Joint Communication from March 16, 2022
RTA and the District wanted to send out an email to confirm with the certificated staff that the Board of Education approved our tentative agreement last week and that we are scheduled to see the adjustment to the salary schedule along with the retroactive payment on the March payroll.
On another payroll related issue, we wanted to share that business services has applied the updated COVID leaves to all of our staff who have taken time off due to COVID since January 1, 2022. Any deductions to compensation or sick leave balances that took place in January and February were reimbursed to the impacted staff.
Feel free to contact the business services if you have any questions regarding this leave.
Joint Communication from March 8, 2022
Special Education Staff
The District and the Association met to discuss our special education program. One of the topics for discussion was how to improve communication within the department.
As part of the effort to improve those efforts, we want to encourage our staff to direct questions related to special education to the site administration, and to copy Candace Boulais on those emails. We have recommended a 24 hour response time (during regularly scheduled workdays) with a response or status update in the event more time is needed to follow up on the question.
We are hoping to expedite responses to special education questions and also provide the district with an opportunity to identify common trends throughout the district.
Joint Communication from October 26, 2021
The RTA and District negotiation teams met on October 21, 2021 to continue our discussions. We finalized a tentative agreement that included items such as a general description of our virtual instructional program, adjustments to our stipend schedule, middle school virtual teacher compensation, and a clarification of committee work. The agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding that the district would continue SB-95 sick leave for those who have not utilized the COVID-19 leave provision that expired at the state level in September.
This agreement will go to the RTA membership for ratification and then to the Board of Education for approval.
Joint Communication from October 13, 2021
In August, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the Vaccine Verification for Workers in Schools California Department of Public Health Order that requires all public and private schools in California to verify that all employees are fully vaccinated or to take part in weekly COVID-19 testing.
The order took effect on August 12, 2021, and weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated staff members went into effect on Monday, August 30, 2021, in the Romoland School District. All school districts in the state must be in full compliance with the order on Friday, October 15, 2021.
In the event that an unvaccinated Romoland School District staff member does not undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, the individual would be ineligible to work at the beginning of the following week and would not receive compensation during the time they are excluded from work.
If you have not already uploaded your proof of vaccination, please upload through our confidential electronic system using this link: https://portal.laserfiche.com/q2197/forms/vacpro
The following is acceptable proof of vaccination when uploading via this tool:
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A photo of your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention or WHO Yellow Card) which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided, and date the last dose administered); OR
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A photo or screenshot of your California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record including the QR code, client name, date of birth, vaccine dates, and vaccine type.
Any questions regarding this message can be directed to Human Resources Director, John Murray.
Joint Communication from May 28, 2021
The Association and District continued our discussions related to the summer school program and the virtual instructional program for the 2021-2022 school year.
We agreed to increase the hourly rate for summer school instruction from $40 per hour to $55 per hour.
Our conversations regarding virtual instruction focused on the criteria for the selection of teaching staff. The criteria include:
- Interview process
- Credential appropriate to specific teaching assignment
- Health concerns with physicians note as a consideration
The teaching staff will be notified of the Edjoin postings for the virtual program later today along with the requirements for the application.
We also wanted to let the RTA membership know that the one time payment approved by the Board of Education at the May meeting will be paid on the June payroll.
Joint Communicaiton from May 7, 2021
As we approach the conclusion of the 2020-21 school year, a discussion has taken place among the associations and the district regarding the continued use of the plexiglass partitions in our classrooms. The partitions were included in our district safety plan, which was approved by the Riverside County Public Health Department, for the resumption of in person instruction. While we acknowledge the plexiglass dividers can result in some challenges, the health and safety benefits they provide in mitigating in-school transmission of the COVID-19 virus is of the utmost importance.
The associations and the district see the benefit of continuing their use through the end of the traditional school year and we will revisit this practice with the start of summer school, while taking into consideration the most recent COVID-19 data for Riverside County, class size spacing, and changing guidance from Riverside County Public Health
Joint Communication from April 20, 2021
The goal of the MOU is to allow for a gradual resumption of in person instruction as Riverside County Public Health and California Department of Public Health guidance permits. This agreement allows students who have been signed up for the traditional program to attend school in person four days per week. We will continue to follow the daily class schedule that has been followed this entire school year, but with four days of in person instruction per week.
To allow this to take place, we are following the updated public health guidance of three feet of social distancing in the classroom. In the event that a particular classroom can not maintain the three feet of distancing, the school site administration will make the necessary scheduling changes to maintain that requirement. School site administration will contact the families of those students who have chosen to remain virtual while in the classroom of a teacher who is moving to four days of in person instruction. Those families will be encouraged to send their student(s) to school for in person instruction or a schedule change will take place with the student moving to a virtual classroom with a different teacher.
In terms of providing special education services, we will continue to provide as many of our services in a virtual format as possible. When in person services are required they must follow public health guidance, meet the expectations of the MOU, and be conducted in a pull out model. Push in services will not take place.
The MOU also consists of language that was in place during earlier formats of this agreement. Section 4a refers to the return of students for in person instruction going into a hybrid model, but that was for the return of students in March. The updated language about the traditional classes going to four days a week supersedes this language.
Finally the four hours of preparation time outside of regular working hours will be paid at the per diem rate to those in the traditional program assignment. The four hours of paid time is in addition to the two Wednesdays that traditional teachers will use to prepare for the move to four days of in person instruction.
Joint Communcaiton from March 8, 2021
The Associations and the District continue to meet on a weekly basis to discuss our preparations for reopening schools for in-person instruction and a few questions have come up which we are addressing here.
The topic that comes up with the greatest frequency is the need to maintain physical distancing in the classroom. Each classroom has been set up to maintain the six feet of distance between everyone in the room. This includes a location for the teacher that clearly defines the appropriate distancing. From time to time staff may have the need to leave this area. This should be done sparingly for unique situations to support students in the classroom. We encourage the use of Go Guardian tools whenever possible to keep distancing in place and also to teach from the front of the room using the classroom whiteboard to help students when they experience academic challenges. The traditional monitoring of students by walking around the classroom would not be considered a unique situation and is discouraged.
Another question came up about the ability of students to move from one instructional model to another as we transition into in-person instruction. We do have the ability to make moves on a case-by-case basis and as space permits. We are making every effort to minimize movement between the models, but it may be required in certain situations.
We are also eliminating the sharing of instructional materials between students. Sites were provided with $25 per student to purchase instructional supplies and each site was responsible for the ordering of those materials. Each site has indicated they have student supplies ready and available along with all of the required PPE. If you have questions regarding this, please speak with your site administration.
The last topic was how the district would conduct emergency drills. We will follow public health guidelines for face masks and distancing when conducting any required drills. Each school site has specific details for evacuation locations and adjustments, if they are needed, prior to the return of students to campus.
The Associations and the District will continue these ongoing conversations through the end of the school year with the intent of addressing issues as they arise.
