Senate Bill 275 (Ding Bill), which provides for collective bargaining, binding arbitration, and the right to strike, is causing great conflict between the School Board and teachers in the Arcadia district. The Board has voted 5-0 to support the Winston Act and oppose any State legislation that would replace its provisions. The Winston Act was passed in 1969 and required that School Boards meet and confer in good faith with teachers in determining salary schedules, fringe benefits, and working conditions.
Arcadia Teachers settled their year-long contract dispute with the school district following 2 marathon bargaining sessions. Now the talks must be approved by the Arcadia School Board and by Arcadia teachers.
The University of La Verne has agreed to sponsor summer school in Arcadia to take the place of that cut by the passage of Proposition 13. Tuition will be charged.
With the passage of Governor Deukmejian's cost-cutting state budget, the Arcadia Board of Education will have to find more than $1 million to cut to get down to its estimated $24.2 million income and that, according to Superintendent Stephen Goldstone, probably means some employees will have to go.
The Arcadia Board of Education and members of the Arcadia Teachers Association having exhausted the negotiation process and declared and impasse, must now take the ultimate step of fact-finding.
Some teachers began picketing in front of the district offices. At issue were charges of stalling on negotiations and the 1% increase offer by the School Board which the teachers called "an insult." Superintendent Ed Ryan said that if the two unions had been able to get together on their demands the problem might have been resolved by now.
The Arcadia City Council ignored a request from the Arcadia Tax Reform Committee to vote again on taxes approved in June, 1978, following passage of Proposition 13.
The County Board of Supervisors urged the State Legislature and Governor Reagan to defeat a bill which would make it easier for citizens to form a new county.
Two candidates without professional experience were the winners from among a field of 5 running for 2 seats on the Arcadia Board of Education. Mary Dougherty and Bill Spuck will officially take their posts at the July 1 meeting, replacing Carol Papay and Don Fickas. Final results: Bill Spuck (2489), Mary Dougherty (1983), Marilyn Miller Perkins (1704), Robert Harris (1232), and David Strauss (4331).
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a program for the development of a Hall of Environmental Education at the Arboretum. The Arboretum foundation has pledged $500,000 to the total $1,295,000 bill. There is no timetable for the work, but it will take approximately 2 or 3 years.
About $1 million will have to be chopped from the expenditures column of Arcadia School District's 1987-88 tentative budget if the district wants to ensure an adequate contingency fund and avoid running a deficit. According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Dennis Chuning, this undoubtedly involves staff cuts.
Public hearing on Anoakia-area zone change allows citizen input. Hearing is on a Planning Commission resolution recommending approval of a zone change from R-0 30,000 to R-0 30,000 and D for the Anoakia area. This means that residential lots must contain at least 30,000 square feet. The D stands for "design overlay," which gives the property owners' association an opportunity to review architectural plans for development.
County supervisors called a halt to a plan to merge the Department of Arboreta and Botanic Gardens with the county Museum of Natural History because the county's Economy and Efficiency Commission has not made sufficient progress on it and because the board needs to replace recently retired arboreta department head Francis Ching.
The Atlantic Richfield Company has contributed $25,000 to the Arboretum to ensure resumption of several programs cut with the passage of Proposition 13.
About 90 Arcadia teachers held a rally in front of the school district administration building to support their bargaining team during an impasse in contract negotiations.
There will be no summer school in the Arcadia Unified School District due to the passage of Proposition 13 limiting property taxes to 1 percent of the assessed valuation.
The preliminary 1978-79 Arcadia School District budget has been approved. Public hearings will be held in September prior to the passage of the final budget.