CAUSE ADVISORY

Regarding District MEMORANDUM

“NOTICE OF INTENT TO RETURN FOR THE 2022-2023 “

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Greetings CUSD Personnel,

With the recent email MEMORANDUM (  MEMORANDUM – Notice of Intent . Jan 2022  ), CAUSE leadership is compelled to clarify our recommendations on this topic.

With absolute transparency:

1.) At this time, CAUSE discourages any District employee from sharing either your personal and/or professional interests regarding your future employment with the CUSD.

2.) CAUSE leadership is concerned about the District’s historic and future efforts to undermine those interests, which you may have provided or are considering providing in good faith.

3.) Union Leadership is not aware of any professional obligation requiring District employees to provide notification of your intent to either remain with the CUSD, to resign, and/or to retire; regardless of your professional status throughout the entire 2021-22 school year.

Any members who have questions associated with the guidance provided herein, may contact Union Leadership by responding directly to this email.

In Unity,

~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE ADVISORY

Jan. 25, 2022 – School Board Meeting

Is this what democracy looks like in CUSD?

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Happy Friday, CUSD !   : )

This week, CAUSE leadership began using a new tool to improve our communications and outreach with both members and District stakeholders.  We appreciate your patience as we better learn how to use this form of media.  In our group-text, we attempted to alert recipients to the January 25th School Board meeting, where significant decisions are underway; redistricting being just one.

CAUSE Leadership believes that CUSD employees may be unaware of many School Board decisions that will dramatically impact the professional culture, working conditions, and workplace environments across the District.  In regard to the structural opportunities designed to better inform these decisions, CAUSE Leadership is concerned that CUSD’s employees and stakeholders are missing their chance.

Perhaps you also believe the image (above) say a great deal?

 

 

Moving forward, CAUSE Leadership wants to encourage each of you to consider how you might communicate directly with our School Board members.  We continue to encourage District personnel to play a more direct role communicating with our School Board Trustees.  It is clear, by way of their decisions, there remains much opportunity to better inform the School Board’s decision making.

Remember, our School Board Trustees live locally.  School board politicians are both elected and live in the community.  They are supposed to be directly accessible to the community members they serve.

Please consider how you can:

*  build relationships with them

* contact them directly and consistently

* approach them in and around town, so as to constructively share your insights and experiences

* attend Board meetings, write them letters, send them an email (addresses provided in the CC field above), and alert District families (i.e. the Board’s constituency) to the conditions experienced across the District.

Finally, as many requested the January 25th, Board Meeting link, we are providing it below:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1rfdx-8oAA

In Unity,

~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE ADVISORY

Demand to Bargain: Submission

CAUSE.Demand2Barg.proposal.fin.Re.Cover.Substitutes

Increased Compensation for Extra-Contractual Substitute Services

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Dear Superintendent Rigby, Board Members, and CUSD Colleagues (CLASSIFIED & CERTIFICATED),

This CAUSE ADVISORY serves dual purposes:

1.) It confirms, with our unit-members, our most recent action.

2.) It serves to submit and notify the CUSD of the attached “Demand to Bargain”, which is attached to this ADVISORY for both the District and those who wish to review it more thoroughly.

Union Leadership submits this demand with the intention of resolving this issue promptly.  We request that the District meet with CAUSE Leadership to address these matters during the week of January 31, 2022.    Meanwhile, we ask that employees strive to continue providing the same level of substitute coverage throughout the next week, while we work to resolve the details of our future agreement.

Respectfully,

~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE ADVISORY

FREE COVID Home Tests | US Postal Service

Order at home tests now.

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Good afternoon, CUSD Colleagues, Students, and Families.

You may follow the link, below, to order your FREE COVID HOME TESTS as soon as today.

https://special.usps.com/testkits

Union leadership appreciates your proactive effort to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 and protect yourselves, your families, and the community at large.

 

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE ADVISORY

Masks and Transmission Times ?

Here’s the Best Chart We’ve Seen Yet

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Greetings CUSD Colleagues, Students, and Families,

This week has brought significant increases in the number of COVID-19 positive students, employees, and family members reported across the CUSD.    (And there’s no telling exactly how many are not diligently reporting transmissions.)

Many District employees have experienced uncertainty and confusion when determining the best response after learning they’ve been exposed to a COVID positive individual (i.e. student, colleague, administrator, parent, etc.).   Many are unsure if they’ve had a “close-contact” or not, and realize that the District’s definition (“unmasked contact for more than 15 minutes”) is so over-simplified that it’s much less-relevant in the face of recent changes in guidance.

