KHSTA UPDATE
Kern HIgh School Teachers Association
Welcome Back! Happy Friday! We hope your break was restful and enjoyable. We hope you have a great semester!
Updates come out every Friday EXCEPT for the last Friday of the quarter (the KHSTA Newsletter will arrive on these dates). Please check your junk mail folder if you are not receiving them. Past updates will be archived on the KHSTA website (khsta.org).
RETIREMENT WORKSHOPS FOR CALSTRS AND CALPERS
CTA is offering virtual retirement workshops for CalSTRS and CalPERS. Space is limited, so register early if you are interested. Fliers are attached.
TARDY T2 ON SYNERGY
To help improve attendance accuracy and classroom safety, a new tardy reporting option is available for students who arrive more than 30 minutes late to class (T2). When a student is significantly late, teachers may now select this specific tardy option when submitting attendance. This allows the attendance record to better reflect actual instructional time missed and ensures consistent documentation across campuses.
NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES
The National Education Association Representative Assembly–the RA–is the largest democratic deliberative assembly in the world, with over 8,000 delegates. Over the course of eight business sessions spanning four days, RA delegates debate the vital issues that impact American public education and set Association policy and activities for the year ahead. KHSTA will be opening declarations of candidacy for interested candidates next week and holding the election in the next few weeks. This year, the NEA/RA is being held July 4 - 7, 2026, in Denver, Colorado. Watch your email for more information.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CTA MEMBERS’ CHILDREN
Do you have a senior in high school? CTA offers up to 56 scholarships of up to $5000 to the dependent child of an active member of CTA and can be claimed as a dependent on the member’s current year’s IRS form. Scholarships are available for both comprehensive and continuation/alternative education programs. The deadline for scholarship applications is February 6, 2026. For more information, go to https://www.cta.org/for-educators/scholarships-awards.
CTA VIRTUAL PASS
CTA is again offering their virtual pass. This is professional development that CTA pays for that can be used to move over on the salary schedule for up to six units per column move. It’s a great way to move on the salary schedule. For more information on the courses, go to https://www.cta.org/conferences/virtual-pass/2025-2.
JANUARY IN-SERVICE
There is not a January staff in-service this semester. The staff in-service will be the Monday following finals in June. Summer school will start on the Tuesday following the in-service.
KHSD INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM
If you have safety issues or concerns on your campus, you can file them using the forms in the KHSD Injury And Illness Prevention Program handbook.
10 MINUTE MEETINGS
Your site reps will be doing monthly 10 minute meetings to help keep you informed. Reps should be having a 10 minute meeting to answer questions regarding the tentative contract. This month’s topic is Evaluations 2.0 and Writing a Rebuttal. Next month’s topic is Transfers. This semester we will be offering the opportunity to attend a virtual meeting if you are unable to attend your site’s meeting.
CONFERENCES
KHSTA has reached the limit for grants this year! Over 50 grants have been given to attend various conferences. Conferences may be re-opened if recipients are unable to go.
Happy Friday!! Enjoy your weekend!
KHSTA Executive Board
President: Cathy Adams (FrHS)
Vice President: Mindy Montanio (HHS)
Secretary: Stephanie Valenzuela (AHS)
Treasurer: Norma Procell (HHS)
State Council Reps
Elise Sotello (KL)
Kim Lee (AHS)
Tamara Clark (VWHS)
Joanne Barrick (HHS)
Candi Romero (TDS)
Past President: Vickie Shoenhair (Shafter)
Membership Chair: Dave Ziegler (LHS)
Bargaining, Grievance Chair: Mindy Montanio (HHS)
PAC Chair: Allysa Jones (FHS)
Equity Team: Lori Toia, LGBTQ+ Rep
Site Representatives
Arvin: Stephanie Valenzuela,
Ty Newton
BAS: Linda Colvin
BHS: Hillary Sanders,
Randy Bennett
CHS: Kayole Bradford, Kim Henry
CVHS: Alix Garcia
DOHS: Olive Garrison,
Hannah Richert
District (includes all district programs):
Danny Arretche (KL),
Isaac Rocha (JCC)
EBHS: April Bynum,
Rosemary Silverman
Foothill: Elizabeth Deckard,
Allysa Jones
Frontier: Lara Winn
GVHS: Victoria Hinojosa
HHS: Meaghan Barber Smith
IHS: Robb Polski, Tanya Whitehouse
KVHS: Casey Robinson
LHS: David Ziegler,
Marycoco Ramirez
MMHS: Brooke Malley Ault,
Matt Day
NHS: Erika Zeimet, Tonya Davis
Nueva:
RHS: Kim Smith, Nathan Claunch
ROP/CTEC: Chad Wright,
Scott Trimble
Shafter: Jessica Smith,
Brian Feaster
South: Rebekah Ingle,
Dante Borradori
Stockdale: Gaby Scully
TDS: Candi Romero
VWHS: Karen Roberts*
Vista: Julie Burke
West: Eliza Pearsy, Steve Willis
Liaisons
COUNSELOR: Joanne Barrick (HHS)
NURSE: Jamie Henry (IHS)
PSYCHOLOGIST: Angelina Gonzales (ABLE)
TEACHER-LIBRARIAN: Amanda Rude (SHS)
Copyright © 2026 Kern High School Teachers Association, All rights reserved.
You're receiving this email because you are either a) a member of the Kern High School Teachers Association or b) a member of the Bargaining Unit represented by the Kern High School Teachers Association.
Our mailing address is:
Kern High School Teachers Association
2441 F St
Bakersfield, CA 93301