Bargaining Heads to Fact-Finding
After four mediation sessions, the District failed to advance a coherent proposal. The District’s last proposal–as actually writte–contradicted the District representation of it. For example, the District wrote it was “revising” counter-proposals (on class size and Special Education Appendix D) and then never provided the promised proposal.
The mediation was made more difficult because the District refused to meet face-to-face.
We noted that the District recently hired a new superintendent who will be paid $295,000 per year, plus an additional $750 per month for expenses (in addition to $10,000 to move from Fresno to Sacramento). Thereafter, the superintendent’s salary will be increased by 3.5% per year. Shouldn’t certificated educators throughout the District expect the same?
We were extremely disappointed (but not surprised) when the District rejected our proposal to make educator salaries competitive along the lines of the compensation for the new superintendent.
The District also rejected every one of our proposals to improve services to students–lower class sizes, more nurses, psychologists, and support staff, improve special education, provide arts, music and physical education to all students, a teacher-driven professional learning, an inclusive restorative practices, early academic intervention, and more.
The District even rejected our proposal to address the so-called unfunded liability of retiree health benefits.
It appears its highest priority is hiring administrators and increasing the size of its reserve fund–which has grown by 403% in the past four years–rather than addressing the needs to today’s students.
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