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Dear REA and Reynolds Community, Last week Superintendent Caropelo emailed a link to RSD’s budget FAQ. Unfortunately, much of district administration’s answers to staff and community questions are one-sided, ignore educator workload realities, and make claims that are exaggerated, misleading, or just plain wrong. While we will not deny some costs today did not fully exist in 2000, some of them are offset by costs that no longer exist at all. Not every new cost must be fully absorbed without cutting elsewhere. None of the questions the district responds to, however, ask why RSD is in this position, as it is well-established that state funding and the school funding formula are inadequate for sufficient student support and learning. Most of the budget questions put to district administration relate to the fact that current district office positions continue to outnumber district office positions back in 2015. Misdirection One of the first things to emerge is the wide range of dates the district chose to use throughout their FAQ. It should be unsurprising that they regularly bounce between 2000, 2015, 2022-23, this school year, and the next school year, depending on the data that most conveniently fits the narrative they are trying to weave. Don’t take the bait. It’s meant to obfuscate and confuse. Their greatest display of information gymnastics is how they chose to look at proportionate cuts. District administration wants to only look at the year of “highest” FTE compared to next year. This ignores, or deliberately hides, that the recent Diaz administration nearly doubled district office staffing. During the same period, licensed staffing also grew, but by only a fraction of district office positions (admin and others). What bothers REA leadership most, however, is that district office staffing numbers are wrong. They are wrong in a manner that benefits them at every turn. Misinformation: Licensed FTE Licensed staffing will not be 624 FTE next year. In reality, we will sit at 582 FTE next year. If they want to make it 624, we will happily welcome them bringing back 44 of our union colleagues, relieving the number of RIFs by more than half, and reducing our extreme class sizes and caseloads. The reality is that the district cut about 50 licensed FTE last year. While some FTE was brought back throughout this school year, district administration cut an additional 116 FTE last month. The administration seems to have forgotten they cut most of the TOSA positions, plus a handful of others in April 2024. The reality is the difference between certified’s highest FTE of 741 (in 2023-24) to next year’s 582 FTE is a cut of 159 certified FTE. That is a 21.5% cut of our certified positions by the district in two years. 16.8% of those cuts came this spring. Misinformation: District Admin FTE But they don’t just get certified numbers wrong. They get the number of district administration positions wrong as well, again in their favor. Unless an additional, unannounced cut currently sits in the budget, the district administration has 20 FTE positions, not 19. They list an additional.4 FTE in the budget as “Temporary Admin Salary” counting it as a cut. But that’s not a real cut. They simply moved it so that they can pretend it does not exist. This means district admin staffing levels continue to be higher than in 2015, not lower as they suggest. District administration chooses to focus on the highest FTE under the Diaz years because it creates the appearance they are taking the most significant hit, despite the fact they agree the district office was beyond bloated at that time and happily pushed several Diaz hires out the door (appropriately and with REA’s appreciation) with no intention of refilling their jobs. It remains to be seen whether these numbers are wrong due to dishonesty or ineptitude. I’m not sure which concerns REA leadership more. Private vs Public During our preliminary furlough discussions, district administration claimed FTE data was not a proper way to look at these things. Rather, we should be looking at total spending for these positions. We have no problem with this, but two weeks later, we were informed that getting such information to us could take several more weeks. Meanwhile, the district administration is choosing to publicly use FTE data as their main point to defend their cuts as equitable-ish. Disconnect with the Classroom The most disappointing portion of their FAQ is their focus on how much more work they have at the district office while wholly disregarding how much student-facing work has increased and changed in the last five years. Their disconnect from the dire realities of disrupted learning, mental health, and physical safety for students and staff alike is dumbfounding. Other There is one point REA leadership will not argue as inaccurate, but we do question the timing of their response. District administration notes that the district office specialists we have cited as having grown over 119% since 2015 were mostly moved over from the classified ranks. In private strategy sessions for over a month with our OSEA