Tustin : Teachers’ Union, District Differ on Status of Talks

Both sides in the on-again, off-again negotiations between the school district and the teachers’ union disagreed Friday on the status of the contract talks.

A union spokeswoman said some teachers are ready to strike, but a district spokeswoman said she is “truthfully optimistic” that a settlement is near.

Both agreed that the last negotiating session, Tuesday, was productive, but they disagreed over why the district canceled the following day’s meeting at the last minute.

Sandra Banis, president of the Tustin Educators Assn., said she thought the negotiations had been broken off because of an unfair labor practices charge the union filed against the district with the Public Employees Relations Board.

Barbara Wilson, the Tustin Unified School District’s chief negotiator, acknowledged the negative effect of the unfair practices charge but pointed out that one negotiating session had been canceled, not the entire process.

Wilson said district administrators had been surprised by teachers picketing outside Foothill High School shortly before the meeting was to begin Wednesday. That, coupled with a large number of calls from the news media earlier in the day, served as a warning that the district should consult with its attorney before negotiating further, she said.

The district was unable to reach its attorney that afternoon, Wilson said.

The teachers “have not moved on any of the (negotiating) items, specifically on the longer work day and year,” Wilson said. The district’s primary goal is to reach an agreement on additional work hours, she said, adding that the district will have about $620,000 to pay for the extra time.

Teachers at Foothill and Tustin high schools are working an extra 43 minutes every day under a plan implemented by the district in September. Other teachers also are working longer hours under the plan. The district plans to move ahead with a longer school year in June.

A meeting with the teachers is set for Wednesday, Wilson said, but “it appears they would like to have some sort of confrontation.”

Banis said the teachers are “hoping the district will come back to the (negotiating) table.”

Many teachers “are at the point where they’re ready to strike,” Banis said, but the union wants teachers to continue working while negotiations progress.