On May 1, 2014, Stockton Teachers Association declared impasse in bargaining with Stockton Unified School District. Impasse is not an unusual event. It is part of the bargaining process, as defined by law (the Educational Employment Relations Act, EERA), that occurs when the parties are “stuck” in bargaining and need the assistance of outside neutrals to provide ideas, information, prodding or whatever else is needed to finally reach an appropriate settlement. The Association hopes that a mediator will be appointed quickly to assist in settlement before the end of this school year. The Association decided to seek impasse and appointment of a State mediator because it came to the conclusion that bargaining directly with the District, without outside assistance, is futile. In spite of the District’s inflexibility, the Association has not hesitated to address issues the District has raised, most notably its desire to bargain over use of student assessment data in the evaluation of teachers. In dealing with this and several other issues, the Association has come to the table ready, willing and able to share ideas, propose solutions and make compromises, all in the interest of its members and the students we serve. In contrast, over these many months, the District has only wanted to address its narrow interests and been unprepared and seemingly unwilling to even engage in the process to reach a mutually-beneficial compromise. Unlike other districts, such as Lincoln (5.75%), Elk Grove (a 3% salary increase) and Manteca (a 5.5% increase to both salary and benefits), which received much less new funding than Stockton, our district has offered a meager 1% increase in pay and an additional 0.86% for 2014-15. Beyond being an issue of priorities, there is no question that the District can afford to pay what the teachers have requested. The District has received at least a 7% increase in funding this year – or over $20 million more. Normally, the District spends about 50% of its budget on teacher salaries, benefits, stipends and alike. Therefore, one could expect the District to spend about half of this new money – or about $10 million – on teachers. On top of its $20+ million in new funding, the District ended last year with more than $40 million in its unrestricted reserve, more than seven times the amount required by the State. Thus, the District is in extremely good financial health but is unwilling to even pass on its normal, fair share of funding to its teachers. We will continue to keep you informed. Please continue to check our website, stocktonteachers for further information.
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 21:55:11 +0000
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