union siblings, in joint meetings with district administration, and publicly in Budget Hearings and Board Meetings, we’ve discussed the number of specialists in the district office. This FAQ to the public is the first time they have responded to our concerns. If most of this really is as simple as reclassifying from classified to administrative, there seems to be little reason to have sat on this information for so long. REA leadership will continue to work and fight for Reynolds schools, staff, and students. We will not be cowed by the district administration’s bullying tactics and misinformation. We will continue to work side-by-side with our OSEA union siblings on a furlough MOU with safeguards to return days when certain benchmarks are met. In Solidarity, Jeffrey Fuller REA President
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Dear REA and friends,
This Thursday, June 5th, OEA with SEIU and AFSCME will hold a rally in Salem as a final push for school funding. As we here in Reynolds are painfully aware, every penny helps. Because this is in the final two weeks of school for most districts around the state, many locals, including REA, will focus on calling legislators. On June 5th, before or after school or during your prep, we ask all members (and anyone else seeing this) to take 5 minutes and make 2 calls. One to your state House Rep and one to your state Senator. If you want to give a few more minutes of your time, you can also contact members of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education, Sen. Kate Lieber and Rep. Tawna Sanchez (co-chairs of the Ways and Means Committee), and/or Gov. Tina Kotek. Legislators make it clear that a two-minute phone call--the voice of a constituent--is more powerful than signing a form letter or a mass email. Click here to quickly reach your local legislators (grab friends to do it before or after school!) While we all know that fully funding Oregon schools to the tune of the QEM is beyond realistic at this current juncture, it is vital to note the historic and continued underfunding of the QEM in your phone call. Salem has been ignoring its own QEM for 25 years now and it must be put back on their radar for the long-term fight. Legislators need to know that we are mobilizing for future actions. They need to know that they must do everything in their power to add funding for schools now. Listen to us now, or expect us to be in your face later. Use these links to find phone numbers, talking points, and more.
Jeffrey Fuller (he/him/his) REA President Dear Reynolds Community, The Reynolds School District is in crisis. Due to a failure by state leaders to fully fund Oregon Schools, Reynolds is looking at a $25,000,000 shortfall. This will mean cutting 118 educators, significantly increasing class sizes, and making it more difficult for students to access their counselors, social workers, English Language Development teachers, and Special Education teachers. In addition, we are looking at cutting up to 10 school days, making it even more difficult for students to fully access their education and putting a greater burden on parents to find childcare. The state of Oregon is proposing to fund schools at $2 billion less than what its own research says is necessary to meet standards—not to make Oregon schools great and stand out--just to make them adequate. Please join us on May 1st for an Informational Picket to share our concerns about the impact of the state education budget on the Reynolds community. What to expect on May 1st- educators standing next to major roadways and intersections throughout the Reynolds School District holding signs that say “fully fund Oregon schools” or “our students deserve the state to fund their education,” etc. We hope to have you join us, give a friendly honk or wave, and call your state representatives (click here if you need/want talking points and contacts). If you want to keep up to date on what's going on, please click here to sign up for the REA Community Newsletter! We look forward to seeing you Thursday, May 1st near your closest Reynolds school!   Dear REA,
Despite the promise at the start of the school year, the struggles and difficulties posed by the pandemic have proven stronger. Students and staff both continue to show signs of trauma, burnout, or both. Furthermore, District mandates pushed through despite these issues are overwhelming building level staff. The staff shortages–most significant in SPED classrooms–have made educating students difficult for all of us, but has had an outsized impact on the most marginalized students and the staff who spend the majority of their time working with them. The addition of too few subs has wreaked havoc on staff ability to take needed sick time and too often left students under-supervised. To add insult to injury, there have been repeated payroll issues and other problems circulating through the District office, and the District refuses to allow staff access to a COVID sick-leave bank without first exhausting all other leave. Needless to say, all of these issues have taken their toll and all stakeholders have suffered as a result. As in every school