December SVEA Scoop

12.10.26 Bargaining (Wear 💛 shirts)

12.10.26 NCUEA Conference

12.11.26 SVUSD Retirement Workshop 4:30 Zoom

12.11.25 School Board Meeting

12.14.25-12.22.25 Hanukkah 🕎

12.17.25 Site Visit: de Portola 🥪 Signature Gathering

12.19.25 Minimum Day

12.22.25 - 01.02.25 WINTER BREAK ⛄

12.25.25 Merry Christmas 🧑🏻‍🎄

01.01.26 Happy New Year

01.05.26 Return to school

01.7.26 Site Visit: 🥪 Signature Gathering

01.09.26 Site Visit: Rancho Canada 🥪 Signature Gathering

01.13.26 Executive Board

01.14.26 Bargaining (wear black SVEA shirt) 🖤

01.14.26 Site Visit: 🥪 Signature Gathering

01.14.26 Elementary Social: Bowling 🎳

01.15.26 Site Visit: 🥪 Signature Gathering

01.16.26 Issues / Organizing Conference

01.19.16 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

01.20.26 Rep Council

SVUSD informed SVEA on Monday afternoon at 1:45 p.m. of a newly developing plan to merge Gates Elementary and Los Alisos Intermediate into a single TK–8 Dual Immersion school, with TK–3 housed at Gates and grades 4–8 at Los Alisos. At this early stage, details are still emerging; however, SVEA recognizes that this constitutes a significant change in working conditions made without input from the educators directly impacted at Gates and Los Alisos, as well as those at Serrano and La Paz who will absorb additional non-DLI students from Los Alisos. This merge will be presented at the December board meeting on Thursday night. SVEA will continue to update you as information becomes available.

SVEA has submitted a demand to bargain regarding recent changes to the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program. Members were not informed that there would be a three-month gap—from October 1 through January 1—during which they cannot access their FSA contributions until January 2026, when rollover occurs. In addition, there was confusion during Open Enrollment about the need to re-enroll in the FSA. Most district documents, including the one shared by SVEA from the SVUSD website, indicated that appointments were only required if you were making changes or enrolling for the first time. It has since become clear that all participants were required to re-enroll to continue their FSA benefits. SVEA is addressing this issue as a change in working conditions that was not communicated to members. Furthermore, SVUSD made no effort to alert employees that the FSA program with WEX was ending, leaving members unable to access their self-funded accounts and unprepared for the lapse in coverage. SVEA is submitting a second request to have a second open enrollment to remedy this financial impact to employees.

As part of our ongoing advocacy for fair and manageable working conditions, SVEA has shared additional data with SVUSD regarding the current elementary report card process. Survey results confirm that the average report card now requires approximately 1,200 clicks per class, in addition to the recently requested narrative comments—some of which involve excessive data and data we have no mechanism to reliably assess, such as student-derived goals.

We also communicated that Aeries does not accurately import grades, requiring teachers to manually view, verify, and correct each entry. These newly imposed expectations significantly expand the workload for elementary educators and therefore constitute a change in working conditions, which must be negotiated.

How Arbitration Works in a Collective Bargaining Agreement

Under our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), arbitration is the final step in the grievance process. When a grievance cannot be resolved at earlier levels, it may proceed to arbitration, where a neutral third-party arbitrator reviews the evidence, hears arguments from both SVEA and SVUSD, and issues a binding decision. Arbitration exists to ensure that contract violations are addressed fairly, consistently, and without unilateral control by the employer.

Why We Cannot Add New Issues to a Filed Level II Grievance

Our current grievance was initiated on behalf of elementary educators, based on the district’s newly imposed walkthrough requirements. After this grievance began, secondary educators reported that they are now experiencing their own version of the same issue.

Because Level II has already been filed, we cannot simply add new claims or new affected groups into that existing document. Instead, the correct process is to submit the secondary information as new evidence within the ongoing elementary grievance. By doing so, we formally document that:

• The district’s actions now impact all members of the bargaining unit, and

• The core issue—changes to working conditions without negotiation—is districtwide.

This allows our grievance to properly reflect the full scope of the violation while staying compliant with the procedural rules of the CBA.

Request for Documentation

To strengthen the record as we proceed, if you have any written directions, emails, screenshots, or documents related to the new walkthrough or report card requirements—at either the elementary or secondary level—please forward them to: 📧 president@mysvea.org

Your documentation helps ensure we have a complete and accurate picture of how these changes are being implemented across SVUSD.

