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Performance Evaluation: (2023-24) Superintendent Diana Rigby

CAUSE SURVEY

Please Complete this Performance Evaluation 

(2023-24) Superintendent Diana Rigby

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Greetings CUSD Colleagues & Employees,

To better understand and communicate issues related to the partnership between the CUSD Superintendent and the staff & faculty she leads, we rely upon your feedback and experience.

As we near the end of another instructional year, Union Leadership asks that each employee help us better understand the Superintendent’s performance and the support she provided District employees in 2023-24.

This can be done by completing the following survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Superintendent-RIGBY

Each staff & faculty member may complete one survey for the CUSD Superintendent.  Although this is an anonymous survey, your individual experiences, opinions, and perceptions are highly valued. CAUSE leadership will make every effort to ensure that the identity of individual survey respondents remains confidential.

 

Please make every effort to complete your survey
NO LATER THAN, Friday,

May 17, 2024

 

THANK YOU for your participation.

~ CAUSE Leadership

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

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Performance Evaluation: (2023-24) School-Site Administrators, Supervisors, & Directors

CAUSE SURVEY

Please Complete this Performance Evaluation 

(2023-24) School-Site Administrators, Supervisors, & Directors

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Greetings CUSD Colleagues & Employees,

Union Leadership relies on employees to better understand the partnership between CUSD School Site Administrators, Supervisors, & Directors, and the staff & faculty they lead.  As we begin to wrap up another instructional year, we ask that each employee help us better understand the administrative performance and support you experienced in 2023-24.

This can be done by completing the following survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/23-24-CUSD-Site-Administrator-Supervisor-or-Program-Director-PERFORMANCE

Each staff & faculty member may complete one survey per School Site Administrator, Program Supervisor, or Department Director.  [For example, a Middle School Special Education Teacher may complete an individual survey for both the CMS Principal & the Director of Special Education; whereas a Custodian at Canalino may complete individual surveys for both the CANALINO Principal & the Custodial Supervisor.]

Although this is an anonymous survey, your individual experiences, opinions, and perceptions are highly valued.  CAUSE leadership will make every effort to ensure that the identity of survey respondents remains confidential.

 

Please make every effort to complete your survey

May 17, 2024

 

 

THANK YOU for your participation.

~ CAUSE Leadership

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

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Performance Evaluation: (2023-24) CUSD School Board 

CAUSE SURVEY

Please Complete this Performance Evaluation

(2023-24) CUSD School Board 

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Greetings CUSD District Colleagues, Families, and Interested Community Members,

Union Leadership relies on employees, District families, and engaged community members to better understand the partnership between the CUSD School Board, District employees, and the families & community we serve.  We ask that all interested stakeholders help us better understand their experience with the CUSD School Board’s performance by completing the following survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/23-24PerformanceSurvey-CUSD-School-Board-Trustees

Although this is an anonymous survey, your individual experiences, opinions, and perceptions are highly valued.  Employee Union (CAUSE) leadership will make every effort to ensure that the identity of survey respondents remains confidential.

Please make every effort to complete your survey
NO LATER THAN, Friday,

May 17, 2024

THANK YOU for your participation.

~ CAUSE Leadership

 

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

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CAUSE ADVISORY

Bargaining Update: May 2, 2024

CAUSE & CUSD Finally Update

the CERTIFICATED CBA !!!

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District Employees & Colleagues,

Today in Bargaining:

1.) Although we have not reached any agreements in the 23-24 negotiating cycle, the Union and District have resolved updating the terribly outdated CERTIFICATED Collective Bargaining Agreement [CERTIFICATED CBA].  And it only took 6 years!  No longer is the CBA labeled 2018-2019.  Alas, many years of contract agreements have been included and can be found in areas relevant to the TABLE OF CONTENTS.

We are pleased to publish the updated version titled, CERTIFICATED Collective Bargaining Agreement [CBA] – CUSD . CAUSE – Final. Version. May 2.2024.

To ensure that you are in the possession of the correct CERTIFICATED contract moving forward, CAUSE Leadership encourages ALL CERTIFICATED employees to remove any previous contracts in their possession, and download / print this version immediately.

2.) Unfortunately, we ran out of time to submit employees’ proposed improvements contained in the, CAUSE – CERTIFICATED – Article 6: Compensation & Benefits Proposal.  But the bargaining partners did schedule an additional two bargaining dates to invest more time towards that objective.  Therefore, the bargaining partners will meet on the following dates:

* May 16, 2024 –  Thursday

* May 20, 2024 –  Monday

* May 30, 2024 –  Thursday

* June 3, 2024 –   Monday

3.) Finally, the District provided a less than motivating counter proposal [attached].  This was their response to the variety of improvements proposed by District employees in, CLASSIFIED Article 6: Compensation & Benefits Proposals (PARTS  A & B).

Moving forward:

Given how thoroughly the District rejected employees’ proposals, it is clear that District Leadership needs to hear from District employees directly.

Please take a moment to share your stories, experiences, concerns, and opportunities for improvement with your colleagues, District Leadership, and the community.  We STRONGLY encourage District employees to make their voices heard in the coming weeks.

