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4A – Daily News – Saturday, April 16, 2011 Opinion Disturbing D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Editor: I would like to respond to the article in the Daily News on March 29 regarding," Contract Languages Causing Red Bluff School Rift". I am an employee of the Red Bluff Union Elemen- tary School District and am proud to say so, however, this rift that is taking place in our schools, between classified and certificated staff, will ultimately affect the morale of our district as a whole. A couple of items that disturb me, as well as others, are the quotes from the CTA President Sharon Barrett, such as; "The picketing was inappropriate and, in fact, illegal." She also reported that she was unhappy with the unprofessional behav- ior of the classified members. Informational picketing is not illegal and according to the Supreme Court, United States vs Grace, laws may not prohibit picketing or handbilling around a public building. Informational picketing is a form of speech given to us by our first amend- ment rights. It is up to us to exercise those rights. Classified staff were not on school property while picketing. They were on the sidewalk in front of the school, and there was no aggression towards any- one while they were expressing themselves. Union picketing, in front of the employees' place of busi- ness, is a protected activity. The other issue that greatly disturbs me is the fact that the classified staff were being harassed while they were expressing themselves. Tex Ashe, was quoted as saying such things as, “The attorneys are going to love that one” and “You guys are all in trouble now” while getting close-up shots, with his camera, of the classified staff and their signs. This tactic is illegal and also very unprofessional. I'm not exactly sure what Mr. Ashe has to do with the RBUESD issues, as he is not an employee of our district, nor is he a parent. I sincerely hope that we can all come together, as one dis- trict, to reach a compromise on the issues at hand. We do have a terrific group of educators in our district, and I'm not alone in saying, once again, that I'm proud of being an employee of the Red Bluff Elementary School District. Colleen Jaggers, Red Bluff Umbrage Editor: While I certainly won't argue with Robert Springer's premise in his letter of April 2, that the terms Christian and Conservative are not synonymous, I think it is fair to say they do share some similar values. I am particularly bothered by his mischar- acterization of secular conservatives. It seems that Mr. Springer has bought into the endless propaganda of the liberal voices that have caused many to believe a lie. I take umbrage with his refer- ence to “the cold hearted selfish- ness of Secular Conservatism.” A number of studies have shown that conservatives give far more of their money to charity than liberals. Even the AARP Bul- letin (Jan. 2007) had an article reporting on "America's Charity Divide" contrasting the church goer and and person who rejects the idea of the government's responsibility to redistribute wealth among people, general conservative values on the one hand, and the non-church-goer and person who believes the govern- ment should redistribute wealth — more liberal views. The data showed that those with the first philosophy “will be roughly twice as likely as the sec- ond to give money to charities, and will give more than 100 times as much money to charity, (as well as 50 times more to more to nonreli- gious causes).” Your Turn Studies published by the Cata- logue of Philanthropies Generosity Index, a ranking of the 50 states according to charitable giving, reported that the stingiest states were the New England, Great Lakes and Pacific Coast states. These are pre- cisely those states that can be depended on most to vote Democ- ratic — liberal. The most generous states were those that generally vote for conservative officials. The obvious difference between the conservative view- point and the liberal viewpoint is that one believes in giving of its own money and the other believes in being generous when it comes to giving someone else's money. Personally, I am happy and thankful for those who are suc- cessful and make big incomes, I'm not one, after all, the top 5 percent pay more than 60 percent of tax revenue, and especially since the bottom half pay no taxes at all. Gordon Dawson, Cottonwood Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Classified employees unclassified Commentary There have been a couple of articles in the Daily News lately about the classified school employ- ees who work for the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District. The classified employees’ union chapter alleges that the language in the new district labor contract with the teachers' union reduces a pool of funds available to their mem- bers, a possible unfair labor prac- tice. I hope this concern does not turn into a rift between the classi- fied employees and the teachers. In all the turmoil about school fund- ing lately, it is easy to forget that there are many more public school employees than teachers, not that teachers aren't important. Teachers and administrators are called "certificated employees" because they have earned a state certificate that permits them to do their