Concord Friday Letter Volume 2, No. 36

Press release from the Mt. Diablo Unified School District:

February 26, 2021

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 FRIDAY LETTER VOLUME 2, NO. 36

MDUSD's Friday Letter—updates and stories prepared weekly for the school district community.

Board Adds Layers to Safety Plans;
Contra Costa Approaches Red Tier Metrics

Contra Costa is Doing Better

It's good news for public health and for so many local organizations—did you see how close we are to the Red Tier in Contra Costa? Local pandemic metrics are steadily improving, and close to 300,000 vaccine doses (accounting for over 20% of all Contra Costa) have been administered. Public health authorities have been commenting that the improvement can be attributed to safe personal behaviors (i.e. masking and distancing), the seasonality of the virus, and some level of herd immunity.

When California assigns the Red Tier to Contra Costa, it will be a signal for many school districts to open doors to students. Doors have long been open to all employee groups to work on-location, and existing safety plans have been protecting employees successfully. Taking additional steps forward, the MDUSD Governing Board voted to approve more layers to existing safety plans.

Board Adds Layers to Safety Plans

New layer 1: Taking action to bring ongoing, convenient COVID-19 testing to all MDUSD staff, the board approved agreements with PHM Laboratory Inc. and Curative Labs Inc.. Testing will be widely accessible and free of charge; this additional layer of safety, combined with existing district response protocols, will lower the likelihood of virus outbreaks.

New layer 2: MDUSD's formalized Covid Prevention Plan (CPP) was also approved and published on Wednesday.

The district's planning documents are centrally located at mdusd.org/2020-21. Here is a compilation of the major planning documents:

• Reconnect Safely, Return Strong (27 pages)
• COVID-19 Prevention Plan (CPP) (17 pages)
• COVID-19 School Guidance Checklist (5 pages)
• COVID-19 Custodial Cleaning Procedures (6 pages)
• COVID-19 Response and Reporting Guidelines (10 pages)

The Question of When

Notably, in reference to the teacher's union negotiations, district leaders have reported that, "both parties did express that it is our goal to work to complete negotiations by March 15th." As we know, union agreements, in addition to the Red Tier status (or better) are required for reopening. Both sides of the negotiating table are working hard. A comprehensive negotiations update follows.

The Reopening Survey

District leaders sent a mandatory Reopening Survey (that is available through March 1) to all families, in which parents and guardians can express their intentions and any special circumstances. Upwards of 14,000 responses have been received so far. While not binding, the responses bring important information to school leaders about their community's needs.

This Week's Negotiations Update
Excerpt from the weekly Organizational Update to the Board

"The District negotiating team will be meeting on Friday, February 26 for a full day of work on different sections of a joint Hybrid draft proposal (which consists of a prior MDEA and prior District Hybrid proposal that have been merged).
The District team and MDEA have five (5) days of bargaining scheduled over the next couple of weeks. It is not normal for either party to have this many days in such a short timeline, but both parties did express that it is our goal to work to complete negotiations by March 15th.
The MDUSD board gave clear direction to the District negotiating team that the board does not believe that the District and MDEA should continue to spend any additional time on discussing safety metrics when the federal government, state and county have already established clear guidelines and metrics for a safe return to school for students and staff.
Here is a historical summary of Negotiations with MDEA regarding a Hybrid MOU thus far:

11-06-2020 - MDUSD proposes first Hybrid MOU

11-18-2020 - MDEA makes a counterproposal for a Hybrid MOU

12-02-2020 - MDUSD makes a counterproposal for a Hybrid MOU

12-02-2020 - No forward motion made on Hybrid MOU between 12-2-10 and 2-11-21. As the MDUSD Team was reminded by MDEA on 2-17-21, MDEA is still to make a counterproposal.

02-11-2021 - MDEA-MDUSD Committee Meets to work on Hybrid MOU.

02-16-2021 - MDUSD and MDEA visit school sites to examine school and district preparedness for reopening in a Hybrid format.

02-17-2021 - Scheduled Hybrid negotiation session on Friday 2-26-21 was moved at MDEA’s request.

02-17-2021 - MDEA agreed to split up the Hybrid Proposal so MDEA was to work on some parts and the District was to work on some parts. This was a potentially large and positive step forward on MDEA’s part.

02-17-2021 - MDEA expresses a goal to conclude a Hybrid MOU by March 15th, and MDEA and MDUSD schedule negotiation dates on 3-2-21, 3-4-21, 3-10-21, 3-12-21 and 3-15-21.

