Updated Salary Comparisons

Note that I will update this document as I collect new information, or as I find errors in my reading of contracts. So far I've updated it four times in less than a week, and I'm waiting on word from Hayward about the specifics of last week's contract settlement. And since the numbers keep changing, …

I’m Back!

When I last posted to this blog - almost four years ago to the day - we were awaiting the results of Measure A, the parcel tax that promised a significant salary increase for public school educators in Alameda. This week, we are awaiting the county's certification of Measure E, the extension of that parcel …

2020: No New Taxes?

In just a few days from the time of my writing this (March 20), the Alameda County Registrar of Voters is expected to certify their results in the 2020 primary election.  As it currently stands, the vote on Alameda's Measure A parcel tax for teacher salaries is just 124 Yes votes past the two-thirds threshold …

A down-ballot race that matters

Perhaps you've been surprised by the quality and frequency of mailers supporting a certain candidate for the Alameda County Board of Education.  Each of these full-page glossies cost tens of thousands of dollars to print and mail - not something you usually see for a down-ballot race like a county school board seat.  At my …

Research Made Easy

One thing I may never fully wrap my head around is why somebody will ask a question on an internet forum that they could very easily answer using that very same tool - the internet.  Does it not occur to people that they can Google something?  Do people think that if they don't know something, …

Two changes to pay attention to…

Two quick things this week. First, per the posted schedule, we were expecting that a new superintendent would be hired by the June 11 board meeting.  There's nothing on the June 11 meeting agenda regarding the superintendent search, so it seems we have a wait a bit longer.  It's been a quiet process thus far, and …

Band Aid?

The AUSD school board meeting of May 14 opened with students from Alameda and Encinal High Schools airing grievances about their teachers.  If you're interested, you can watch the entire board meeting on-line.  While this alone would provide plenty to write about - from the need to keeping our classrooms student-centered to California Ed Code …

What Oakland Did

We're barely into May, and we've already had two high-profile teacher strikes in California this year.  Teachers in Los Angeles Unified - by far the largest district in the state - walked out for six days in January, seeking smaller class sizes and specialist caseloads, protections for their public schools, and increases in salary.  And …

Better Late than Never: Demographics, Part 2

Forgive me, reader, for my posts have thinned. It has been four months since my last blog session. During that time Alameda's teachers came to terms with the District and ratified a one-year contract - that year being this year.  So I became a bit busy with that, then decided I deserved a break.  And …

Making Babies (Demographics Part 1)

At the first meeting of the Committee to Consider High School Consolidation etc., a demographic report was presented showing the anticipated growth in student enrollment over the next ten years.  This report - which projects that AUSD will have an additional 400 high school students by the fall 2027 - largely set the tone for …