year and throughout the summers, your elected union leaders have met with District leadership and School Board directors regularly. We have filed multiple grievances, letters of complaint, and demand to bargain letters. We have written letters to the Board that have worked to spur action by District leadership and to ensure a paper trail exists documenting a number of problems facing students and staff. We have worked to highlight maintenance and safety issues, and brought individual member concerns and payroll issues forward on a daily basis. We have held listening sessions with various groups upon request, helped guide several caucuses as they formed, and fought tirelessly for staff at Four Corners, who’s CTP program was forced to move mid-summer to a building that is still not fully finished. In addition, REA worked with OSEA to address the Superintendent Goal Performance Measures, Student Outcome Goals, and Board and Superintendent Guardrails. All of this work is ongoing and we will continue to stand for you at every turn. While we have made progress in some areas, we continue to have a great deal of work ahead of us. These progresses, however, have felt overshadowed by setbacks that have proven beyond leadership’s reach alone. In order to make more significant gains, we believe your assistance will be necessary. As such, your Representative Assembly has requested the REA Organizing Team put together some actions for members starting in January. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities coming to your personal email and from your Building Reps to make your voice heard. - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Finally, we are now approaching Winter Break, a time to rest and recharge for most staff. It’s a time to be with family and friends. It’s time, for most of us, for celebration. But as we are painfully aware, it is a time of fear and trepidation for many students. A time without the safety and routine of school, with too little access to food, and sometimes worse. While we are all stressed, exhausted, and overwhelmed, it is important to remember that many students are struggling even more. Their anxiety may be high and they may act out, but our kindness, generosity, and patience is integral to their success. Thank you for all you do for our students. Thank you for all you do for our community. Thank you for all you do for our union. We are strong when we are united. We are strong when we are one. Together, we can make real, positive changes to our working conditions and students' learning conditions. In Solidarity, Jeffrey Fuller REA President Now that the school year is fully under way, I wanted to take a moment to stop and focus on member driven caucuses. As you may or may not be aware, caucuses are a way for members who share some commonality to come together. Caucuses can work as a central place to advocate for needs, to organize around issues, and to help educate one another in similar fields. Caucuses can also be used as social gatherings to simply enjoy the company of others who share something in common. Caucuses can be built around your work as an educator (Counseling, SPED, New Hires, etc.) or on your larger interests (Social Justice, Conservative, etc.).
REA has had many caucuses come and go over the years and we currently have three caucuses that are getting off the ground anew: a SPED Caucus, a Library Caucus, and a BIPOC Caucus. REA leadership is hopeful that throughout this year, many more caucuses will sprout up. The three caucuses recently established have begun to hold initial meet-ups and are starting to make decisions on when and how often to meet. Next steps will be nominating and electing caucus leadership and building agendas for future work. Why does REA want you to start/join a caucus? REA has a vested interest in caucuses as they are designed to promote solidarity, organizing, and advocacy of members’ special interests. Additionally, we will be entering into bargaining our next contract in just over one year. As such, caucuses are an ideal way for members to inform and influence bargaining and what goes into REA’s proposal. Caucuses are arguably the most effective way of promoting issues you deem important and needed in future CBAs (Contract Bargaining Agreements). This is NOT because leadership is indifferent to individual concerns. We regularly take many, many of these concerns to our weekly Contract Bargaining meetings with the District. But it is often difficult to ascertain the difference between those ideas that are shared throughout a group (and should be bargained) and those that are personal in nature and not shared by other members in a similar position. Click here to learn more about how to join or start a REA Caucus! Before I get into all the issues and events from this past week, I first have two asks:
