In Nelson v. Jurupa Unified School District (PERB Decision 2309E, March 8, 2013), the Public Employment Relations Board ("PERB") considered whether a school district committed an unfair labor practice by rejecting a teacher’s grievance because she was on the district's 39-month reemployment list after she had exhausted all her sick leave. PERB affirmed the ALJ’s ruling that teachers on the 39-month reemployment list remain employees of the district and have the right to file grievances against the District.
For more information, read the KMTG Legal Alert here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Court of Appeal Upholds Invalidation of Parcel Tax That Differentially Taxes Commercial and Residential Property; Legislature Introduces SCA 3 To Ease Parcel Tax Restrictions
The court of appeal recently upheld its previous ruling that a parcel
tax approved by Alameda Unified School District (“District”) voters
violates the Government Code’s restriction that special taxes apply
“uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the” district.
On rehearing, the court of appeal upheld its previous ruling that the
property classifications and differential tax burdens imposed pursuant
to the voter-approved measure exceed the taxing authority of the
District under section 50079 of the Government Code. The court held
that the special tax imposed by the measure is invalid to the extent it
imposes a different tax rate on commercial property versus residential
property. (Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 1 Dist., March 6, 2013).
In response to the restrictive court of appeal decision in Borikas, legislators have introduced a bill that would ease the requirements for a school district seeking to pass a parcel tax. SCA 3 seeks to amend the California Constitution relating to taxation by amending Section 4 of Article XIIIA, adding Section 4.5 to Article XIIIA, amending Section 2 of Article XIIIC, and amending Section 3 of Article XIIID, and would reduce the voted approval needed for parcel taxes from the current two-thirds to 55 percent. The Constitutional amendment would help school districts that have been subjected to years of continued funding cuts.
Read KMTG's Legal Alert on Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District here.
Read KMTG's Legal Alert on SCA 3 here.
Meghan Covert Russell
In response to the restrictive court of appeal decision in Borikas, legislators have introduced a bill that would ease the requirements for a school district seeking to pass a parcel tax. SCA 3 seeks to amend the California Constitution relating to taxation by amending Section 4 of Article XIIIA, adding Section 4.5 to Article XIIIA, amending Section 2 of Article XIIIC, and amending Section 3 of Article XIIID, and would reduce the voted approval needed for parcel taxes from the current two-thirds to 55 percent. The Constitutional amendment would help school districts that have been subjected to years of continued funding cuts.
Read KMTG's Legal Alert on Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District here.
Read KMTG's Legal Alert on SCA 3 here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Friday, March 15, 2013
SB 559 Proposes to Shift Certificated Layoff Timelines
The March 15 deadline is upon California school districts to issue written notices to certificated employees who will be subject to a layoff.
Right in line with the deadline comes a new bill that proposes to shift the timeline for certificated layoffs to later in the year to better align with budget requirements. Of course this is not the first bill of this type and there have been several attempts in the recent years to streamline and revamp the layoff process.
SB 559 seeks to shift the March 15 layoff notice date to June 1 and the May 15 notice of termination to August 1. The findings of SB 559 explain why lawmakers have repeatedly sought to shift the layoff timelines:
Existing law requires school districts to issue preliminary reduction in force notices by March 15 and final reduction in force notices by May 15 of each year. As a result of this existing law and in order to guarantee that it will remain fiscally solvent, school districts have relied on the January budget proposed by the Governor to determine the number of layoff notices that it must give to its employees. This results in thousands of teachers receiving notices that are later rescinded when more accurate information is available in May when the proposed budget is revised and later when the annual Budget Act is enacted. According to the Legislative Analyst Office, this practice unnecessarily costs taxpayers $706 per teacher, amounting to millions of dollars annually that could be spent in the classroom and employing teachers. Given the evidence that the existing statutory deadlines hurt schools across the State of California, it will be more productive for the schools, pupils, and teachers if the deadlines for giving notice to certificated employees that the school district may terminate their services are extended by two and one-half months.
KMTG will continue to track the progress of this bill and issue updates as developments occur.
Meghan Covert Russell
Right in line with the deadline comes a new bill that proposes to shift the timeline for certificated layoffs to later in the year to better align with budget requirements. Of course this is not the first bill of this type and there have been several attempts in the recent years to streamline and revamp the layoff process.
SB 559 seeks to shift the March 15 layoff notice date to June 1 and the May 15 notice of termination to August 1. The findings of SB 559 explain why lawmakers have repeatedly sought to shift the layoff timelines:
Existing law requires school districts to issue preliminary reduction in force notices by March 15 and final reduction in force notices by May 15 of each year. As a result of this existing law and in order to guarantee that it will remain fiscally solvent, school districts have relied on the January budget proposed by the Governor to determine the number of layoff notices that it must give to its employees. This results in thousands of teachers receiving notices that are later rescinded when more accurate information is available in May when the proposed budget is revised and later when the annual Budget Act is enacted. According to the Legislative Analyst Office, this practice unnecessarily costs taxpayers $706 per teacher, amounting to millions of dollars annually that could be spent in the classroom and employing teachers. Given the evidence that the existing statutory deadlines hurt schools across the State of California, it will be more productive for the schools, pupils, and teachers if the deadlines for giving notice to certificated employees that the school district may terminate their services are extended by two and one-half months.
KMTG will continue to track the progress of this bill and issue updates as developments occur.
Meghan Covert Russell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)