County, teachers haven't settled

Editor,

I have attended all but one SELPA meeting since August 2007. Other individuals in attendance at the April 2, 2008 meeting were Grand Jury Chairperson Marilyn Baker and Jury member Mary Kennedy, GCOE Board President Ray Golnick and GCOE Trustee Linda Miller. 

It was reported in the next edition of the Sacramento Valley Mirror that the GCOE at the April 2, 2008 SELPA meeting, County Superintendent Arturo Barrera gave the county teachers a 6.4% raise. After reading this article I contacted Tamara Yates to see what she thought about it. She indicated she was unhappy as this makes negotiating with the county very difficult. She informed me that she had talked with the union rep Judy Holzapfel who told her there had absolutely been no settlement. 

The information provided to the Sacramento Valley Mirror is completely false and as an observer of that meeting I want to set the record straight. At no time was there any indication that the county had settled with their teachers. So why was it important for the Willows Superintendent Steve Olmos to pass the word along that there had been a settlement with GCOE teachers? Who would benefit from this misinformation? Certainly not the children.

Byron Denton