We will continue to advocate that our members have a voice in how the bond is spent.  We will also push back on recent comments made at a board meeting that made it seem that labor and the district have had ongoing discussions about a facilities bond.  Labor has always stated that facilities  are in need of repair and pushed back when things like housing were being discussed instead of facilities.  However as a union we feel much more could have been done in the lead up to the bond.  We look forward to working with the district to make sure we have top notch facilities in CCUSD.

Our next union meeting will be Tuesday, April 9th at 4:00pm.  Details will be emailed after break.  Follow us on Facebook, X and YouTube.

Ray Long

CCFT President

Dear Members:  A Message from Ray Long and Debbie Hamme - CCFT and ACE Presidents 

Thank you to all of you that responded to the survey around endorsement of the Measure E facilities bond.  We had 335 total respondents.  

Based on the majority of the respondents (54%), CCFT and ACE will take a neutral position on the facilities bond.   

Thank you to all who gave comments.  We would like to share some of the recurring comments that our unions noticed.  Many of these are similar to comments made in meetings that Ray Long (CCFT President)  and Lauren Jagnow (ACE representative) attended and recent engagement sessions with Dr. Lucas, Dr. Poulin and some board members.

These are the most common or recurring themes:

- Lack of trust that the money will be spent on projects that will benefit staff and students

- Too rushed of a process, should have waited until November to build support and finalize plans

- Current plans were confusing, they need updating with much more staff input

- Lack of trust in some members of the board of education

- The bond is needed, but plans don't seem like enough, they need to be redone

- District should redo this plan the right way and put it on another ballot

- District has historically wasted money and continues to waste money

We thank you all for your input.  We will put out statements on CCFT's Social Media and send a letter to Culver City Crossroads and both union presidents will include this in their comments at the next board meeting.

Ultimately if voters in Culver City do approve the bond both CCFT and ACE will commit to continuing to work with the district to create an environment where all voices are included and heard. 

Ms. Meredith Johnson and Ms. Mila Moraga Holz from the "Yes on E" campaign will be joining us to discuses the upcoming facilities bond at our February 6th General Membership Meeting.    

Ms. Stephanie Loredo of the CCUSD Board of Education will also join us at our General Meeting.  

Members check your email for a Zoom link or email raylong@ccusd.org 

In 2019 an independent agency did a staffing audit of Culver City Schools.  This audit found that in many categories CCUSD was "top heavy" meaning it had more district level and administrative positions than other districts of similar sizes.  Specifically it was noted CCUSD was top heavy in the Educational Services and Superintendents Departments.  Since then six new administrative positions have been added - some to each of these departments, making the district even more top heavy.  Faced with upcoming budget cuts it is important for the staff and community to be aware of these positions.  The full report can be found below- major findings and summary can be found on pages 8-13 :

Mr. Brian Guerrero of the CCUSD Board of Education will be joining us on Tuesday, January 8th at our monthly CCFT meeting to discuss the upcoming facilities bond and to take questions from our executive board and members.  The meeting begins at 4:00pm.  Members, check your email for a zoom link or email raylong@ccusd.org 

From CCFT President - Ray Long

Dec. 15, 2023

Dear Members:

First of behalf of CCFT, I would like to wish you all a restful vacation and holiday season, only (5) days until break.  We also welcomed at the last board meeting Dr. Brian Lucas who will begin work as our new Superintendent in January.  Dr. Maria Martinez-Poulin, will stay on as interim Superintendent through the end of January to help transition. 

Facilities Bond

CCFT and ACE heard a clear message in our bond survey that there is a serious lack of trust around supporting the bond between our members, the district, and especially the Board of Education. 

To help rebuild trust, I have asked the interim Superintendent to do the following:

1. Bring blue prints, plans, and phases out to each site on a Wednesday in lieu of a District PD day to allow staff to given genuine feedback on what needs to be done with bond money if the bond passes.  Those can be found here in the meantime:

https://www.ccusdfutureready.org/

2. Bring out members of the Board of Education to school sites on a Wednesday to hear directly from staff.  We ask that you speak up and voice your concerns.  At least three Board Members continually try to "gloss over" the trust and morale issues we are facing, saying they don't understand why staff is upset.  Let them know!  Dr. Poulin has agreed to this and there has already been a visit to one school site and staff were very open and honest about their frustrations with the Board.

Bargaining Update

Our team met with the district team to begin to discuss Article 25, hours of work.  One of our goals is to update and remove outdated language around Wednesday PLC days, make procedures more uniform around CCUSD and limit District PLC in favor of teacher led PLC.

We know that CCUSD has been deficit spending as much of the COVID one-time funding has been expiring and many of those programs have continued.  There is also a lot of money being spent on outside consultants and agencies causing issues as well.  We are all still waiting for the Governor's budget to be released in January but the state budget looks grim at this time.

Board Leadership

At Tuesday's Board Meeting Dr. Kelly Kent was selected as Board President by a 3-2 vote.  Mr. Brian Guerrero and Ms. Stephanie Loredo were the two members that did not vote for Dr. Kent with Ms. Paula Amezola, Mr. Tristen Ezidore and Dr. Kent voting in favor.  Mr. Ezidore nominated Dr. Kent for the position of Board President.

TK-K note

To our TK and K teacher,s we are working with CFT, our state union on an issue that was recently brought to our attention.   We will update site reps with more information.  Once again we see a situation where the district has tried to make a unilateral decision without input from teachers or the union.

Web Site & Social Media

We expect to launch our new CCFT Website in the next week and as always please follow us on Social Media

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@culvercityfederationofteac6742

Please like and follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084600428919

Follow us on X (Twitter)

https://twitter.com/ccft1343

or follow us @ccft1343

Have a wonderful holiday and break!  One week to go!

Ray Long

CCFT President

US History Teacher

Culver City High School