Dear Peralta Community,
Don’t attend tonight’s board meeting without reading the PFT e-Communiqué, the union take on the latest district developments. Want an item in the e-C? Email PFT Communications Director Debby Weintraub at dweintraub@peralta.edu.
*The Peralta Board of Trustees meets tonight at 7 at 333 E. Eighth St. Nominations for the chancellor selection committee will go before the board, as will other notable agenda items:
For the third consecutive meeting, the district has introduced a proposal “designating academic manager positions.” Academic manager positions not funded by grants can include faculty retreat rights. With former managers the only recent faculty hires, PFT fears that administrative retreats are taking the place of established, carefully prioritized faculty hiring processes.
Trustees will consider raising the student health fee by a dollar to $18 for all fulltime students starting spring 2012. (Part-time students would pay $10.) Services covered include pregnancy testing, family planning, STD screening and treatment, HIV testing, pap smears, health education, mental health counseling, TB testing, physical exams, doctor visits, and referral services.
The board will take up an amendment to the district’s right-of-way contract with CalTrans, a $1.8 million deal for using PCCD parcels of land along I-880. PFT hopes that the money, to be handed over by 2014, can be used to offset future cuts to classroom instruction and student services.
*Join PFT Sat., Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. on the Laney quad, as it links arms with labor and community organizations and marches into downtown Oakland. The Jobs Not Cuts rally will call attention to the U.S. employment crisis, Wall St. bailouts, and the defunding of public education. The march begins at 2:30 p.m., with the rally set to begin at Frank Ogawa Plaza at 3:30 p.m.
*Faculty’s reminded to complete the PFT communications survey by Wed., Oct. 12. Faculty who supply a non-Peralta.edu email address will be eligible for a drawing for a $100 iTunes gift card.
In solidarity,
Matthew M. Goldstein, President
Debby Weintraub, Communications Director
Peralta Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1603
For more about PFT—contract information, contacts, downloadable forms, updates, etc.—visit pft1603.org. Follow PFT on Twitter @PFT1603, and find us on Facebook.