October SVEA Scoop

10.21.26: Site Visit/Rolling Rally: PORTOLA HILLS 🌍

10.22.26 OCLF Meeting at 5:30

10.23-.25.26 CTA State Council

10.28.26 Site Visit/Rolling Rally: LA PAZ 🐆

10.29.26 SVEA/Parent/Community Co-Op Meeting at 5:30 💛

10.31.26 Halloween 👻

11.02-.09.26 Nomination window 2027 Teacher of the Year 🧑🏻‍🏫 👨🏻‍🏫 👩🏻‍🏫

11.02.26 Staff Development: Wear Blue SVEA Shirt 👕

11.03.26 Executive Board

11.03.26 Election Day

11.04.26 Negotiations: Wear any SVEA shirt

11.05.26 Site Visit/Rolling Rally DEL LAGO 🐬

11.06-.08.26 LGBTQ+ Conference

11.09-.13.26 TOY profile sheets distributed and due 🧑🏻‍🏫 👨🏻‍🏫 👩🏻‍🏫

11.10.26 Rep Council

11.11.26 Veterans' Day 🪖

11.12.26 Presidents' Summit

11.12.26 School Board Meeting

11.13.26 Site Visit/Rolling Rally LAGUNA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL 🦅

11.13.26 Teacher of the Year 2026 Banquet: Disneyland Hotel

11.16-.19.26 Teacher of the Year Site Voting 🧑🏻‍🏫 👨🏻‍🏫 👩🏻‍🏫

11.17.26: PERB Mediation regarding unilateral negotiations with nurses

11.17.26 Rep Council

Your SVEA Bargaining Team has been hard at work developing our strategy ahead of the first 2026–2027 negotiations session on November 4, with the newly appointed facilitator.

During our initial meeting with the facilitator, we shared our concerns about the bargaining process, including the loss of momentum caused by excessively long caucuses, delays in providing shared data, and a general lack of preparedness that has prevented meaningful progress toward settlement.

We are hopeful that this facilitated process will bring greater accountability, efficiency, and productive negotiations, moving us closer to a settlement sooner rather than later.

However, should the same patterns continue, SVEA retains the right to withdraw from facilitated negotiations.

Members, It's Time to Show Our Strength!

Our bargaining team can make the proposals, but it takes the collective strength of our membership to win them. As we head into negotiations, we're asking every member to show their solidarity:

• Monday, November 2 – Staff Development Day: Wear your NEW BLUE SVEA shirt!

• Tuesday, November 4: Wear ANY SVEA shirt to show your support!

Let's fill our schools and professional development spaces with SVEA colors and send a clear message that we are united, engaged, and ready for meaningful progress.

And don't stop at wearing a shirt! Show up to rallies, participate in site actions, engage your colleagues, and help bring our message into the community.

The strength of our bargaining team comes from the strength of our members. We've waited long enough for meaningful progress on class sizes, caseloads, and the working conditions our educators and students deserve. Your salary is contingent on having a strong membership presence.

The District may be comfortable maintaining the status quo, but we are not. THE STATUS QUO HAS GOT TO GO! United we bargain. Together we win!

Our Rolling Rallies are an important part of taking our campaign directly to the community, and we need YOU to help make them successful! Please be ready to come out, stand together, and share our message of Smaller Classes, Brighter Futures with families. While SVEA leadership is there to support every rally, the message is so much more powerful when parents hear directly from their own children's teachers.

We've already seen an incredible response, and our Parent/Community Co-Op continues to grow! Every conversation builds understanding, strengthens community support, and brings us one step closer to the changes our students deserve!

A HUGE thank you to Olivewood and Valencia for showing up, standing together, and letting your families know that THE STATUS QUO HAS GOT TO GO! 💛

Eligibility for the Orange County Teachers of the Year Program is limited to candidates who are finalists in their district competitions and meet all of the following requirements:

1. Fully credentialed teacher for a minimum of eight years as of March 2026

​2. Minimum of eight years of credentialed teaching experience in the classroom

​​3. Currently assigned to teach students at least 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE)

4. Assigned to teach students for the 2026-2027 school year

​5. Not previously nominated to a Teachers of the Year program in any California county​

6. Not retiring in the Spring of 2027

Please be advised that disciplinary actions within SVUSD have become increasingly severe, requiring all staff to exercise extreme caution regarding physical contact with students.

