CNTA REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
April 20, 2010
CNTA 2nd Floor Training Center, 1189 Mountain Avenue
Minutes taken and prepared by Beverley Rouse, CNTA Executive Secretary
[Minutes are not official until approved at the next Rep Council.]

I. CALL TO ORDER—President Bill Fisher called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M.

II. GUESTS
    1. Corona City Council Candidates—Eugene Montanez and Karen Spiegel introduced themselves to the reps. Mr. Montanez, an incumbent, was endorsed by CNTA the last time he ran for City Council. He feels he has strengthened the bond between the city, the school board, and CNTA. He encouraged members to contact him with questions. Ms. Spiegel, the incumbent mayor, who has had five children go through CNUSD, said she believes in the teachers and community working together. Mr. Montanez answered a question about a new apartment complex approved for North Main and Ms. Spiegel said that the city and CNUSD work together when building projects that impact the school district are approved. Discovercorona.com and innercircle.com are sources for information about Corona.
    2. CNUSD School Board Candidates—John Zickefoose and Bill Newberry spoke. Mr. Zickefoose, known as Mr. Z at the library, said his children went through CNUSD schools. Because he believes strongly in collaboration, he started UNITY, United Neighbors Involving Today’s Youth, which works with the community to help students. Because he believes that teachers work long hours very professionally, he wants the community to understand and support what teachers do. Bill Newberry said he is a former teacher from Garden Grove. He lives in Eastvale and has two children in Corona schools. He heads the Corona Norco Schools Education Foundation, which hopes to raise $1 million to help the schools in CNUSD. Schools will apply for grants to get the money. He expressed appreciation to those who attended the CNSEF carnival, which earned about $25,000 for the schools. Mr. Newberry’s website is billnewberry.com Mr. Zickefoose’s cell number is 951-830-5454.
      1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Vince Flores moved to approve the minutes from March 16, 2010. Karen Jones seconded. The motion passed.

IV. REPORTS
    1. Treasurer—Anne Freeman referred members to the financial statement in the packets.
    2. Vice President—Toni Sandell said she has been working with teachers’ needs.
    3. Elementary K-3 Director—Angela Genet will put together a Survey Monkey on-line survey about PTT (Professional Teacher Time) so teachers can give their opinions.
    4. Elementary 4-6 Director—Matt Alford reminded teachers to spend the money that they received in lieu of having music teachers. Teachers can combine money to get more expensive items.
    5. High School Director—Julie Cooley said high school grades were due right after spring break, which meant teachers had to work over the break to get the grades done. She reports that Zangle is getting better.
    6. Support Services Director—JoAnn Ritchie went to a Special Education conference. A new requirement for special authorizations for those with Special Ed credentials is optional, but it is good to have so that children with various needs can be placed in the classes.
    7. Secretary—Beverley Rouse asked members whether they check the website for the minutes. She asked if the members feel that getting the abbreviated minutes is beneficial. She explained the process for getting the minutes approved and posted includes sending the minutes to the board members, who then can suggest changes. After changes are incorporated and the minutes are approved by the president, they can be put on the website.
    8. State Council—Kelly Fisher said California did not get any of the federal funds. CTA has pledged not to support any political candidates that don’t support education and aren’t friendly to teachers.
    9. State Council—Karen Jones said CTA State Council endorsed Jerry Brown for governor.
    10. State Council—Kristi Johnson referred members to the yellow flyer in the packets that detailed information about Governor Schwarzenneger’s proposed law to take away teacher rights. Members were encouraged to call their state senators at 1.888.202.2246 to ask them to vote against SB 955. Kristi has the list of CTA’s endorsed candidates and the proposed language for the NCLB revision. She reminded members that their Facebook and MySpace accounts can be totally open to students and are not private. She said CTA is asking for a dues increase of $18 per year.

V. OLD BUSINESS
    1. Tentative Agreement Education Forums—Bill Fisher encouraged members to go to the remaining forums, one tomorrow at Santiago and one Thursday at JFK, to get information before they vote. Insurance information is not yet available, but costs almost never go down. Bill reminded reps that every teacher has the right to vote based on their own needs. He encouraged reps to have teachers e-mail him at bill@cntaonline.com with questions about the Tentative Agreement. Voting starts April 22 and ends May 3.

B. Other Old Business—None.

VI. NEW BUSINESS

A. Corona City Council Candidates Endorsements—Bill Fisher explained that CNTA interviews candidates for the School Board. CNTA also works with the coalition of fire fighters and police officers, who interview and endorse City Council candidates. Coalition members (teachers, fire fighters, and police officers) endorse each other’s endorsed candidates. CNTA gives money to endorsed School Board candidates, but does not give money to City Council candidates from Corona and Norco, and will do the same if and when Eastvale gets cityhood. Toni Sandell moved that CNTA endorse Karen Spiegel and Eugene Montanez for Corona City Council. Keith Barmann seconded. The motion passed with one abstention.

B. School Board Candidates Endorsements-- Karen Jones moved to endorse Bill Newberry and John Zickefoose for CNUSD School Board. Cherise Dien seconded. The motion passed with one "no" vote.

