Thursday, March 9, 2023 5
Coastal View News • Tel: (805) 684-4428
School district reaches tentative agreement with teachers union BY JUN STARKEY
The Carpinteria Unified School District has reached a tentative agreement regarding salary increases and school calendars with the Carpinteria Association of United School Employees (CAUSE), negotiating an eight percent retroactive raise for all certificated staff employed by the district as of July 1, 2022. “We are pleased to reach tentative agreements for 22-23 certificated salary increases and school calendars for 22-23, 23-24, and 24-25,” said CUSD Superintendent Diana Rigby. “We look forward to completing the 22-23 classified negotiations in the next month.” There are 150 certificated staff who will receive this raise, Rigby said. Other salary negotiations include increasing the stipend for teachers who hold the Board Certified Coach (BCC) or the Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language and Academic Development (BCLAC) credentials, and are “actively employed teaching within the scope of that credential” from $1,000 to $3,000, and increasing the amount the district pays for retirees’
medical premiums. Originally, the district paid $3,500 toward retirees with 20 years of service, $4,000 to those with 25 years of service and the total cost at the time of retirement for those with 30 years of service. This was increased to $10,000 for retirees with 20 years of service, and $15,000 to those with 25 years of service. The union also negotiated for compensation for union members at their daily rate of pay for attending an additional Professional Development day; one more day to the school year; and one-time, off schedule payments of $5,000 to kindergarten teachers, and $10,000 for transitional kindergarten (TK) teachers. The district will also provide an extended day, to 2:30 p.m., to TK students, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for the entire school year, and the same extended days to kindergarten students for the first six weeks of the school year. Members of CAUSE will review the documents and let their representatives know if they support these changes.
Warriors’ robotics team demonstrates newest robot BY JUN STARKEY
The Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Trustees got a first look at the Carpinteria High School robotics team’s robot at its meeting last week. The team and its advisor, George Cadiente, went over recent accomplishments and some goals for the previous and upcoming school years. The team recently received the Motivate Award during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Tech Challenge, which Cadiente described as the “middle level” of the robotics competition, in late February. Goals for the 2023-24 school year, Cadiente said, include expanding the program to create one or two Carpinteria Middle School teams. This will be done through recruiting enough students to have 10 per team, recruiting parent volunteers, industry professional volunteers and teachers. Five students from the Warriors Robotics team spoke about their experiences and what they learned while in the program. Students said they improved their software and communication skills, and focused on team building, problem solving and networking with other students and instructors. Later in the meeting, students demonstrated how the robot moves, controlled through a gaming console controller via WiFi signal. The rotating wheels allow the robot to spin in complete circles while staying in place, which came in handy for competitions involving moving or avoiding obstacles. The robot also has a large claw that extends out from the top. “This is really the application for robotics,” said board member Andy Sheaffer. “The fact that you guys are getting in now and you’re learning about it and you’re enthusiastic, is going to pay off huge in the future.”
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“Driving at the beginning was rough… our robot was only able to push stuff (...) But then throughout every tournament, we were progressing more and more.”
– student Emily Calkins
Students also went over challenges they faced while building their robot, including issues with getting the motor to start and securing pieces of the robot in place. At recent competitions, they faced issues with meeting the requirements for tournaments, the robot’s claw breaking twice, a misunderstanding of a manual and learning time management with other courses. The team’s favorite part of their robot, they said, were the wheels, which were a challenge to place and code. Once students got the hang of them, it was fun to drive around, they said. “Driving at the beginning was rough… our robot was only able to push stuff,” said student Evelyn Calkins. “But then throughout every tournament, we were progressing more and more.”
Warrants
The board approved the warrant for the period of Feb. 10 through Feb. 24, in the amount of $611,357.95.
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