District School Board meetings will be held on the following dates:

* Tuesday, May 14, 2024 @ 5:30PM – Carpinteria City Hall

* Tuesday, May 28, 2024 @ 5:30PM – Carpinteria City Hall

But there are many ways to participate.  Please review the attached list of opportunities and ask yourself what you can do to support employees, students, and their families.

Full ahead !

~ CAUSE Leadership

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

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Department Chair & Grade Level Chair Selection

CAUSE ADVISORY

District Department Chair (secondary) 

& Grade Level (elementary) Elections:

A contractual selection process is required.

 

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Greetings, CUSD Faculty,

 

CAUSE Leadership has received inquiries on the selection process for CUSD Department Chairs (secondary) & Grade Level Chairs (elementary). These Department Chair / Grade Level Chair positions are critical to the functional operations of the teaching and learning environment.  Department Chair / Grade Level Chair positions and expectations are protected in our collective bargaining agreement.  These Chairs serve as faculty diplomats; working in coordination with our District administrators.

CUSD Department Chairs (secondary) & Grade Level Chairs (elementary):

* represent the interests of their department and/or grade level faculty colleagues

* clarify professional experiences, insights, concerns, questions, etc.

* transparently share the impact of administrative decisions on the teaching and learning environment

As grade levels (elementary) and departments (secondary) work to formalize their internal leadership positions through Spring of 2024, CAUSE Leadership reminds District faculty and administrators that the ONLY processes governing Department Chair & Grade Level Chair selection are set forth in the Certificated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CERTIFICATED – CBA) * Article 6: Compensation & Benefits (see attached).

At this time, as the Union works to update the CBA itself, we have provided the relevant contract language that clarifies the unique selection process for either Grade Level Chairs (elementary) or Department Chairs (secondary):

Elementary Grade Level Chairs:

6.9.2 * Grade Level Chairs (K-5, 1 per grade) shall receive 6 RLs. Every spring an invitation to apply for elementary Grade Level Chairs for the following year will be sent to elementary. Chairperson decisions will be announced before the end of the school year.

…&…

Secondary (CMS / CHS /Rincon) Department Chairs:

6.9.3 * Department Chairperson Selection Process: A department chairperson shall be biennially nominated in writing at the March department meeting or at any time following the regular February department meeting and before the regular March department meeting. The election shall be at the regular March or April department meeting. Except as set out in the Education Code, the term of the department chair shall be two years. The vote to select the chairperson shall be weighted by the number of periods taught in that department by each employee who works in the department. Each person shall be allotted one vote for each period he or she teaches in the department.

For Secondary faculty: In any Department where the current Chair has either…

(A) completed the second year of service since being elected

…or…

(B) was not elected by their peers according to the contractual processes cited above

Department Chairs & Grade Level Chairs are required to resolve the contractual selection process for their positions to be valid. Upon completion of the selection process, whether your department is maintaining its current elected leadership or experiencing turnover based on Spring 2024 elections, please make sure to notify your current site-principals and Union Leadership of the outcomes associated with elected Department Chairs & Grade Level Chairs for the 2024-2025 school year.

Moving forward, please feel free to contact Union leadership with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

In Unity,

 

~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

Posted on
CAUSE ADVISORY
23-24 CLASSIFIED Bargaining Continues
No NEW agreements have been reached, but…
 
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CLASSIFIED Employees & Colleagues,
     There seems to be some confusion about yesterday’s (April 4, 2024) bargaining session.   Union Leadership would like to clarify where we’re at in the 2023-24 bargaining cycle.
The 2023-24 CLASSIFIED Negotiation Cycle is NOT Over.
No NEW agreements have been reached.
 *  Thus far, the Union has submitted two formal proposals…
          1.)  Article 14: SAFETY
           2.)  A portion [focused on much needed improvements for CUSD’s Special Education program] of our Article 6: Compensation & Benefits proposal.
[CAUSE has not submitted a comprehensive proposal on, Article 6: Compensation & Benefits.]
*   The Union has also submitted questions and sought information relevant to our financial discussions.
*   The Union has received the District’s only proposal on Compensation & Benefits.
No new agreements have been reached during this bargaining cycle.  CLASSIFIED negotiations continue, and CAUSE Leadership is relying on the engagement and direct participation of District employees to clarify our interests to District Leadership.
 