When determining whether you or a loved one should continue to provide service, attend school, or take-leave to either “ISOLATE” or “QUARANTINE”, this chart should be helpful.   It clarifies expectations related to COVID-19 transmission; depending on the variety of different masks being used.

CDPH and ETS Iso Quarantine_Jan2022.pptx (CAUSE.jH)

We hope this takes some of the mystery out of an already uncertain and stressful decision.

In Unity,

~ j. Hotchner

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

 

CAUSE ADVISORY

Word’s of Wisdom from the CHS Principal

Tracking and Mitigating Further COVID-19 Transmissions

 

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Good afternoon, CUSD Colleagues,

Recently, the CHS principal, Gerardo Cornejo, published an update regarding the high-school’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts.  There was much wisdom to be found in his email to staff and faculty.   Concerned that it is not being applied District wide, the Union is promoting several of the details Mr. Cornejo covered.  We’re also adding a few more for good measure.

Specifically…

1.) At this time we need to make the assumption that all students have been exposed to the virus. Therefore, it is very important that CUSD Staff and Faculty monitor both themselves and their students for symptoms.

2.) The CUSD uses AIRIES to maintain students’ daily attendance records. If a student has a Q on their attendance, please make sure they have completed their Quarantine as noted on the attendance page of Aeries.   If a student shows up earlier than the completion date in AIRIES, DO NOT ALLOW THEM INTO THE CLASSROOM.  Instead, send them to the school-site office immediately.

3.) If a student has an unverified absence on Aeries, send them to the office immediately.   Site administration must confirm the reason a student was absent and conduct any follow up inquiry if needed.

4.)  The CUSD is only providing COVID test kits to student; not employees.   Student testing has not been and is not a routine on our campuses.  In regard to the CUSD’s ability to confirm test-results, this approach is predicted to be a far less-effective approach than testing methods in surrounding Districts (ex. Like SBUSD – https://keyt.com/news/local-news/top-stories/2022/01/10/santa-barbara-unified-rolls-out-rapid-covid-19-testing-on-campus/ ).  Union leadership asks District faculty to go an extra-step; please contact the families of your students and emphasize that their child has been provided two (2) these test kits.  This may be done via  PARENTSQUARE, your teacher-website, GOOGLE CLASSROOM, or whatever method you use for routine communications.

As students and parents are our most immediate partners in education, many consistently engage in direct communication with teachers, but do not review the more politicized information and messaging that comes from the Superintendent’s office.  Therefore, your effort to communicate these details reinforces the distribution of tests by CUSD.  Given both the value and demand associated with these kits, Union leadership would like to see that our students and community realize a higher level of efficacy than is predicted by the CUSD’s hastily prepared roll-out.

6.) When you contact parents, you may want to cut and paste the reminders below (a.- d.), or put them in your own words.  Union leadership encourages each faculty member to reinforce the following:

a.  Given the OMICRON surge, clothe masks are far inferior to N-95 & KN-95 masks.

b.  If families do not have access to higher quality masks, double-masking is a better alternative to a single clothe mask.

c.  Masks are only effective if they are worn correctly. They should be worn securely over the nose & mouth, and it is now recommended that students wear masks indoors and outdoors when adequate social-distancing is not possible.

d.  Although students, employees, and families are not required to divulge their testing or COVID-19 status,  Union  leadership wants to discourage any stigma associated with the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.  Please consider transparently sharing whether your child or anyone in your household has been potentially exposed, is experiencing symptoms, or is / recently tested COVID positive.  (This same encouragement goes out to our teachers and support staff across the District, who are also encouraged to notify families of the same .  Let’s act to protect each other, our students, and their families.)

In support of public-health,

~ CAUSE Leadership

 

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE ADVISORY

Summary of Updated CalOSHA & CDPH COVID-19 Guidance

RE: Quarantine and Isolation for K-12 Personnel and Students

 

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Good evening, District Employees, Students, and Families.

CAUSE Leadership has learned that the CDC’s guidance is a little more lenient than the CDPH and Cal/OSHA.  Since the CUSD is required to follow these statewide & more local guidelines, we are presenting these as well.

You may follow this link…

Cal OSHA Chart – Quarantine requirements for workers

 

Although the differences may be slight, please make every effort to familiarize yourself with CDPH‘s and Cal/OSHA’s guidance, which clarify the expectations that the CUSD alleges to follow.   Of significance, the autonomy for determining the most appropriate response is in the hands of the employee, not the District.    [Only you know your vaccination status, medical symptoms, how close, and for how long you may have been exposed to a COVID positive individual.]