SVEA accept and submit the district’s proposed remedy with edits. We will include all additional affected sites and with clarified language ensuring that the allotted time remains fully unstructured and entirely at the teacher’s discretion.

SVUSD has until December 15th to file their response with PERB. Next steps will be shared once they are available.

The Scoop will continue to be updated with information as it becomes available. We will be hosting an ALL MEMBERSHIP meeting on Tuesday, December 16th at 5:00. Please stay tuned for more the Google Meet link.

The Teacher of the Year Committee will begin evaluating submissions for Orange County Teacher of the Year during the first week of January. Our committee includes both SVEA members and several SVUSD administrators, and together we will select one elementary, one intermediate, and one high school winner to represent our district. Following the selection, Alyssa Griffiths will support each winner in completing their Orange County application.

Congratulations to all of our outstanding site winners—we are honored to be your colleagues! 🍾

We’d love to invite you to New Educators’ Weekend, February 20–22 in Costa Mesa. This is a great opportunity to connect with other new educators, learn tips and tools for your first years in the classroom, and hear directly from experienced teachers and union leaders.

If you’re interested in attending, please let us know so we can share registration details and support where we can. We hope you’ll join us—you deserve time to learn, connect, and feel supported as you begin your career. 🌟📚. And you can get credit to move on the salary schedule! 💵

The CTA Board of Directors will award Incentive Grants for attendance at the following statewide conferences:

Issues Conference

Whether you’re planning a winter getaway, a visit to family, or a festive adventure, a $250 boost can make your holiday travel even more magical.

1. Sign up for your discount program if you haven’t already
2. Visit your discount program website October 27 through December 28 and make sure you are signed in
3. That’s it! You are now automatically entered to win.

The more days you visit, the more entries you earn.

SVEA has been actively inquiring about the state-mandated safety plan that was due in July 2024, yet SVUSD has failed to make this a priority. In the absence of district action, SVEA has been forced to step in and monitor incidents of violence against staff to ensure our members are protected. We urge all members to report any and all instances of violence. This will not stop until both students and the district are held accountable for a safe learning and working environment.

Definition of Violence:
Violence includes any act or threat of physical harm, intimidation, harassment, or aggression directed at an individual. This can involve hitting, pushing, grabbing, throwing objects, verbal threats of harm, or any other behavior that causes a person to feel unsafe or physically endangered while performing their duties.

Teachers are reminded that under Education Code, you have the protected right to suspend a student from your classroom for acts of willful defiance and violence. Importantly, the student may not be placed in another teacher’s classroom during the day of suspension or the following day. School administration cannot prevent you from exercising this right, regardless of the student’s grade level, age, or IEP status. Special Education students are also subject to teacher suspension, with additional requirements after the fifth suspension. When suspending a student, you are required to make an attempt to conference with the parents, which may be conducted by phone.

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SVUSD emails

Superintendant Crystal Turner: crystal.turner@svusd.org

Trustee 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: michele.sparks@svusd.org

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

SVEA is here to support you—but knowing where to start can make all the difference in solving issues quickly and effectively. If you have a question or concern, please follow these steps:

1. Start with Your Contract
   Before reaching out, take a moment to review the collective bargaining agreement. Many questions—especially those related to working conditions, timelines, and rights—can be answered directly by the contract.

2. Contact Your Site Rep First
   Your site representative should always be your first point of contact. Site reps have in-depth knowledge of your specific school context and can often resolve issues directly by working with administration.

3. Next Step: Reach Out to Your Director
   If you're not seeing progress through your site rep or if the issue is more complex, your area director is your next line of support. Directors are well-versed in the contract and can provide additional guidance and advocacy.

4. Escalate When Needed
   When necessary, your director can escalate concerns to the SVEA Officers or connect you with our CTA Primary Contact Staff for further assistance.

Remember: you are not alone. SVEA is a team, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. By following this process, we ensure the most effective and collaborative response to any challenge.

SVEA is continually looking for the best ways to support our members, protect your time, and strengthen our collective power. One way you can help us is by not accepting extra duty assignments that are not covered by existing contract language and do not include clearly defined compensation.

When new duties are taken on without established terms, it becomes far more difficult to secure fair compensation retroactively. It is much easier—and far more effective—for us to negotiate clear language and compensation upfront.

Your professional boundaries protect all of us. Together, we can ensure that every duty is recognized, valued, and appropriately compensated.

Email Contact:

Kathryn Jaronczyk: studentsupportservices@mysvea.org

Jessica Hokerson: speddirector@mysvea.org

Please complete this survey regarding they behaviors that you have to address in your classrooms: Elementary Student Behavior Survey

Juli Stowers