🚫 We cannot stress this strongly enough: do not touch students for any reason whatsoever. 🚫

This strict boundary extends far beyond harmful or inappropriate contact—it applies equally to non-sexual, well-intentioned gestures, including breaking up fights, intervening for safety, maintaining classroom order, or offering a warm greeting such as a hug, a gentle pat on the shoulder, or even a simple high-five.

SVUSD is now taking the position that sharing frustration or making hand gestures (pointing) is also unprofessional, effectively holding educators to a standard of absolute perfection when making instantaneous decisions.

Rather than issuing a clear, formal policy on physical contact—a move that would force them to support staff when upholding standards—the district has adopted an extreme posture that prioritizes placating parents over holding students accountable. The moment physical contact occurs, you effectively lose control over the narrative, leaving yourself exposed to district evaluations that can deem your actions unprofessional and result in formal disciplinary measures.

While SVUSD expects educators to maintain order, they have made it clear that if a parent complains, they will hold the educator solely responsible and leave you without support.

Protect yourself and your career by maintaining a absolute "no-touch" approach at all times. Do not find yourself in a position of engaging with HR, their role is to protect SVUSD.

Election Day is November 3! Have you made your voting plan yet?

CTA Voter Guide:
Want to see CTA's recommendations for the upcoming election, including local races in your area? Check out the CTA Voter Guide, where you can enter your address to find recommendations specific to your ballot. CTA Voter Guide:https://www.cta.yourvoter.guide/#/search

Thank You, Canvassers!
A HUGE thank-you to everyone who has come out over the past several weekends to canvass for Prop 3 and Richard Barrera for State Superintendent of Public Instruction! Your time, energy, and dedication are so appreciated. It's always great to see our SVEA members showing up and working together!

One of the largest, and most complicated articles in our contract is Leaves. SVEA is currently proposing to streamline the absence process. But until bargained otherwise, please use this chart to help you determine which type of leave you should take for the most common absences and how it impacts your sick leave balance. This is just a brief summary. Please consult the contract for limitations and restrictions. For SVEA members, your site rep will be happy to help you as well. (Image is linked to original document for printing and reference).

There are MANY other leaves available for less common circumstances. Please review Article 9 of the contract or ask your SVEA site rep!

General reminders:

• You earn 10 sick days per year, 11 if you took 6 or fewer last year. These accumulate from year to year (Article 8 Section 3 B. 1) FYI Half day = 0.5, one period = 0.13 (1 hr = ⅛ of your day)

• If you are not getting paid, your are not working a full service credit year per STRS (Article 9 Section 2)

• You should check your sick leave balances in Frontline Absence Management (in PortalPlus) to make sure they are accurate. Notify Payroll immediately if you see any discrepancies.

• You have 30 days leave for jury duty, but if you postpone until a school break, you get paid the daily sub rate (only if you report, call-in does not count) (Article 8 Section 3 I. 2)

• You may be eligible for bereavement leave if you have a death in your immediate family. (Article 8 Section 3 H)

• When you retire, you can convert your leftover sick days into service credit (limitations apply, consult CalSTRS for more information)

• The new Pregnancy Disability Leave is not included in this summary. Please check with HR if you are starting PDL after Jan 1, 2027.

Strike Implications:

• Should we go on strike, Strike days are unpaid, and sick leave cannot be used to make up the pay. Unions often create a “strike fund” to supplement the loss of income for members.

• Each day is roughly 0.5% of a school year. For example, if we had 2 strike days, you would only earn 99% of a year of service credit instead of 100%. The deduction would likely only have a major effect on certain teachers with full service years only, with no sick leave balance when they retire and attempting to reach a service credit year milestone.

