School employees have help on the line

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- Burned out? Money problems? Can’t stand your boss?

If you work at the school district, hold the phone. A hotline will be

activated soon to help employees with every imaginable difficulty.

There’s a reason for this interesting perk: Newport-Mesa Unified

School District officials hope to cut down on the number of sick and

personal days employees take.

“It’s a 24-hour, confidential 800 number that you can call if you need

support. [The hotline] also deals with child and elder care referrals

and retirement,” said Linda Mook, president of the Newport-Mesa Teachers

Federation. “One of the aims of the program is to curtail the number of

days employees have off in dealing with these issues.”

As part of their medical benefits negotiated last year, employees and

their families will have access to help for issues ranging from credit

and financial dilemmas to depression and substance abuse.

Employees are thrilled with the program, which will startOct. 1.

“We’re used to trying to cope with our own problems, and we muddle

through,” said Dave Brees, who has taught social studies at Estancia High

School for 32 years. “But having a trained professional [to talk with]

can help smooth the way in some cases. And I think that if a teacher is

stressed out or has problems, it’s hard to keep the classroom rolling on

a smooth level because kids are very perceptive.”

The biggest advantage to the hotline is anonymity, said Cindy Means,

president of the California School Employees Assn. for Newport-Mesa.

“It gives employees somewhere to call that’s not the district,” Means

said. “If your child has a drug problem, you might not want to call the

district. ... It’s all confidential. Employees won’t have to be concerned

that the superintendent will know they have credit problems.”

In addition to the hotline, the program will offer employees 20 hours

of training in a number of areas, including coping with grief and loss,

solving conflicts, understanding adolescence, preventing sexual

harassment and workplace violence, and appreciating diversity, Mook said.

“Teaching can be a very stressful job, and life can be stressful at

times regardless of what job you have,” Brees said. “There are times when

you need counseling and help, and we felt this offered a great

opportunity to our employees. So I’m excited about it. I think it’ll be

great.”