Updated COVID-19 Guidance |
January 24, 2024
Dear PUSD staff,
On January 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updated COVID-19 testing and isolation guidance. Subsequently, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency collaborated and updated the COVID-19 Decision Table for K-12 schools on January 22, 2024. The updated guidance will allow individuals to follow a more symptom-based approach as they usually do for other illnesses.
Poway Unified’s COVID-19 policy is now aligned with the updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health and SDCOE. Students and staff who test positive and are asymptomatic may remain in school or at work. Students and staff who test positive and are experiencing symptoms may return to work or school when they start to feel better, their symptoms are mild and improving, and they have not had a fever for 24 hours without fever reducing medications. There is no longer a '5-day' rule to stay home following a COVID-19 positive test if the individual is asymptomatic or feeling better.
1. 2024-25 PUSD/PFT Tentative Settlement Agreement (TA) |
PFT Update
June 4, 2024
Dear PFT Members,
The Poway Unified Board of Education has unanimously ratified our 2024–25 Tentative Agreement! The terms of the agreement will take effect July 1, 2024. PFT Members ratified the agreement last week with 798 YES votes and 9 NO votes. Tomorrow, you will receive a site by site tally of the Member voting results that were certified by the Nominations and Elections Committee. Hope you’re having a great last week of school!
In Solidarity,
Kelly
May 21, 2024
Dear PFT Members,
Below are some questions and answers about the 2024-25 PUSD/PFT Tentative Agreement (TA). A pdf copy of the Q & A and a copy of the TA are also attached to this email.
PFT Members will vote electronically on the Tentative Agreement on Tuesday, May 28 & Wednesday, May 29. If the TA is ratified by Members, it will go before the PUSD School Board for a vote on Tuesday, June 4.
Please see your Site PFT Rep/s if you have additional questions not addressed below. If you still have questions after reaching out to your Site Rep/s, feel free to email PFT Directors, Patrick Keough or Crystal Ochoa, or myself.
In Solidarity,
Kelly
Questions & Answers
2024-2025 Tentative Agreement Between the
Poway Unified School District and Poway Federation of Teachers
All the answers to the questions below are accurate if the Tentative Agreement (TA) is ratified by PFT Members and the School Board.
Q: Are class sizes going up next year due to the budget shortfall?
A: No. PFT and the District Interest Problem Solving (IBPS) team agreed to maintain class sizes (same staffing ratios, elementary caps, and secondary targets).
Q: Why aren’t we getting a salary increase?
A: PUSD is facing a projected $28 million shortfall for next school year.
Q: Will there be an increase in our out-of-pocket amounts for health and welfare coverage next year?
A: No. As a result of this Tentative Agreement (TA), the amount PFT unit members currently pay out-of-pocket for health and welfare premiums WILL NOT INCREASE in Plan Year 2025, NOR WILL IT INCREASE in Plan Year 2026. This applies to all three HMO plans and to the PPO plan. The Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) team recognized the importance of finding a way to avoid insurance cost increases for employees amid state and PUSD budget gaps. NOTE: An insurance Plan Year runs from January 1 – December 31.
Read more
2024-2025 PUSD/PFT Tentative Agreement
May 7, 2024
Dear PFT Members,
PFT has been regularly engaged in Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) negotiations with the district to discuss budget solutions, health and welfare, and the contract sections noted on the attached Initial Proposal. Sessions have occurred on February 15, March 4, 12, 25, 27, & 29, April 19 & 29, and May 2. We do not yet have a tentative settlement agreement for 2024-25 but hope to have one soon. Our next sessions are scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, May 8, and Monday, May 13.
Below are some reminders from a previous negotiations update if you are interested in more details on the state & PUSD budget and health & welfare.
Why does PUSD have a budget deficit?
o Decreasing COLA (3.96% to 1.27% to 0.76%)
o Sunsetting of COVID pandemic related one-time funds and Average Daily Attendance (ADA) relief
o Low(er) Attendance Rates across the district
o Increasing Operating Costs
o Unfunded/Underfunded Mandates
o 50 positions, approximately, funded with one-time funds.
These factors, collectively, will result in a multiyear PUSD general fund structural deficit. As a result, the district is seeking 15 million in budget solutions for 2024-25 and plans to draw about 13 million from the reserve account. Additionally, another 10 million is budget solutions are projected to be needed for 2025-26.