Moving forward, know that you are not required to wait for either notification or permission from District leadership to follow these expectations.  Whether or not the District acknowledges that exposure prior to a potential leave event, please follow the isolation and quarantine guidelines.  The Union will work with you to ensure that CUSD covers eligible COVID-19 leave for employees who are directed by CalOSHA and/or CDPH to either “isolate” or “quarantine” (as per their attached guidelines).

In Unity,

~ CAUSE Leadership

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

 

CAUSE ADVISORY

Returning Amidst a COVID Surge; Omicron Variant

What is CUSD Doing to Protect Employees, Students, and their Families?

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Dear CUSD Colleagues, Students, and Families:

As of this Monday, January 3, 2022, neither parents or staff have been advised of the CUSD’s plans to adjust and/or increase its COVID mitigation efforts or actions (i.e. associated with the current OMICRON surge and increased rate of transmission.)

Districts across the region have invested much time and effort repositioning for the current surge.  Several have announced clear and proactive modifications to their COVID protocols, designed to ensure the SAFETY of students, staff, and District families.

But here in CUSD, we’ve heard no such thing.

And this time, the CUSD’s inaction is clearly not about either a lack of money or time to prepare; two conditions that District leadership routinely allege.

On December 22, 2021, California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, announced new actions to protect our community from COVID-19:

      * At-home test kits to be distributed statewide for students returning to public school

      * Hours to be extended at testing sites with increased demand

* State to require health care workers to get boosters by February 1, 2022

Here’s a link to the announcement, with more detail therein.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/12/22/governor-newsom-announces-new-actions-to-protect-californians-from-covid-19/

Beyond reminding unvaccinated employees of previous expectations to test, Union leadership asks the CUSD to clarify the proactive modifications it is making to its COVID response.  We ask that this is done prior to reopening the CUSD in the midst of the most recent surge.

When and where will these State funded test-kits be distributed to students and employees?

If the CUSD chooses not to engage in this recommended action, what justification or rationale does it provide the thousands of Carpinterian families who will be at increased risk as of January 6, 2022; when students and employees return to in-person instruction?

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *

CAUSE SURVEY [update]

RE: District Leadership Performance Surveys

We take matters of CONFIDENTIALITY very seriously.

[ District retaliation is a legitimate concern. ]

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CUSD Colleagues,

Thank you to the many who have reached out to CAUSE with their questions and concerns.  CAUSE Leadership understands that many CUSD employees genuinely fear administrative retaliation if they share survey feedback that contains criticisms, concerns, negative marks and/or observations about our District leadership.

It is true that Superintendent Rigby, with the support of the School Board, has pursued an atmosphere that threatens dissenting employee voices and has illegally punished those who have engaged in Union activities.  Fortunately, the State of California recognizes this also.  Recently, this was again demonstrated by important legal decisions confirming CUSD’s attempts to discipline employees for engaging in protected Union activities.

With this in mind, we want to assure our District colleagues, CLASSIFIED and CERTIFICATED, that the Union takes the CONFIDENTIALITY of survey participants VERY SERIOUSLY.

Here’s how:

1.) The Union will not release any survey responses or data in association with any single respondent’s name or identity.

2.) Where, due to respondent pool size, a small pool of respondents could be easily identified; Union Leadership will not publicize said data alone.  Instead, we will collate that data with larger data-sets.   Feedback from our smaller elementary schools or programs will be collated with Site-Principal or Supervisor data from the larger school-sites & programs they work administer.

     examples…

           (A) SUMMERLAND data is collated w/ALISO data

           (B) CFS data is collated w/ CANALINO data

           (C) RINCON HS data is collated w/ CHS data

3.) Confidential access to comprehensive survey data is limited to a select few (No more than 3.) elected CAUSE leaders.  Similarly, respondent feedback is preserved on external computers and programs, which are encrypted, password protected, and inaccessible to the CUSD.

Moving forward, whether an employee works at either a large or small school-site/program, CLASSIFIED & CERTIFICATED employees may participate in the survey process with the confidence that CAUSE Leadership has thoroughly considered how it can secure and protect their confidentiality and well-being.

Similar to teaching and learning, CAUSE Leadership is painfully aware that little genuine engagement can occur until the SAFETY of those involved can be secured.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

     ~ j. Hotchner * CAUSE President

 

 

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* C.A.U.S.E. – Yes We Can ! *