Dear Members:
 
The Lodi Education Association invites CTA membes to learn about student loan forgiveness and how to get your financial life in order.   If you have Stafford or Perkins loans and teach in a “high needs school” or “teacher shortage area" you may be eligible for a portion of student loan forgiveness.
PLEASE NOTE, if you have CONSOLIDATED your student loans you may not be eligible for forgiveness (we’ll discuss this in greater detail) January 28, 4:30-6 at the Mc Nair High School Theater. 9500 McNair Lane, Stockton CA 95210. (Park in student parking lot and enter through lunch area)
​By filling this form out you are reserving a seat this is important for us to have accurate count for materials and food.   Click here to register.

Dear Members:
 
First the good stuff...Today is a flex day for high school. Contact your admin if you flex. Tomorrow is a flex day for all, but you don’t have to tell a soul. Confused?  Good, because I was yesterday.  Just get your 17 gifts (all coffee mugs by the way) and yourself in your car 15 minutes after dismissal. When we return on Monday, January 6, that’s also TP Day for all.  Notify your admin if you flex that day.  3 flex days in a row! We are rollin’!
 
I remember when I became involved in the union. I worked at McParland and my kids went to school with me. We lived about 3 blocks away. I was transferred (which is fine, whatever, it happens). My principal was out on sick leave due to cancer. The VP became acting principal,  and a teacher became acting VP.  The acting VP taught the same subjects I did. So it was either her or I. Guess who made the decision? The acting VP.  Conflict of interest?  Slightly. So I contacted the late Earl Pimental and he scheduled a meeting with Marc Tatum. I heard recently that Marv passed 2 months ago.  Earl and Marv were great people.  As I told Marv my story, his eyes got wider and wider. He said, “Ken I’m going to give you a chip. And when you WANT to transfer, you turn in that chip.” In two weeks, Marv called me and said, “Your old job opened up. Do you want it back?”  The acting VP was made a VP at another school. What a coincidence.
 
I was lucky. My kids were lucky. But I called Earl to start the process. He was supportive and encouraging...and my case was pretty darn powerful.  Only 11% of workers have a union to help them. Working together to guarantee rights at the workplace is what we do IF you take advantage of it.  “Well, I don’t want to rock the boat and cause further problems for me.” I can’t help you unless you help you.   Bullies won’t pick on the ones that bloody their nose.
 
Now...you’re saying...what does this have to do with me? Teachers are always complaining, and rightfully so, about their pay. Almost always, strangers on the street tell me I should be making a lot more. (Secret tip...I talk to everyone I meet.)
 
Now you can give yourself a 5% raise. Get signatures on those petitions over the holidays. If that petition passes, it’s 5% for every school district in the state. And let me brag about our bargaining team...they are the envy of every local in the county. “You got 85% of COLA for 3 years without any argument?”  Yup. That’s how we roll in MEA. So...do yourself a favor and give yourself a raise. Otherwise, you can’t complain about your pay because you had a chance to fix it.  It’s just like not voting.
 
It’s not about being greedy…it’s about trying to lure and retain the best and the brightest to Manteca Unified. And frankly…it’s working. We’ve convinced the school board and the administration this is the right approach. Even getting two signatures on a petition is worth it! Every little bit helps just like you tell the students!

Dear Members:
 
I don’t think as often as I should about how thankful I am.  I am thankful for a new reason as my wife and I made our last college tuition payment on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  We have been paying for college for our six kids in one way or another for the past 21 years. We’re more thankful for the fact that they’re all healthy and doing really well.
 
At the beginning of the year as I was getting acquainted with my seniors and they with me, one asked, “How much do you make Mr. Johnson?”  I usually don’t respond but this time, I said, “I just hit $100,000 on the nose.  I always wanted to make $100,000 and now I did it.”  The class in unison (I’m not exaggerating) were in awe that I made that much money.  I said, “Gee, thanks a lot.”  One said, “We just didn’t know teachers didn’t make that much money.”  Let that sink in for a second…then I explained how much we pay for a 100% health care plan about $21,000 a year if you include the district contribution.  $24,000 a year by the way is the national average.  Then I pointed out that I pay 10% of my check into my pension.  What’s a pension?  I explained that, and then said only 13% of non-union, non-government workers have a pension.  Then I explained the cost of college, about $20,000 a year, if you’re lucky.  I encouraged them to commute to a CSU in the Bay Area or Stan State.  Then I pointed out that my federal tax rate is 24%.  And, that 2003 Toyota Tundra in the parking lot?  Yup, that’s mine.  “But honey, it has 173,000 miles on it, it’s paid off, and it runs great!”
 
All too often, I find myself complaining about the cost of living, health care, college, price of this and that, and then holidays roll around and it jars me back to reality and how thankful I should be…all the time.
 
It reminds me of my upbringing…my dad dying when I was three months old, leaving my mom with six kids to raise in cold, cold, cold Michigan.  She moved to California to be near her sister and to get out of that snow!  Can you imagine dressing six kids to go out in the snow just to get a carton of milk?   I remember drinking powdered Carnation milk for meals and eating fast so I could get seconds.  That wasn’t easy as the youngest.  I still eat far too fast, and now you know why.  My mom worked nights as a nurse so she could be there in the morning to see us off to school and be there to cook dinner when we returned.  And she made it to all of my games.
 
