Employee Children in Orinda's Schools?

Here's the e mail record of progress on this important issue to OEA members:

On Nov 4, 2013, at 8:14 PM, "Charles Shannon, OEA president <cshannon65@gmail.com<mailto:cshannon65@gmail.com>> wrote:

OEA Members,

One of our Board members spoke with Julie Rossiter on Friday regarding the District Policy on employee's children in district schools.  Since there are 2 Board Policy numbers (5111 and 5117), and AR's that apply to this, the two of them agreed to set up a meeting with Joe the week of Nov. 11th to discuss this issue further in hopes of putting it on the December Board Meeting Agenda.

Attached is the California School Board Association Sample Policy.

The most important issue is what does Ed Code say? See Ed Code 48204, which is referenced in CSBA Sample Policy for BP 5117

CSBA Sample Policy BP 5117 (from 4th attachment):

...."Note: In addition, Education Code 48204<http://gamutonline.net/displayPolicy/137760/5> authorizes a student in a participating district to be deemed a "resident" in order to attend a school in the district where his/her parent/guardian is employed (Allen bill transfer); see AR 5111.12<http://gamutonline.net/displayPolicy/259628/5> - Residency Based on Parent/Guardian Employment."

For Ed Code 48204, see paragraph pasted below from the link that follows:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&division=4.&title=2.&part=27.&chapter=2.&article=1.

  48204.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 48200, a pupil complies with the residency requirements for school attendance in a school district, if he or she is any of the following:


(b) A school district may deem a pupil to have complied with the residency requirements for school attendance in the district if at least one parent or the legal guardian of the pupil is physically employed within the boundaries of that district for a minimum of 10 hours during the school week.

Regards,

Charles


On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 6:54 PM, Charles Shannon <cshannon65@gmail.com<mailto:cshannon65@gmail.com>> wrote:
Dear OEA Members,

OEA Leadership has been working through this important issue with the District since the start of the school year.  We are gathering information, consulting with CTA Staff, reaching out to the OUSD Board of Trustees, and requesting legal opinions/information.  We will provide updates as information becomes available.

Thank you for your continued interest and thoughtful replies,

Charles


On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 10:20 PM, Charles Shannon <cshannon65@gmail.com<mailto:cshannon65@gmail.com>> wrote:
Dear OEA Members,

At our last Board Meeting, Heather Raser stood before the OUSD Board to share her thoughts, feelings, and opinions about inter-district transfers (IDT) as it relates to employees children and her own personal experiences.  Please read her speech that follows.

Thank you,

Charles Shannon,
OEA President

Heather’s Message to the Board of Trustees

My name is Heather Raser and I am currently a school counselor for the Orinda Union School District.  I stand before you today to urge you to reconsider how the district handles inter-district transfers as it relates to your employees.

12 years ago, I was thrilled to take a job at OUSD; a top rated school district.  When the district hired me, I was led to believe that someday if I decided to have children, they would be able to attend OUSD because of my employment status through the Allen Bill.  I made the choice to live outside of Orinda in a more affordable area, while knowing someday my kids would be able to get an excellent education.  I became fully immersed in my job and as a member of this community.

In 2010, I experienced a considerable amount of stress around my son’s pending inter-district transfer for Kindergarten. I kept hearing the district was changing their policy on IDT’s and ultimately the message that I heard, it didn’t matter anymore if you were an employee - it was all about the numbers.  My son’s IDT was eventually approved the day before school started.  I was relieved. Sadly, a few years prior, it didn’t work out for several teachers’ families. They were told that there was not enough space for their Kindergartners to attend OUSD.  To my knowledge this was the first time historically that any employee was denied an IDT for their child.  It seemed so unfair and so many of us were disappointed in the district’s lack of support.

This school year, I applied for another IDT’s for my daughter to enroll in OUSD.  The district denied my request due to lack of space.  I was devastated.  I honestly thought the district would take my request seriously, especially considering that they had previously accepted my son.  In all my years working for OUSD, I have never felt more unappreciated and unaccepted, and after all is said and done, I felt like I was just a number.  No longer did I feel valued, no longer did I feel proud.  I actually felt embarrassed to work for OUSD.  As an educator and parent in this community, I have built a strong support network of people.   So perhaps you can imagine what it was like for me when people asked me about how my family was doing and more specifically, how my kids were enjoying school.  I was honest, I told people what was happening.  Every single staff member, community member, and friend that I talked to was appalled that the district was treating their employees this way.  As you all know, I appealed the districts decision, and eventually my daughter was enrolled. No other employee should ever have to experience what I have experienced.  There is no rational that you could possibly give me to make this policy acceptable.  This is clearly unsupportive of your employees and their families.

There is a lot of research out there that shows significant connections between happy employees and quality job performance.  More and more organizations are utilizing forward thinking strategies to attract new and maintain current employees.  For example, organizations are creating on-site childcare for their employees because it’s evident that employees are happier when their children are safe and close by, therefore allowing them to be more productive in their jobs.  As we all know, being an educator is a highly rewarding profession, however, it is also a very underpaid profession.  There are very few “perks” to working in education.  I see before us one very simple “perk” that our district can easily maintain.  That “perk” is to simply allow your employees children to attend OUSD schools.  This has been a common practice that has been widely used across the country for decades.  More specifically, the Acalanes Unified School District, our feeder high school district actively allows their employees children to attend AUSD.  I urge you, please re-look at your policy.  We work hard and our children should be allowed to benefit from our hard work.  Please value us as employees and do right by us.  Don’t our own children deserve the best too?

In closing, as a school counselor and a member of this community, I see it as my responsibility to guide, educate, and support everyone in my life.  Our own OUSD mission specifically uses words such as community, support, develop, and character.  We know that we have built a strong academic experience here at OUSD, but we also have a responsibility to build and model appropriate behavior.  Your staff members deserve a clear policy that supports our children.

Thank you for listening and thank you for your time.

Heather Raser