After 21 months of contract negotiations between the Carpinteria Unified School District and an employees union, the Public Employment Relations Board has directed the two parties to enter the “fact-finding” phase.
During this stage, the two parties provide data that reflect their understanding of the district’s financial situation to a panel, which will review the data and make a recommendation as to how the parties can come to a resolution.
During contract negotiations, the Carpinteria Association of Unified School Employees (CAUSE) has asked for increased salaries to keep up with the cost of living. Meanwhile, the district says it has limited financial resources.
CUSD Superintendent Diana Rigby said the district sees the fact-finding process as an opportunity for the district and the union to work through their differences with the help of a neutral panel.
“Our district remains committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement that supports our students, staff and community,” Rigby said. “Our dedication to collaboration remains unchanged, and we look forward to productive discussions that move us closer to a resolution.”
Rigby added that they are dedicated to maintaining fiscal responsibility while providing high-quality education.
“As always, our priority is providing a high-quality education for our students while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” Rigby said. “We will continue to engage in good-faith negotiations and look forward to an agreement that serves the best interests of all stakeholders.”
Jay Hotchner, CAUSE president, said they believe the district has a history of under-projecting revenues and over-projecting expenditures, so they’re hoping the process reveals that there are resources to raise staff salaries.
“Our goal is to encourage both the fact-finder, district and the community to understand that there is money available for a reasonable salary increase,” Hotchner said, “and that our goal is to see them match the salary increases that they’ve already given to administration, two of them, in the last 21 months.”
Once the fact-finder makes a recommendation, the parties could agree to the recommendation or come to their own agreement. CUSD also could reject the recommendation and make their own decision as to if there will be any salary increases and by how much.
“If the district imposes their will, employees will suffer and the students will suffer because that has an impact on the teaching and learning environment,” Hotchner said. “Or employees will have to weigh the option, in extraordinary frustration, band together and strike, which will be legally permissible at that point, and we will have even more chaos.”