Other major concerns REA is continuing to work on and advocate around (beyond individual member concerns) focus mostly on issues around the District moving the CTP program and many other staff to the Four Corners location, and workload/caseload issues, mostly for SLPs and others in the Special Education department. Our goal is to address these issues to the best of our ability via the Substitute MOU, which is still in the works. Please watch the Bargaining Updates page for any developments on the Substitute MOU and on an In-Person MOU. We have proposed language which will re-open access to the COVID sick leave bank. In the meantime, if you are out with COVID, please make sure to mark your absence as COVID-related in iVisions. In Solidarity, Jeffrey Fuller REA President Dear REA,
For this week’s update, I want to focus on some positives and share some points of hopefulness for the 2022-2023 school year. We are just now wrapping up the first full week of class, and it appears much of the chaos and disruptions faced when we first returned last year, has ebbed. That is not to say everything has returned to “normal” or that everything is great. All of us continue to face difficulties beyond those of several years ago and some buildings and staff are struggling more than others as the result of staffing shortages, bussing concerns, and more. But this year does show promise in a way we never saw throughout the course of the past two years. Over the summer, REA leadership worked on finding avenues for a better relationship with the District and School Board. That is not to say we have forgotten about the issues surrounding the vote of no confidence, of what most staff rightly recognize as serious concerns with communication, or any of the many other issues we face. Simply, we are working on improving the relationship so we can better meet member and student needs. In this effort, REA leadership and School Board Directors are meeting informally in small groups twice each month. These gatherings consist of 2-3 REA leaders and 2-3 Board Directors at each meet-up. The goal is to enhance communication between us. These informal meet-ups create an space for REA to discuss at length issues as they happen, and to give the Board a head’s up so they are not surprised by them through public to be heard. It also gives Board Directors room to ask questions of REA, get clarification on issues, and to hear clearly REA's understanding of difficulties facing educators, students, and the District at large. To date, we have held five of these gatherings. Additionally, the October 12 School Board Work Session hopes to focus on public discussions between REA, OSEA, and the entire School Board. While I do not yet have an agenda for this--and am honestly unsure how it will look--the current goal is to hold two of these a year. REA Leadership also met with the majority of the District Cabinet and leaders over dinner at Dr. Diaz’s house. This gave us all an opportunity to meet as there are a lot of new faces in both REA Leadership and in the District office. Lastly, I want to regularly give some shout-outs to members for all the amazing work you do throughout the District and for the Union. Please click here and complete the form if you have some positive news to share that I could possibly include in a future Union Update. In Solidarity, Jeffrey Fuller REA President This week we welcome students back from their summer break and kick off the 2022-2023 school year. While this should be a time for joy, REA leadership is aware that for many, this excitement of meeting our new students is mixed with trepidations. This past week many of us have faced numerous difficulties: dis-functioning HVAC (a problem facing 40% of public schools nationally), confusion around appliances and fire codes, the mad scramble to fully furnish your classroom or office so it is set up to meet student needs, and more.
We are also aware of issues facing many of you as students return this week: lack of full curriculum, oversized caseloads, unfilled vacancies in their building (classified and certified, and more. While I cannot promise all these difficulties will be resolved quickly, REA leadership is working to protect members and help everyone get what they need. You deserve it and our students deserve it. In the coming days, look for an update on the Bargaining Blog regarding work on a Substitute MOU and discussions about an In-Person MOU. We are also in talks with the District regarding appliances and lamps. REA continues to maintain that any new mandates to remove these items is a change in our working conditions and therefore violates our CBA (Contract Bargaining Agreement). In some positive news, REA has already successfully signed up a majority of new members! Please welcome them to Reynolds and REA when you see them. Other work we are doing on your behalf to keep an eye for in the coming weeks: a new way to contact REA anonymously about concerns or with ideas of issues you’d like to see addressed here; a REA pamphlet full of information about REA, who we are, how to contact leadership, what REA provides for you, etc. (thank you to our Organizing Team for putting this together!); a form to share positive news and applause for other members that can be shared here and/or in the REA Newsletter. Good luck this week and please reach out if you need anything! In Solidarity, Jeffrey Fuller REA President |
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