 
 
We have updated the CLASSIFIED Collective Bargaining Agreement [i.e. CLASSIFIED – CBA].
After 6 years have passed, CUSD has finally added all our previous agreements to the CLASSIFIED CBA.
The CBA, which defines the professional relationship between employees and the District, has finally been updated.  Since the arrival of Superintendent Rigby & Human Resource Director Zapata, the District has failed to properly include each successive year’s agreements, and in some cases, not included portions of agreements at all.  This had led to great confusion for any party trying to understand the CLASSIFIED CBA: employees, administrators, Board members, arbitrators, judges, etc.
But as of yesterday, this has been fixed!
    Before the update, the District had:
* failed to include hard fought agreements  (that often pertaining to employee compensation)
* had removed other hard earned agreements (that minimized the role of CAUSE)
* had added language that the Union never agreed to  (and would not ever agree to)
* had embedded information where it did not belong; making it difficult to find important information (such as the Safety Article)
    Now that the contract has been updated:
*  It is much more reliable and user friendly.
* Information can be easily found using the PDF search function.
* It includes all relevant contract agreements.
* All the mystery language, added without our approval, has been removed.
* All the mysteriously removed language, without our approval, has been returned.
* It is clearly titled with the correct year, 2022-23.
* It contains an accurate CLASSIFIED SALARY SCHEDULE.
 

ALL CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES are strongly encouraged to download this now current version (2023-24), and maintain a copy for quick reference.

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Please extend your appreciation and support to the rest of the Union’s, 2023-24 * CAUSE Collective Bargaining Team: Gina Marchand, Felicity Moore, Sarah Rochlitzer, & Kassi Hawkins.   Their tireless effort and enduring commitment to their colleagues has made all the difference.  I personally appreciate the challenges they have accepted while demanding the contract be updated and continuing to carry employee interests to the negotiating table.
In Unity,
~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President
Posted on

CAUSE – SAFETY Proposals for the 23-24 School Year

The following are links to  the SAFETY improvements that CAUSE has been encouraging, in hopes of improving the CUSD’s faltering SAFETY conditions.

 

1.) a summary of several recommended improvements:

Historic SAFETY Initiatives copy

 

2.) More details: the 23-24 CERTIFICATED Bargaining Proposal

CERTIFICATED CAUSE (Counter Proposal ) ARTICLE 15 SAFETY. 2023-24

 

3.) More details: The 23-24 CLASSIFIED Bargaining Proposal

CLASSIFIED CAUSE (Counter Proposal ) ARTICLE 14 SAFETY . 2023-24

 

Posted on
CAUSE ADVISORY
​ ​CUSD School Board Passes LAYOFF Resolution
[ Without A Single Board Study Session ]
Union Leadership Responds

At the Tuesday, March 12, 2024 CUSD Board meeting, the School Board voted 5-0 to LAYOFF several CLASSIFIED employees, and did not even inquire about the 8-10 teachers being non-reelected, as a result of CUSD’s effort to avoid the LAYOFF process.  After a clear procedural error exposed the District’s intent to pass the LAYOFF Resolution without even listening to the Union’s perspective and insights first (see MINUTE: 3:29:15), the District scrambled to improve the optics.

In the end, CUSD’s effort to adjust the order of District business didn’t change a thing.  The Board had already arrived, prepared to rubber stamp the Superintendent’s recommendation, just as they do on all other matters.

Nonetheless, Union Leadership attempted to advocate for these approximately 13-15 employees and the students who will be harmed by these LAYOFFS and Non-Reelections.  We did so by sharing several reasons why LAYOFFS and Non-Reelections are absolutely unnecessary at this time.  If you’re interested in listening to our complete comments, you will find them at MINUTE: 3:30:25 of last night’s Board meeting video…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC9nXGAJmnE&list=PLhGoPZRQubpb4As5lqiaNWNOYDsTc2j6O&index=2&t=4228s

 

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

Posted on
CAUSE ADVISORY
CAUSE Leadership Endorses ROY LEE 
for SB County District 1 Supervisor
How can you help support Roy ?
 
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CUSD Teachers, Support Staff, Families, and Community Members,
 
     Union Leadership is pleased to announce its endorsement for Roy Lee, candidate for SB District 1 Supervisor.
 
Some of you may know Roy and his wife as parents of CUSD students. Others may know Roy as a private businessman and owner of Uncle Chen’s restaurant.  You may know Roy as the Carpinteria City Councilman who worked to improve student safety by pushing for the new traffic light adjacent Carpinteria Middle School and advocating for our Community Resource Officer; who coincidentally (just yesterday) apprehended two students in possession of a handgun outside the CHS campus.   However you know Roy, the CAUSE EBOARD believes you will agree; his commitment to the betterment of the CUSD is both sincere and on target. 
 
     [ And let’s be clear, that’s much more than you can say about the incumbent, Das Williams.  Das has generally ignored District issues for the majority of his 20 years as a career politician; except of course when he worked with CUSD Superintendent Rigby and the marijuana industry to circumvent boundary and health issues around District campuses.]
 
 
To better understand Roy’s vision, check out his website & NEWSMAKERS interview:
For those interested in directly supporting his campaign, you may volunteer here:
[ Roy’s campaign team will be emailing people weekly for canvassing and phone bank opportunities. ]
Finally, come meet and speak with Roy in person:
* Sat. February 10th – 10:00 AM @ at Uncle Chen’s Restaurant, in Carpinteria
* Sat. February 17th – 10:00 AM at the Rose Garden in Santa Barbara, by the Mission Santa Barbara.
If you’d like to place a yard sign on your property, please let us know.  The Union is assisting with the delivery of these signs to those willing to display their support.