About 100 teachers filled the Santa Barbara Unified School District office to rally for higher salaries and health insurance benefits during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The Santa Barbara Teachers Association has a three-year contract with the district that will end next year, said Derek Drew, bargaining chair and special education teacher at San Marcos High School.
“We have teachers who left in droves last year,” Drew said. “We had over 100 teachers leave, and many of them said, ‘We left because we can’t afford it here, can’t afford to live in Santa Barbara.’ It’s very isolated.”
The SBTA asked the school board to pay staff more so the district could compete with nearby districts, Drew said.
“Over the past couple of years, real estate market’s gone crazy, rental market’s gone crazy, inflation has gone crazy, so it really hasn’t kept up with the cost of living increases,” Drew said. “Our pay hasn’t caught up to that.”
The bargaining team has been to the negotiation table four times with the school district and offered teachers an 8% pay increase over three years, when the rate of inflation is 6% per year, according to the SBTA.
Drew said that the teachers are rallying now because the contracts are about to be open to renegotiation.
“This is just a way for us to say ‘hey, you know what, we have the backing right now, so let’s bridge that gap now let’s not let’s not wait till next year to make that happen,’” Drew said.
Many of the district teachers who spoke at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting mentioned the high turnover rate in the district as a result of the insufficient pay in Santa Barbara, one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. in 2023, according to U.S. News.
“Our educators need financial stability,” Joyce Adriansen, president of Santa Barbara Teachers Association, said during public comment at the board meeting.
Amy Woods, a faculty member at La Colina Junior High School, said when she began her career in the school district in 2003, a new teacher’s salary started at around $40,000 a year, rent for a one-bedroom was about $1,000 a month, and health insurance was completely covered by the district.
Currently, teachers start at around $58,000 a year, the minimum out-of-pocket expense for new teachers is $3,500, and the average cost of a one-bedroom is approximately $2,600 a month, she said.
“If we factor in inflation, this means that new teachers are making less money and paying 160% more to live in this town,” Woods said.
Woods said teachers in neighboring school districts — Montecito Union Elementary, Cold Spring School, Goleta Union School District and Hope School District — make an average of almost $25,000 more a year at the top of their pay scale.
“In the past five years, I’ve watched a number of colleagues leave the district due to low salaries, subpar insurance and lack of support,” Woods said. “I urge the district to reconsider our contract and salary negotiations. Investing in teacher salaries and our community is investing in our community.”
School district board members thanked teachers for their comments but did not discuss the contract during Tuesday’s agenda.
The Santa Barbara Unified School District released a statement Wednesday in response, saying the current agreement doesn’t allow reopeners on wages and benefits, and the district and SBTA will negotiate for the 2024-25 year.
“The district acknowledges, however, the economic factors at play in our area (and much of California), as external forces beyond our control and our limited revenue resources continue to concern all employees. We also note that successor contract negotiations are approaching. We believe those negotiations are the appropriate forum in which to address these challenges and fiscal limitations.”
“The district is confident both parties will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The district is also committed to continuing to analyze budgets and looks forward to successor contract negotiations where wages will be discussed,” SBUSD said in a statement.
