Message from VTA Bargaining and Executive Teams

VTA membership, 


The district holds these core values; Trust, Respect, Collaboration, and Equity. However we simply don’t see these values being reflected by the current proposals we have seen at the bargaining table. 

Respect:
While we are all bearing the weight of astronomical inflation to gas prices, increased cost of food and rent, the district’s answer is that they’ve met their fiscal goal with last year’s 3.5% increase while continuing to pocket 2 years of super COLAs (over 10%).
While our SPED educators face unfilled aide positions and caseload overages, our district is asking them to give up the right to say no to signing a waiver to go over caseload. Essentially forcing caseload overages across the district WITHOUT compensation. 
Is this how our district shows their RESPECT for our membership? 

Collaboration:
We hold our Monday meeting time for Common Core Collaboration in high regard as sacred time to meet and have discussions and yes, collaborate with our colleagues. The district’s proposal does not honor peer collaboration, it dismantles it. The current proposal seeks to implement district and administrative control over 3 Monday collaboration meetings a month, essentially hijacking our planning and collaboration time. It becomes district PD, it’s no longer a collaboration. We aren't being treated or respected as professionals. Is this how our district values COLLABORATION, by reducing collaboration time?

We are a highly trained workforce that are not being valued as professionals. Speak out and show a sign of solidarity by wearing your VTA shirts on Wednesday, April 20th (please wear black if you don’t have a shirt yet). When our district leadership makes their rounds to each PD and takes photos they will see a WAVE of VTA strength!  Let’s see how many photos they post, see how many we can post! Post pictures of yourself with your coworkers on our PD day wearing our shirts. Flood social media before the day starts, during lunch, and at the end of the day with pictures of our members wearing our VTA shirts in support of #WEAREVTA #VUSD. Please continue wearing your VTA shirts once a week including next Wednesday April 27th, our next Bargaining meeting with the district.
Please keep posting your photos on social media every week! 
 
Respectfully and with Solidarity, 

VTA Leadership Teams

_____________________________

Here are the District’s Vision Mission and Values


Vision:
Our vision in Vista Unified School District is to be the model of educational excellence and innovation.

Mission:
The purpose of Vista Unified School District is to inspire each and every student to persevere as critical-thinking individuals who collaborate to solve real-world problems.

Values:
Trust, respect, collaboration, equity

And here is how they are showing it…

VUSD
-teacher sub shortage, our educators need to help us fix this 
-Monday meetings, the district has so much they need to get out to us so they would like to have control over three meetings each month
-teacher shortage especially in SPED causing caseload overages, educators need to help solve this by going over caseload
-We need more classes available to students in high school, more periods per day, educators can fix this by taking on more students and more periods 

VUSD’s proposal
-take away the right to decline taking extra students or subbing during your prep time, forcing educators to accept extra students into their classroom or teach during the prep
-district/admin control over 3 Monday meetings per month, leaving 1 per month that educators have control over
-take away the right to decline signing waivers for special ed to go over caseload 
-take away maximum student contact caps for middle and HS
-no salary increase and no benefit proposal

If Vista truly wants to honor their mission, vision and values and show that Vista values its educators, they may want to start by taking notes…


VTA proposal:
-6% salary increase
-benefit increase
-increased prep time for TK through 3rd and Adult Ed
-continued protection of prep time for all members
-contact caps for counselors and psychologist