• It is estimated that the service credit deductions caused by a short term strike are less than $1 per year in your retirement income.

How to read your absence balances (Your screen may look different):

1. Open Absence Management (Frontline) from Portal Plus. Click on Account, then Absence Reason Balances.

2. Sick Leave Balance represents the days you have earned. You should check this regularly for accuracy.

3. Family Illness and Bereavement do not come out of your sick leave.

4. Personal Days are limited, and do come out of your sick leave

5. Other leaves listed are uncommon or not applicable and you should ask your principal or site rep for more information.

Every member. Every site. One collective voice.

Please review the SVEA Important Dates and mark your calendars!

Blue Shirts are here! If you ordered one, they should be delivered soon! Last chance: click here for blue SVEA shirts!

Current Issues Brought to SVEA’s Attention

Several concerns have been brought to SVEA’s attention, including:

· Multiple preps issues

· Increasing workload and considering stress leave

· Class size

· Working beyond contractual hours, including evenings until 6:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., or later

· Lack of administrative communication regarding work orders that affect teachers’ workspaces and ability to perform their jobs

Not mentioned above, tell me. I want to hear directly from our members about how widespread these issues are. One teacher experiencing a problem may be an isolated incident, but when multiple SVEA Unit Members report similar concerns, it may indicate a broader failure by the district to establish, communicate, or consistently follow appropriate procedures.

Your feedback matters. The more information we have about how many members are affected and how these issues impact their working conditions, the better positioned SVEA will be to identify patterns, hold the district accountable, and advocate for meaningful solutions.

High School Board Meeting Assignments

· Laguna Hills High School: September 10, 11 of 55 or 20% Participation

· Silverado High School: October 1, 2026, 1 of 19 or 5.3% Participation

Here are the upcoming high school board meeting assignments:

· Trabuco Hills High School: January 14, 2027, at 6:00 p.m. ___of 106 Participation

· El Toro High School: March 4, 2027, at 6:00 p.m. ___of 83 Participation

· Mission Viejo High School: April 1, 2027, at 6:00 p.m. ___of 67 Participation

We're more than halfway through October!

Hang in there, elementary friends—we're getting closer to that much-needed November break!

Parent/Teacher Conferences:
For those of you with conferences coming up, remember that you have two options:

• One sub day (remember to notify your office manager and Monique Gomes), OR

• Four hours of extra pay if you begin conferences one hour after your regular dismissal time.

And remember—principals cannot require everyone to hold evening conferences on the same night!

Report Card Comments:
If you're meeting with every family during fall conferences, remember that written report card comments are not a contractual requirement. Your professional discretion—and your time—matter!

We've almost made it through October—keep up the great work, and remember to take care of yourselves, too!

In solidarity,
Juli Stowers
TK–6 Director

Elementary School Counselors:

Your Grievance has moved on to Level II. Please continue to follow, but know that we are fighting to change this egregious requirement that is not part of your contract.

Other Itinerant:

Don't forget to fill our the LCAP and reach out if you have any concerns. Travel time issues? Space Issues? Roster Issues? Admin Issues? Just reach out.

Supporting Special Educators and Student Support Staff. Protecting Our Rights. Strengthening Our Collective Voice.

SVEA members continue to raise concerns about staffing shortages, growing workloads, investigatory meetings, and special education program changes made without meaningful staff input.

1. Unfilled Positions and Increasing Workloads

Members are being asked to cover assessments, services, and caseloads left by vacancies and uncovered leaves. “Academic hourly” pay does not apply to all unit members and is not equitable compensation for added workload. Weekly District “shoutouts” also raise concerns when celebrating employees working beyond contractual obligations to cover staffing gaps.

Recognition is no substitute for adequate staffing, fair compensation, or sustainable workloads.

2. Administrative Meetings and Your Right to Union Representation

SVEA reminds members to understand their rights when meeting with District or site administration, particularly regarding professional conduct, job performance, workplace concerns, or investigations involving yourself or colleagues.

The presence of a site principal or other District administrator does NOT replace or substitute for SVEA representation. This is especially important for temporary, probationary, and early-career educators who may be unfamiliar with their rights.