I’m not trying to bore you with my personal life, but trying to make a point which I’ll finish tomorrow.  I know you can’t wait.  No, my wife doesn’t get my dry sense of humor either.

Dear Members:
 

• Did you know…that East Union is getting a new roof on the older parts of the school, and it will cost $1 million!  That’s why the school district is floating their own $250 million school bond in March.  Capital improvements are so needed at many of our schools, and that’s how school districts pay for it.  Our yearly budget only includes 3% to pay for roofs, repairs, and etc…and most of that 3% or $7 million goes to classified salaries in the Maintenance Departments.  Here’s an extra Did you know…when toilets are added to a school, you have to make sure to grade the pavement flat and level all the way from the front of the school to the bathrooms so a wheelchair has access to the bathrooms.  And the toilets are expensive for school as all the fixtures are.  Never spent $1,000 on a toilet?  Think how many flushes our school toilets have every day, every year…toilet specifications for public schools are held to a much different standard than our homes, hence the higher price tag.

 

• We ran out of petitions for the school bond!  CTA was surprised, but I told them that my members are FANtastic!  They are FANS of public school and their students.  No worries tho as I am picking up more today, so you might not get it in your mailbox until next week.  The petitions aren’t due until the week after the holidays.  Just place them in your rep’s mailbox at school.  Make sure to follow the directions on the bottom of the form.  If you do this at your holiday dinner, you might not want to ask your Uncle Joe.  You know Uncle Joe…he’s the one that always stirs things up!  Besides, this is not partisan.  It’s to help public schools, and it doesn’t cost any of us a dime.  Remember…if you don’t want to participate in this,NO WORRIES…just place the petition back in your rep’s mailbox so we can reuse them.

​Dear Members:
 

• On Thursday, your site reps will be placing a petition and a letter from me in your mailbox. The petition is for you to gather signatures over the holidays to place this petition on the ballot. It is, of course, totally optional.  If you don’t want to do this, please place the petition back in your site rep’s mailbox so we can use them somewhere else. 

 

• The purpose of this activity is to place the proposition on the ballot for voters to decide. If passed, the proposition would raise funding for cities (8%) and public schools (5%). If you take it to your holiday dinners, you can just pass it around. Then return it to school.  If you need more petitions, just ask your site rep.

 

• However, a couple of very important rules to follow so the signatures will be valid.
• All signers on a form must be from the SAME county.  If they’re not, then all signatures will be invalid. You have to have a separate petition for signers from each county.
• All signers must sign in blue or black ink.  If they’re not, then all signatures will be invalid.
• Signers must be registered voters. 

 
I can always count on you to help your students and in this small way, you can help our schools, local communities, and yourself.

• Did You Know…there are over 300 retired educators who are over 100 years old!   It used to be 3 retirees were paid by 1 active member’s contributions but as people live longer, it is down to 2-1 now, and in about twenty years, it will be 1-1.  That’s why we’re paying about 10% of our paycheck into STRS. Don’t be sad!  Legally, if we pay more, the law requires all of us to receive a benefit for that.  We’re guaranteed an annual COLA of 2% to our pensions.  Previous retirees would get a COLA once every so often which means not very often!  This longevity is partly to blame for having to pay more into our pensions, but also the economic crash of 2008-2009.

 

• Affected by California wildfires or a home fire or know a fellow member who has been affected?   Your union is here to help thanks to voluntary donations from members like you.  Click here to learn more about CTA's Disaster Relief Fund. 

 

• Online applications are now being accepted for 2019-2020 CTA Scholarships in the following categories:
• The CTA Scholarship for Dependent Children offers 35 scholarships of $5,000 each to dependent children of CTA members.
• The CTA Scholarship in Honor of Del A. Weber offers one scholarship of up to $5,000 to a dependent child of an active, CTA/NEA-Retired, or deceased CTA member who is attending or attended a continuation high school or an alternative education program.
• The CTA Scholarship for Members offers five scholarships of up $3,000 each.

 
To be considered by the CTA Scholarship Committee, applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2020.  Online applications are available on the CTA website at: cta.org/scholarships
 

• Applications for the six $1,000 MEA college scholarships for member dependents won’t be sent out until February.

Dear Members:
 

• Yes, it is!  It is time to apply for a grant to attend the CTA Good Teaching Conference held at the 5-Star Fairmont Hotel in San Jose on February 7-9.  The district has agreed to continue our partnership in sending members to this conference by paying for half of the expenses.  Any MEA member is eligible to apply.  The grant pays for EVERYTHING!  You just have to go and enjoy yourself!

 

• Priority will be given in the following order: members who have never attended the conference, and then first come-first served. Download the Application Here!

 

1. You will be reimbursed for the $195 conference registration, hotel cost of $145 plus taxes and fees per person for two nights, and $35 for Saturday dinner. You'll be sharing a room with another MEA member so encourage one of your friends to tag along! Or you can pay the difference of $145 plus taxes and fees for a single room. Mileage and parking fee is reimbursed if you carpool with another person. Fill out and send the attached application to me by Wednesday, December 11. NO EXCEPTIONS.

 

1. The workshops are incredible, and there is something for everyone.   Click here for a list of the workshops available at Good Teaching.

 

1. Click here for more information about the Good First Teaching Conference.