jobs. "Classified employees" have a job classification, such as Instructional Aide, or School Sec- retary, or Custodian, or Cafeteria Cook. Often classified employees are neglected in the education news, but they perform essential services for students. Classified employees are often the first school staff a child sees each morning; the school bus dri- ver can set the tone for a child’s day at school by the way he/she greets that child. The bus driver can also end that child’s school day with a pleasant “see you tomor- row.” Classified employees can make the difference between the cartoon versions of the “school lunch lady” and a person who shows care by the way that he/she helps students make choices as they go through the lines. Classified employees who work as yard duty supervisors tell many stories about how they helped stu- dents through difficult social situa- tions, modeling conflict resolution strategies for them, and even help- ing them make new friends. When schools can afford them instructional aides are invaluable in the classroom setting, able to work with small groups and individuals while the teacher works with oth- ers. Classified employees keep the buildings and grounds clean and well functioning so students have an inviting and healthy environ- ment. They repair and maintain equipment and machinery. Classified employees answer the phone, presenting a welcoming voice to the parents and the public; they maintain important records, making sure student’s achieve- ments and needs are carefully doc- umented and filed. Both certificated employees and classified employees may have local collective bargaining con- tracts, and both have rights spelled out in the Education Code and other state regulations. One differ- ence between the two groups is that the layoff of classified employ- ees is far simpler than for certifi- cated employees; therefore they are more vulnerable and can feel like second class citizens. Because it is easier to layoff classified employees with only a 45 day notice for lack of work and lack of funds, districts can wait until the “last minute” to reduce classified staff. Local union con- tract language may make this more complicated, but classified employees are usually the first to be cut in times of fiscal problems. Thus many schools are not having classrooms cleaned daily, or lawns mowed as often as a couple years ago; in some local districts instruc- tional aides are an endangered species. Apparently the classified employees of the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District are concerned that their share of funds from the Medi-Cal Administrative Activities Program has unilaterally been changed by the new contract with the certificated employees. Recently money from this fund has been distributed among all district employees based on full- time equivalency accord- ing to Barbara Ramey, local union president of the California School Employees Association (CSEA). Funds from this source are to reimburse the school district for costs associated with Medi-Cal. According to the California Depart- ment of Health services, these activities include: “Medi-Cal outreach, Facilitating the Medi-Cal application, Non-emergency & non-medical transportation of Medi-Cal eligible individuals to Medi-Cal covered services, Con- tracting for Medi-Cal services, Program planning and policy development, MAA coordination and claims administration, TCM coordination and claims adminis- tration, Training, and General administration.” These funds are clearly designed to be a reimbursement for costs associated with Medi-Cal clients; how or why they ended up as part of labor contracts providing extra income to everyone, whether or not they performed any of the services involved in Medi-Cal, is something only the School Board can explain; the funds are for reducing costs, not enhancing employee income. Nevertheless they are now a point of contention within the school district. Ms. Ramey also stated that cer- Joe Harrop tificated salaries compare more favorably with statewide certificat- ed salaries than do the salaries of classified employees in the district. Until the recent cuts in educational funding, the potential employee pool for cer- tificated personnel has been a statewide pool; the potential employee pool for most classified employees is much more local. Schools need to pay classified employees competitive wages based on that local pool. As a school administrator I was involved in many salary and classification stud- ies; the normal proce- dure was to compare the salaries with those from the local job market and school dis- tricts in the near vicinity. It is prob- ably not as appropriate to compare compensation for this group of employees on a statewide basis. The fact remains that classified employees are an important ingre- dient to our students’ education and that they deserve more credit than they often receive for their efforts to improve the lives of chil- dren, behind the scenes, in the classrooms, and elsewhere. One can only hope that after the all the current upset, and the rift between the two employee groups, that the employees of the Red Bluff Union Elementary School District will pull together again, as they have in the past, to work toward the benefit of our children. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.