Congratulations to MTA Elementary Director Elizabeth Gasca (RPE) for winning this prestigious award! From school board races to initiatives campaigns, Elizabeth has worked hard to make sure that the phone banks run smoothly and that an effective GOTV program is in place. In addition to all her work in Montebello, Elizabeth has worked for many Assembly races, voter registration drives and the No On Recall campaign. The CTA Theodore Bass Teacher-in-Politics award programs recognizes contributions to the education profession through political action. Elizabeth was recognized at the Southeastern Service Center Council Dinner June 2.

Schools to See $542M Boost Under
Revised Budget Proposal

Governor Schwarzenegger’s new budget plan has been hailed by CTA leaders as “good news for schools.” The education budget proposes to increase overall K-14 spending by more than $2 billion above 2003-04 levels. It provides cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and enrollment growth funding for all K-12 schools and community colleges.

But the education budget cuts and funding deferrals that are part of the governor’s plan to bridge a multi-billion dollar fiscal gap are costing schools more than $9.4 billion from 2001-02 through 2004-05. This $9.4 billion means that there is a reduction of $1,550 per student or a reduction $38,750 per classroom. No other state or local government program has had to suffer such drastic reductions.

MUSD Adult Education Program Featured in the CTA California Educator

Featured in the May 2004 issue of the California Educator is an article on Adult Education. When planning an article on Adult Ed, CTA turned to Montebello because of our exemplary program. Montebello has more than 30,000 students in the Adult Education program and some of our teachers are featured in the article. Turn to Pages 6-18 of the California Educator to read the complete article. You can also read the article at cta.org.
Gladys Guthrie Scholarship Loan
Karine Sarkissyan (MHS student) is the winner of the Gladys Guthrie Scholarship loan. This scholarship loan was established by Ms. Guthrie, a 40 year veteran of Montebello, to encourage high school graduates to enter the teaching profession. This grant is $3,000 over a period of 4 years. A trust fund was established to provide the monies for this loan. No dues dollars are used to fund this program.

Welcome to Allied Administrators

Beginning August 1, 2004 Allied Administrators will be the administrators of MTA’s Trust Fund. After an exhaustive search, the MTA Trust Fund trustees selected Allied as the most qualified to handle our Retirement Supplemental Health Plan. More information will follow.

You’re invited!
The Year Round Informational Meeting will be held at Suva Intermediate School at 3:30pm August 10.
Everyone is invited to attend.

REVENUE AND EXPENSE QUARTERLY REPORT
Revenues
The month of February 2004 $19,966,361.00
The month of February 2003 $13,144,517.00
Year to date this year $117,119,703.00
Year to date last year $105,841,192.00
Expenses
The month of February 2004 $15,588,280.00
The month of February 2003 $15,849,294.00
Year to date this year $95,327,594.00
Year to date last year $96,341,094.00

TOPICS OF INTEREST THIS QUARTER

Facilities: Last report we announced that five of our school sites will begin modernization projects. At our April 15th meeting Pam Johnson informed the committee members that the bid for LMI’s modernization came back $400,000 above the estimate. Given this information the district will go out to bid again on this site.

BGH- The contractor has been terminated. The insurance performance bond will be accessed for funds to complete the project. At this point we are not sure how Travelers will decide to move forward. The goal of MUSD is to get the school built.

LNE- Environmental concerns update. The Feasibility Study has been approved. We are required to seal off and cap the methane and other toxic gases. Pam is still in negotiations to see what our options are to leave the buildings in place while this process is under way.

Five Year Maintenance Plan- The current five-year plan is expiring this year. Even though the state is not contributing to the fund, we could continue to set funds aside. If we choose to do this, we must have a current plan in place.

Prop 39 Bond Information- Pam provided the committee with information regarding the General Obligation Bond. The board needs to take action by August 5th.

Worker’s Compensation Third Party Administrator: We are currently under contract with the Southern California Risk Management Association (SCRMA). They do not have their own doctors. There is no statue of limitations on settling a claim. We are self-insured and we pay our own claims. A compensation rate of surrounding districts was reviewed. The average rate was 2.01%. MUSD is at 2.30 %.

COLA: Our projected COLA for 2004-05 has been revised to 2.41%. This will definitely help our bargaining team.

Budget Report: Last year the Board of Education announced that $5 million in budget cuts were needed. Only $3.5 million was actually cut. Glenn Sheppard feels we need to cut $12 million more in the next three years. There are several reasons for this situation. The main one is the State Budget Crisis. We must cut moderately now or cut significantly later.