Dear Colleagues,
By early next week, I will email you a more complete update on several salient topics such as the status of the RCSD’s budget, mid-year layoffs, mid-year displacements, negotiations for a successor contract, and the results of the recent RTA survey on potential concessions. Meanwhile, however, we have heard from some teachers asking whether we have already agreed to concessions on PD Incentive and/or Healthy Rewards.
The answer is, no. We have agreed to no concessions whatsoever. The school board’s decision to approve the Superintendent’s recommendation for implementing the disastrous mid-year cuts made any further consideration of concessions moot.
Earlier today I spoke with the RCSD’s Director of Labor-Management Relations who confirmed that the District has neither made any changes to PDI or Healthy Rewards nor that the District believes that it has the authority to do so unilaterally. The District claims the misinformation is temporary and attributes the confusion and the problem to “system-related resets” and to the fact that the RCSD’s server crashed in the last several days. In the next several days, we will follow up further to confirm this.
The next several weeks, and perhaps months, may prove to remain challenging. The District continues to create even further disruption by not returning teachers to their original positions and classrooms. But we are determined to remain united and strong in our advocacy for our students and their teachers.
Thank you for your unswerving support and for your continued solidarity. Best wishes for 2020.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President