Under your Weingarten Rights, you may request union representation when you reasonably believe questioning could result in discipline. When in doubt, clarify the meeting's purpose and contact SVEA.

District administration represents the employer. SVEA represents YOU.

3. Another New Special Education Program — But Is It a Solution?

The District is introducing another program within SVUSD’s already complex special education service delivery model, without meaningful input from teachers and support staff. This does not align with SVEA’s longstanding bargaining priorities for program structure, staffing, and caseload protections.

New programs do not resolve systemic problems without meaningful educator collaboration.

Caseloads and Workloads Remain a Bargaining Priority

SVEA continues to advocate for manageable caseloads, appropriate staffing, and protections that recognize the complexity of assessments, IEPs, 504s, direct services, and compliance responsibilities.

Member Solidarity Matters!

Ahead of our November 4 bargaining session, show the District that members are united:

November 2: Wear your NEW BLUE SVEA shirt! November 4: Wear ANY SVEA shirt!

Attend SVEA events and site actions, and share your concerns with SVEA leadership. Visible participation strengthens our collective voice at the bargaining table.

UNITED WE BARGAIN. TOGETHER WE WIN!

Jessica Hokerson, speddirector@mysvea.org

Kathryn Jaronczyk, studentsupportservices@mysvea.org

Unlock a Pay Raise for FREE with CTA Conferences! 💰

Did you know you can move over on the salary schedule without paying a cent out of pocket?

By attending CTA Conferences, you can earn units of credit that directly boost your salary. Unlike standard district PD, you get to choose topics you are actually passionate about.

Here’s why you should go:

🎓 Choose your own learning: Pick sessions that spark your interest.

🍽️ Perks included: Meals are provided, plus drink coupons for social events!

💵 Zero cost: Submit your request to SVEA so we can cover your costs to learn and earn more!

Don't leave money on the table—submit your request to attend today!

The OSCC Equity Team has been working with the CTA Equity & Justice Department to organize this year’s Equity Evening event. It will be held virtually on November 4th from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

Our guest speaker will provide information on Destigmatizing Disabilities. See the attached flyer for more information. Please share it with members and encourage them to use the QR code on the flyer, this link, and/or the Google form to RSVP as soon as possible.

The annual Human Rights Poster Contest applications are due by Wednesday, March 31, 2027.

The original artwork must be delivered in person or mailed to:

OSCC Office

281 N Rampart St.

Orange, CA 92868

Office Hours: 9am-5pm

Application link: both parts of the application (the artwork and the Google Form) must be received in order to be eligible for prizes.

Please make sure to reach out to your site reps first.

President: Mandy De Groote president@mysvea.org

Vice President/Organizing Chair: Beth Anderson vicepresident@mysvea.org

Secretary & Membership Clerk: Erin Maguire secretary@mysvea.org

Treasurer: Toni Fields treasurer@mysvea.org

Tk-6 Director/PAC Chair: Juli Stowers TK6Director@mysvea.org

Intermediate Director: Kerry Nahas IntermediateDirector@mysvea.org

High School Director: Corey Murphy HighSchoolDirector@mysvea.org

SPED Director: Jessica Hokerson SPEDDirector@mysvea.org

Itinerant Director: Brittany Case ItinerantDirector@mysvea.org

Student Services Director: Kathryn Jaronczyk studentsupportservices@mysvea.org

Bargaining Chair: Andi Suter bargainingchair@mysvea.org

CTA Rep: Mike Bartetzko ctareps@mysvea.org

CTA Primary Contact Staff: Frank Oppedisano foppedisano@cta.org

Superintendant Crystal Turner: crystal.turner@svusd.org

President Suzie Swartz: suzie.swartz@svusd.org

Trustee Amanda Morrell: amanda.morrell@svusd.org

Trustee Barbara Schulman: barbara.schulman@svusd.org

Trustee Dan Walsh: daniel.walsh@svusd.org

Trustee Michele Sparks: mailto:michele.sparks@suvsd.org