Prop H money for teacher/staff raises or bonuses?

The following response to Boots Whitmer's report comes from sfschools list member Terry Abad. This was also posted to the sfschools list and republished here with permission.

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As a new member of the Prop H committee, I just want to clarify that the committee, by a nearly unanimous vote, decided at our meeting last Thursday NOT to take a position at this time on the idea of using some 2006-2007 Prop H funds for teacher/staff raises or bonuses.

The committee voiced its strong interest in following a measured process of soliciting public input over the coming months from all interested parties before putting together a comprehensive plan for allocating the 2006-2007 funds. (This is the same process the committee used last year.)

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As soon as a firm schedule of future Prop H committee meetings and public input meetings is set, I will make sure to publicize it on this list. For now, the next Prop H committee meeting is set for Thursday, September 15th from 5pm to 6:45 pm in the board room at 555 Franklin Street. I also expect that the meeting schedule will be posted on the SFUSD website.

But for those who have strong opinions in favor of or opposed to using Prop H money for teacher/staff raises or bonuses, the immediate forum for that discussion appears to be the Budget Committee at the Board of Supervisors. Although I wasn't at their meeting this past Thursday, the report the Prop H committee received indicated that Supervisor Ammiano raised the idea of imposing a requirement that $2.2 million of the 2006-2007 Prop H money be used for teacher/staff raises or bonuses.

Should that idea morph into a resolution that is passed by the Board of Supervisors, then this will be a done deal and then be beyond the reach of the Prop H committee, the SFUSD or the Board of Education.

--Terry Abad