Negotiations Update
o PFT has been and will continue to advocate for budget cuts to be made as far from the classroom as possible!
o The results of the PFT bargaining survey will be used to guide further conversations.
o There will be no layoffs for the 2024-25 school year.
o A Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) will not be offered for the 2023-24 school year.
o Health & Welfare
- PFT has been able to avoid an increase in the cost of the dependent premium coverage for the basic health plans for about 16 years. This is great for PFT members! However, health care costs have regularly increased, and the district has been pursuing greater employee contributions from PFT unit members for many years.
- In the 2018-19 & 2019-20 Settlement Agreement, PFT and PUSD agreed to begin to explore other health and welfare models beginning in the fall of 2019.
- It’s now more than four years later. We are in the 2024 health plan year, and we have not yet reached agreement on a new health and welfare model.
o PSEA is in the second year of implementation of an 80/20 cost sharing model for health and welfare. This means PUSD pays 80% of the dependent premium costs of the basic health care plans, and PSEA members pay 20% of the premium costs for their dependents.
o Per a recent School Board Meeting, management plans to move to the same 80/20 cost sharing model.
- PFT feels this cost sharing model places a very large burden on employees, and we are not in favor of it! We will continue talks about a reasonable health and welfare cost sharing model in our upcoming negotiations sessions.
Read more
TPLES - Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System
Dear Colleagues,
The demands on a teacher's time are endless, and the school year seems to go so quickly from this point on. The below link Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet is intended to provide support and suggestions for teachers in the evaluation cycle this year, as they monitor and document progress on their SLO/PLO. It can also help make the final evaluation conference, for both traditional and alternative evaluations, more meaningful for the teacher and administrator.
Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet - click here
In Unity,
Kelly
Classroom Supplies using Online Donation Site |
What teachers need to do first to be eligible for donations: Go to www.pusddonate.org. Click your grade level (elementary, middle, high), click your “Site”, click “Teachers”. Please be sure your name is listed. The website is linked to the district’s payroll system. Therefore, the donation website uses the same name you are using for payroll purposes (legal name). Unfortunately, we cannot change that name.
What the Online Donation website provides:
1. Parents have the option of donating directly to their child’s teacher(s), program, department, grade level, program, or the school site’s general fund using this online donation website. The website is designed to provide parents with an easy and convenient way to help fund our instructional supply needs. Teachers and schools have received more than $100,000.00 in donations using this website. It works.
2. Parents may access the donation website by going to www.pusddonate.org. Parents receive a tax deduction and email confirmation when donating. The website also includes a “Matching Gift Program” if a parent’s employer provides that benefit.
3. Teachers receive an automatic email confirmation stating the amount of the donation, donor’s name and email, and student’s name, if provided by the parent. Our District uses a spam filter. Therefore, to receive confirmation emails from the donation site you must check your spam folder. When you see the link, pusdonline@firstlinemerchant.com that’s the Online Donation secure banking (when using a credit card) email address. Please “whitelist” this email address. For accounting purposes, your site finance clerk or site secretary receives a monthly report of all donations. If you have not received an email confirmation but think you have received a donation, check with your site secretary or finance clerk.
Donation: Teachers access these donations the same way they would their regular supply budget/s at the site.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: Teachers may communicate this website to parents via their MyConnect site, newsletter, and/or during Back-to-School Night (see Common Message on Q&A attached). To promote greater equity among all our classrooms, we suggest grade-level teams or departments come together to identify their “collective” supply needs and request donations be made to the grade-level or department, rather than individual teachers.
Please note: Donations to this account may only be used for instructional supplies (e.g. school supplies, software, workbooks, art and science materials…). If requesting donations for technology, check with your principal. The primary function of your site Foundation is to purchase software and technology and teachers should be coordinating their efforts.
Field Trip Fees: The Classroom Supplies ~ Online Donations website now offers the option of collecting Field Trip fees. More information and directions for teachers will be coming soon in a separate email.
I've attached an FAQ and a handout you may wish to provide to parents.
Attachments:
FAQ Classroom Supplies
CSOLD Parent Handout
In Unity,
Kelly