In the midst of contract negotiations, Coronado Unified School District teachers are pressing for more pay and ripping the School Board over budget cuts – including reductions in staffing.
But school administrators have bridled at the criticism, saying the teacher’s union is pushing for 10 percent pay increases at a time when the district is suffering from budget cuts. If such raises are granted, officials said, educational programs will suffer.
Contrary views are normal during negotiations between public employees and the agencies they work for. But, in this case, members of the Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT) have used the microphone at School Board meetings to confront trustees with their demands.
In negotiation updates, the ACT says the district is offering a 3% wage increase, but the union maintains their request for a 10% increase on the path to reach statewide and county average wage pay although they say that this double digits would still result in salaries below those averages.
Apart from salary, the union is pushing for increased healthcare coverage – contract enhancements the district says it is unable to meet. Those demands come as the district – more than 2,700 students and 380 employees – is struggling with a $2.3 million budget deficit that has resulted in reductions of staffing, programs and services.
In fact, those cutbacks also have resulted in a backlash from some community members, as well as educators.
At the May 16 Coronado Unified School Board meeting, Katie Quinly, a special education teacher in the city for 13 years, said low pay and a perceived lack of support are under-cutting morale and hurting students.
Quinly, who is part of the union’s negotiations team, said experienced staffers are leaving Coronado for positions with better pay and work conditions in other school districts.
The union issued a community flyer showing Coronado teacher pay and benefits below statewide averages, and calling for a reprioritization. District officials, meantime, have emphasized that “CUSD will always prioritize students.”
“Accepting ACT’s current salary proposals would mean more cuts to student programs,” read the district’s recent response to union demands.
One of the most controversial moves to address the budget shortfall involved termination of three district mental health counselors for an estimated savings of $280,000. That decision has come under fire not just from educators, but from students and parents.
Quinly told the board that having veteran teachers working with students with disabilities is best for students and for the district.
“Experienced professionals are able to navigate difficult conversations, support parents as they get an understanding of their child’s disability and discuss program and curriculum options with clarity,” added Quinly.
Turnover rates
The association says there is “very high” teacher turnover. As a result, they claim, more than 23% of Coronado educators have fewer than two years in the district.
Meanwhile, district officials counter that 39% of CUSD teachers have been in the district for 11 years or more.
District officials also have said they are prioritizing student programs and the student experience while intentionally spending down reserves to comply with state requirements for a new “Basic Aid” funding formula in the next couple years.
“While the district cannot negotiate more than three years out, there is a stated commitment from CUSD directly to ACT to deliver a deserved pay raise in a fiscally responsible manner upon reaching Basic Aid, or sooner, as state funding allows,” reads a May 16 Negotiations Update from the district.
While Quinly spoke about substandard pay, she focused her talk on special education and said Coronado schools are more hesitant to provide services to students with disabilities.
“This starts with paying teachers the wage that at least matches the average in San Diego County, and focusing support and resources on those closest to students,” Quinly told the board.
Since 1975, public schools have been mandated to provide free and appropriate education for students with disabilities ages 3-21 in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
According to the district’s certificated salary schedule, pay for Coronado teachers ranges from $51,897 to $116,248 with incentives. The salary for teachers in the San Diego Unified School District’s begins at $58,608 and can surpass $124,050 annually based on the plan.
The teachers union website says the next bargaining date with the district is scheduled for May 28.
Recent Advocacy
Last month, board President Alexia Palacios-Peters and Trustee Whitney Antrim joined other California school representatives who traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for more public education money.
“This is advocacy at the federal level for California schools,” said Antrim. “One of the major talking points, (during) the first trip and continued to this trip, is ‘fund our special education.’”
District officials told The Coronado News that CUSD served approximately 400 students with special needs — 12% of the total student population — in the 2022-2023 school year. The total cost: about $11.6 million of the recorded $50 million in General Fund expenditures.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the federal government set a goal of funding up to 40% of the per-pupil costs, but Congress has failed to keep that promise.
“Declining enrollment, teacher retention and recruitment, funding—these are issues that we’re all facing,” said Palacios-Peters.
In July, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) reintroduced the IDEA Full Funding Act in the Senate and House, according to the National School Boards Association.
During the trip to D.C., Palacios-Peters said, the House bill was discussed with Rep. Scott Peters (no relation), whose district includes Coronado, and his office staff.
Together, she said, those measures “would require the federal government to allocate funds for special education to the state and local governments, getting to that 40% over the next five years.”
In a written statement, Peters said he appreciated the input from Coronado trustees and the pro-education groups that organized the trip.
“These organizations play a vital role in ensuring that California’s representatives in D.C. know what’s going on at schools in our congressional districts — and what we can do to keep students safe, boost opportunities for all learners, and help teachers do their jobs,” said Peters.
A group of bipartisan co-sponsors, including Peters, currently support the bills introduced by Senator Van Hollen and Rep. Huffman.
“These are bipartisan efforts about schools that should not be politicized. They are what’s in the best interest of our students and our schools and our communities,” Antrim said.
