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School board meeting filled with parents and teachers
Dialogue has begun between both board and educators
By GEORGE MOORE
Because the last couple of Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) board meetings had such high turnouts of teachers exhibiting their solidarity in the ongoing contract negotiations, the venue for the April 9 meeting was changed to Meyerholz Elementary School in San Jose.
The room is probably three times the size of the usual meeting place at the CUSD central office on 10301 Vista Drive, but there were more people standing than there were seated. Several hundred teachers and parents packed the place--teachers dressed in black and parents holding up up signs of support.
Teachers in the district began a work-to-rule schedule April 1 after negotiations reached an impasse March 20, which was not officially filed until April 4, said Janice Hagerbaumer, president of the Cupertino Education Association.
However, Superintendent William Bragg said some progress had been made in two recent discussions. Bragg said fruitful, open dialogue identified some issues and narrowed the scope. He said many issues are complex, stating health and welfare as two that have a several-year impact on the budget.
Hagerbaumer said that even though they are in discussions it doesn't mean that the impasse has been called off.
"The difference is we can talk to each other, but no decisions can be made unless we're in a bargaining session," she said.
Jeff Warner, bargaining chairman for the association, said if and when a mediator comes, it might take a while to reach a resolution, since the process is pretty backed up.
"We have met in our own internal mediated sessions without making proposals to see if we could come up with some concepts," Warner said. "Some things have fallen into place, but the amount of money the district puts forward toward health and welfare is probably the main sticky point."
Mary Hultquist, a teacher and parent of children enrolled in the district, said she hoped the district would come back to the table with a proposal. She said many parents are concerned about the state of the district's finances. A website, www.geocities.com/forcusdteachers, was recently developed and includes a petition to open up that information to the public. The site says that parents want the negotiations disclosed and want to get involved, because they affect their kids and their properties.
"Cupertino has already lost a lot of good teachers," Hultquist said. "The reputation of our schools is why many people move to this area, and people are concerned more teachers will be leaving after this is settled."
Hultquist is the moderator of a different parent website, which was started April 5 and has already gotten 600 to 700 hits. She said she is asking both sides to share any new information at the site as it develops.
Numerous parents and teachers addressed the board at the beginning of the meeting, some asking for honesty and hoping to maintain the district's integrity by opening the books and offering full disclosure of the budget. Others suggested that the only long-term solution to attract and retain teachers would be to impose a parcel tax.
Hagerbaumer said she felt proud and was honored by the support of the parents in the community.
"We truly appreciate the lengths they have gone to help educate the community," she said.
At this rate, the district might have to hold its next meeting in the Flint Center.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
