Capistrano teachers strike; Oakland's storm out...& we've only just begun - California's Children

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Capistrano teachers strike; Oakland's storm out...& we've only just begun - California's Children

Capistrano teachers strike; Oakland's storm out...& we've only just begun

Negotiations between the Capistrano Unified Education Association and the Capistrano Unified School District continued today, Saturday, and the CUEA website states "At this point, there are no plans to call off the teachers strike."

Only 10% of high school students in Capistrano showed up for class on Friday as more teachers joined a strike to protest the Capistrano Unified School District's decision to permanently cut pay by 10% to close a $34 million gap (a number ironically close to the $35 million spent in the recent past on a CUSD school administration building). As reported today by My-Thuan Tran in the Los Angeles Times:

"The particularly egregious condition is that they made the cuts permanent," said Bill Guy, a communications consultant with the California Teachers Assn. who is working with the Capistrano union. "Every other district in Orange County has settled without permanent conditions. Everybody knows that some sacrifices have to be made, but we are asking the board for temporary cuts."

School board president Anna Bryson (above, on right) said that the district is strapped for money and that the state's fiscal uncertainties make the situation untenable. "There is a tsunami of financial events that every district has to deal with," she said. "Everyone has to help us with the issue...."

(Home school bloggers, meanwhile, have jumped in with suggestions for parents to keep children busy and up to speed, as even elementary school attendance is off 55%, despite the nearly 600 strike-breaking teachers hired to substitute.)

On Wednesday, "hundreds of teachers stormed out of a meeting in which the school board unanimously approved" a no-raise contract, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and on Thursday, they went on a one-day strike.

Superintendent of Oakland schools, Tony Smith (at right), said, "It is an unfortunate and sad time. Oakland teachers are among the lowest paid in the East Bay." [Oakland teachers start at about $39K and average about $55 K; San Francisco starts teadchers at $50K; there, salaries average $62K.] The Chronicle reported the district has to cut $85 million...but "will not cut salaries or benefits. Instead, dozens of teachers will be laid off, elementary class sizes will grow, and schools and programs will close."

Teachers also claim (and Superintendent Smith, says the Chronicle, does not dispute) that Oakland is out of compliance with state law that requires 55% of a school budget to be spent on classroom costs (e.g., salaries and curriculum).