Lydia Cerna: She is in the food service department and says some of the workers don’t speak English at McKinley Elementary, which makes it difficult to give them directions. Another woman on this issue said workers got an email that Spanish speakers can only speak Spanish on break.
Cecilia Grady: She said she works in El Dorado’s cafeteria. She said insurance costs are a big problem and she said workers need a raise. “We need help. We’ve been asking for a raise from our boss but she puts us down. What are we supposed to do?”
Rose Parker: She is a school administrative assistant. She asked why the district gives raises to district administrators when the district is “crying poor.” “We have so many members in the union, yet we have huge medical insurance-premium increases.” She said she hopes with Steve Lowder as superintendent, the district will find ways other than “attacking classified staff” to balance its budget.
Kennedy teacher Jerolyn Fry: She said 30 students were excessed from the school yesterday. She said it’s a shock to the community and the school only has one fourth- and one fifth-grade class. She said it is “creating chaos” in the school. She said the school needs a 4-5 combination class. “We need your help. We do not want to create a disruption in our students’ learning.” The school is in one of the toughest neighborhoods in north Stockton and she said there are safety issues at Kennedy.
Lynette Andress: She’s a parent at Kennedy. She said Fry is her daughter’s teacher but her daughter is being moved. She said her daughter was already struggling and this will hurt her.
Marilyn Brown spoke about classified frustration with pay (briefly) and also about “the right to go to the bathroom.” She said some employees are not given a key to the bathroom. She did not say what school she is speaking of. “It’s only some site administrators.” She said others are wonderful but there’s a “class system” that mistreats some classified workers. Deloris Foster echoed Brown’s comments.
Cecilia Mendez: She spoke of Item 7.3 (administrator of state and federal programs). She said the district needs a language-development office director.