C. Executive Board Nominations and Elections—Susie Farrell, Elections Chair, read the names of those who have turned in nominations.

1. Vice-President—Julie Cooley, Joe Menelle, and Anne Freeman are candidates for vice president to replace retiring Toni Sandell. There were no nominations from the floor. Later, Parliamentarian Tami Lincoln read the Bylaws (Article VI.J.4), which state that a vacancy in the Executive Board is filled by appointment by the Executive Board. This means that there will be no election for the vice-president until the next regularly scheduled election, which is in 2011.

2. Secretary—Beverley Rouse is the only candidate to turn in paperwork for secretary. There were no nominations from the floor. According to CTA and CNTA Standing Rules, a candidate who is running unopposed can be elected by acclamation of the body if the rules are suspended. Cheryl Wester moved to suspend the rules and Teri Basso seconded. The motion passed. Michelle Negus moved and Cathy Seachrist seconded to elect Beverley Rouse for secretary by acclamation. The motion passed.

3. Elementary K-3—Kristi Johnson, Kelly Remington, and Diana Lacayo. There were no nominations from the floor.

4. Support Services Director--JoAnn Ritchie is the only candidate to turn in paperwork for Support Services Director. There were no nominations from the floor. Cindy Maschner moved to suspend the rules and Kristi Johnson seconded. The motion passed. Kristi Johnson moved to elect JoAnn Ritchie for Support Services Director by acclamation. Cindy Maschner seconded. The motion passed.

5. Three-year term for State Council Representative--Susana Farrell, Anne Freeman, Bill Fisher, Jerry Goar, Karen Jones, Jennifer DeVries, Angela Genet, Vivian Ringen, and Kelly Fisher turned in paperwork to run for the three-year terms for State Council Representatives. The following individuals were nominated from the floor: John Davis, Rick Radcliffe, Kristi Johnson, and JoAnn Ritchie.

6. One year term for State Council Representative--Betsy Jara and Harold "Buzz" Stryker turned in paperwork for the one-year term for State Council Representative.

7. CTA’s Random Alphabet—Susie explained the CTA system of listing candidates by a random alphabet that is set and changes annually.

8. Multiple Positions—Angela Genet asked what happens if a person runs for two positions and wins both. Joe Krause said that the Bylaws and Standing Rules state that if the positions are not in conflict, a person can hold two offices. Any conflict will be determined by the Executive Board. Elections begin on April 22 and end on May 6 at 4:00 pm.

D. RIF Hearing Report—Anne Freeman said the hearing last week lasted only one day. CNTA was complimented by the judge and CNTA’s counsel, who both said that they had never seen a RIF hearing run as smoothly as this one did. Anne, as RIF committee chair, thanked team leaders Jessica Heasley, Barbara Smith, Steven McLan, and Gail Bruce. She thanked others who came to help, which made the process easier for their colleagues.

E. Tentative Agreement Voting—The voting starts April 22 and ends May 3. This must be done in time for the May 4 School Board meeting, so they will know whether to pull back the RIF notices or go ahead with them.

F. Safe School Committees—Bill Fisher said that the Safe Schools Committee must have three teachers and one administrator. The teachers are elected by the teachers, not appointed by administrators. This must be done within the first thirty days after school starts. The teachers on the committee should work to make the schools safer for the teachers and this should include student discipline. Ed Code states how long teachers are required to stay in the event of a natural disaster. Minutes and agendas of the Safety Committees should be available to all teachers at the school.

G. Corona Norco Schools Education Foundation Carnival—They made about $25,000 over a period of about three days.

H. Member Fair—Anne Freeman referred members to the flyer in the packets about the Member Fair on May 7, the Day of the Teacher. Fender Museum will provide entertainment. The Chambers of Commerce, Dr. Bechler, and the Education Foundation will attend. There will be some school performances, food, a balloon artist, and a face painter for the kids. Teachers who want to help set up will be given half-day subs.

I. WHO Awards (We Honor Ours)—Members nominated by CNTA are Anne Freeman (RIF Committee work), Susie Farrell (Elections Chair), and Harold "Buzz" Stryker (Financial Budget Analyst for the Negotiating Team).

J. Alvord School District Action—Gary Hargreaves, Alvord Teachers Association President, called to ask teachers to go to the Alvord school board on Thursday, May 6, wearing red or black, because they are at impasse and will have a contract be imposed upon them. CNTA will get a bus to take teachers to the Alvord board meeting.

K. Capistrano Strike Fund--The CNTA Executive Board sent money from the Teacher Assistance Fund to Capistrano’s Emergency Strike Fund, which will go into a fund for unions in the area if it isn’t used by Capistrano.

L. Tentative Agreement Voting—Bill will send out an e-mail blast when the voting is done to let everyone know the results. He will send out answers to questions he gets today.

M. Other New Business—None.

VII. ADJOURNMENT—The meeting adjourned at 5:50 P.M.

VIII. BREAKOUTS—Reps met for breakouts with the Elementary K-3, Elementary 4-6, Intermediate, High School, and Support Services directors.