Rage filled the Santa Barbara Unified School District board room on Wednesday, with students, parents and teachers blasting the board over teacher pay and student learning.
More than 200 people packed the board room, overflow room and spilled out onto the sidewalk and patio on both sides of the administration building.
“I don’t mean to villainize you, because you have done that yourselves,” student Andrew Southard said during the meeting. “You have united Dos Pueblos and San Marcos (high schools) and every other group that doesn’t like each other.”
Southard was referring to walkouts featuring more than 2,500 students over the past two weeks at Dos Pueblos, San Marcos and Santa Barbara High schools. Students also marched off campus at La Colina Junior High school earlier this week to support teachers who are in the midst of contract negotiations with the district.
Teachers at the three high schools have also decided to only “work-to-contract,” meaning that they are not writing letters of recommendation, hosting lunchtime clubs, or participating in any outside-of-class work that they aren’t getting paid for.
The Santa Barbara Teachers Association has taken the contract battle public, rallying support at school board meetings and street rallies near the district office. An Instagram page @sbunifiedisahotmess also features comedic memes attempting to embarrass the district and its administrators.
The Santa Barbara Teachers Association is currently negotiating with the district, seeking a 15% raise next year, and 8% the following year, citing the high cost of living. As of this week, the district has offered a 9% increase next year and 4% the following year.
So far, the district has agreed to pay 75% of medical benefits and maintain small class sizes, but the dispute over pay remains.
The district’s ratio of spending on salaries dipped below minimum levels last year, union members point out, but school officials say that’s because additional COVID-19 relief money affected the funding ratios.
Many of the public speakers at Wednesday’s board meeting, and other meetings on the topic, have criticized Superintendent Hilda Maldonado and her nearly all new cabinet staff. Since Maldonado was hired in mid-2020, everyone on the executive team except John Becchio, assistant superintendent of Human Resources, left and was replaced by someone new.
The speakers also say that the cabinet members don’t know the staff or students. Many members of the leadership team live outside the Santa Barbara area and are not connected to the community, they alleged.
Hozby Galindo, president of the Teachers Association, spoke at the meeting and said that teachers are underpaid and overworked.
“If anyone has come to speak at this or any other board meeting and has showed emotion it is because we are struggling to survive in this city and that is very emotional for us,” Galindo said.
He added that teachers teach extra classes, which saves the district money by not having to hire new teachers. In the past two years, Galindo said, about 200 new teachers have been hired because of recruitment and retention issues.
Regarding negotiations, District spokesman Ed Zuchelli said the district met for a third round of negotiations for the contract, which would start for the 2024-25 school year.
“Our priority is to find a solution that supports our teachers while keeping the district fiscally responsible,” he said in a statement.
The district gave excused absences to all the students participating in walkouts.
Zuchelli said the district stands behind the rights of students to express themselves in a peaceful and responsible manner.
Board OKs Appointment Process For Member Vacancy
The board unanimously approved an appointment process to fill a vacant seat left by Virginia Alvarez.
Applicants must submit a candidate application form and reside in attendance boundaries of the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
Candidate interviews will take place between Monday, Jan. 8, 2024 and Friday, Jan.
19, 2024 in public at the board meeting room.
The appointee will serve until the November election in 2024.
