SFUSD Parent Letter from 10/05/05

The following is the full text of a letter from the district distributed to parents. It can be found on their web site here

Arlene Ackerman
Superintendent of Schools

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San Francisco Unified School District
555 Franklin Street, Room 301
San Francisco, CA 94102

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October 5, 2005

Dear SFUSD Parent or Guardian,

As you may already know, mediation sessions have stalled between the school district and SEIU Local 790, whose members include custodians, cafeteria workers and school secretaries and clerks.

Please be assured that the district does not seek a strike, and the Board of Education will continue to work diligently toward a mutually agreeable solution. Just this week, the Board of Education advanced two proposals for a two-year contract.

The first offer would increase wages by 4%, and the second would increase wages by 2% and provide free health care for one dependent and 75% coverage for two or more dependents. Both offers also continue to include 3 additional days off, no furloughs, and other terms favorable to workers. The latest contract options can be seen on the SFUSD website at www.sfusd.edu.

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The latest offers would improve SEIU members’ existing compensation, which already includes:

• Wages that rank either 1st or 2nd among counterparts in Bay Area school districts
• Free health care for employees, 80% coverage for employee plus one dependent, and 60% coverage for employee plus two or more dependents and lifetime health care coverage for retired employees plus dependents
• Retirement contributions of more than 14% of salary, including SFUSD paying the entire employee’s portion of 7.5%
• 15 paid holidays plus up to 4 weeks of paid vacation

To avoid the fate of other Bay Area school districts that have gone bankrupt and that have been taken over by the State, the Board of Education must balance SEIU’s demands for more compensation increases against the district’s fiscal solvency. The Board must also keep in mind the salary increases that need to be provided to our schools’ teachers and principals.

At a time when health care costs are rising rapidly and the State continues to under-fund its Prop 98 payments to schools, the Board is offering SEIU employees increases in wages and health care benefits that will further stretch already thin resources. SFUSD has already closed schools and reduced hundreds of positions to cut spending.

SFUSD will continue to bargain in good faith and follow the collective bargaining processes under California law. We hope that SEIU members will be allowed to vote on the district’s new proposals and that we will reach an agreement soon. In the meantime, we will continue to inform parents and community members of our progress.

Respectfully,
Arlene Ackerman
Superintendent