In regards to the CST bargaining unit, CST has requested to bargain for an updated Hybrid MOU on multiple occasions. The first MOU negotiation session will occur next Tuesday, 3-2-21.
In regards to the CSEA bargaining unit, CSEA submitted a Hybrid MOU proposal to MDUSD on Tuesday, 2-23-21. Negotiations regarding the Hybrid MOU will occur on Monday 3-1-21. CSEA also submitted questions to the Chief Business Officer (CBO) regarding their next Successor Contract and a date to meet.

In regards to the Teamsters bargaining unit, Teamsters met with the MDUSD negotiating team on Tuesday, 2-23-21 to have their questions for the CBO answered regarding their successor contract. The meeting did not go as smoothly as everyone wished, and forward momentum was paused. A Teamster and MDUSD Committee on Article 42 will occur Friday, 2-26-21, and it is hoped forward momentum will resume. Instead of beginning direct conversations about a Hybrid MOU, the Teamsters requested that MDUSD submit an MOU for Small Group Support Hubs. The district has been working on this MOU proposal with submission to Teamsters set for later this week. Hybrid MOU discussions will follow the successful conclusion of the Small Group Support Hubs MOU.

Dates for beginning negotiations with MDSPA regarding a Hybrid MOU are being discussed with a tentative date set for next Wednesday, 3-3-21."
- Dr. John Rubio, Chief of Human Resources

View Previous Negotiations Updates (Organizational Updates to the Board Archive)
View Our Reopening Plan: Reconnect Safely, Return Strong
View the February 24 Board Meeting in English | in Spanish

This Week in District Operations

Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark is continuing to publish transparent, detailed operations reports on a weekly basis. You can read department updates directly from our district leaders in our weekly Organizational Update to the Board, which is continuously archived for reference. Click on the document to review this week's Organizational Update:

Ask the CBO: The CARES Act

MDUSD Chief Business Officer, Dr. Lisa Gonzales, continues to answer questions from the school district community in a short video series called Ask the CBO. This week's topic is the CARES Act. Closed captioning is available in English and Spanish. Please know, we want your questions about district finances. Send them to cbo@mdusd.org, and yours could be featured in the next Ask the CBO.

You can also view last week's Ask the CBO by visiting the MDUSD YouTube channel. Don't miss an episode—subscribe to the channel today.

Due Today: Nominations for Teacher of the Year 2021-22

Current Teachers of the Year Dylan Bland and Beth Bremer pose with former winners Emily Andrews and Shay Kornfield.

Staff and community, the nominations for Teacher of the Year are due today.
Simply review the requirements memo and submit a nomination form to our Educational Services Department.

Nominate a Teacher

Nominar un Maestro

View Nomination Requirements and Deadlines

Each week, the MDUSD Friday Letter is written and compiled by the district's Communications Specialist and sent to a staff and district community audience. To sign up for our distribution list, send an email to breidenthala@mdusd.org. To view an archive of district communications, visit the Superintendent's Office page. Do you have a story or event to share with our community? Contact me (breidenthala@mdusd.org) with your ideas or suggestions.

Give Feedback on District Communications

Dé sus Comentarios sobre las Comunicaciones

P.S.
A poem:
Six Hundred and One Paces

When you're way up high in some mountain wood, and a cold, dense, nightly fog creeps over your path, it feels dark and obscure.

The moonlight brings no assurance, barely peeking through the density that surrounds you.

Your heart hesitates at unfamiliar sounds—a shriek far away, a rustling now at your feet.

You're really scared being all alone, but you do step forward, ducking your head through shades of black.

You stumble, and your stomach turns to stone. You stand up again, trembling. In the sharp air, your skin tightens and you clutch your arms.

With a tearful eye, it's then that you miss all the things you've known, and the world you left behind.

How far is home? How did I even get here?

An owl screams a warning at you, so you raise your arm in defense and shut your eyes tightly.
In a slow moment, your ears take in a fading whisper of flapping wings. It almost sounds like discernible words.

Then, the nighttime, playing a cosmic trick, as if it knows you're not looking, turns quickly into morning.

The rising sun whisks away the fog. Your path becomes clear as day. You look. It's green and rich; it's brown; it's blue above.

As you scramble down the mountain, you look below. The world you know begins to grow.
You can see it now. Six hundred and one paces to the roof, the house, and a loved one at the door.
You'll be back again. With a blanket and some soup, you'll tell the story, even still unclear how exactly you knew the number, those six hundred and one paces.

This press release was produced by the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. The views expressed are the author's own.