Number of Teachers in Tustin Strike Holds Steady

Tustin’s teachers on Thursday again voted for an “indefinite” strike, but the percentage of those participating remained stalled at about 60%.

After a resounding voice vote to continue striking, a rally of about 150 of the teachers Thursday afternoon indicated the job action would continue at least into early next week, and perhaps longer.

Sandy Banis, president of the Tustin Educators Assn., said she was not disappointed that more teachers hadn’t joined the 2-day-old strike. Rather, she said she was encouraged that there had been no significant erosion of teacher support.

Participation Holding Steady

Maurice Ross, superintendent of the 10,400-student Tustin Unified School District, acknowledged Thursday that teacher participation in the strike was holding about the same. He said that some teachers went back to their schools Thursday but that those were mainly offset by new strikers.

District figures showed that 239 of 397 regular classroom teachers were on strike Thursday. On Wednesday, the district said that 242 were on strike.

Ross said schools functioned well Thursday, with student attendance higher than normal. The superintendent said there were isolated pranks and incidents on school grounds.

“About the worst incidents were at Memorial and Nelson,” two elementary schools, said Ross. “At Memorial, someone sprayed epoxy glue into the locks of all the classroom doors. I don’t know who did it, but I’m convinced it’s strike-related. We’ve never had something like this happen at that elementary school before.”

At Nelson School, he said, “some of the strikers tried to get kids to put their (strike) signs on a fence after we refused to let the teachers do that. Getting the children involved is bad, and those teachers who tried to do that know it.”

Accusations by Teachers

Striking teachers similarly accused district administrators of trying to influence students. Teachers at the Thursday rally told reporters that at least one principal told students Wednesday that substitute teachers “care about you students,” with the implication that the striking teachers do not.

Ross reiterated the school district’s invitation for teachers to study its financial books. He said the records clearly show that the district has no money for the pay raises asked by the teachers’ union.

“The reason the district is so confident about doing this is that we’ve already been audited by the state, the county and a private auditor,” said Ross. “If the (teachers’) association really thought it could find more money, they would be jumping at the chance, but they know the money isn’t there.”

The union has asked for a pay raise totaling 6.3% for last year--in which they had no formal contract--and a pay raise of 8.1% for the current school year.

‘Final Offer’

The district, in its “final offer,” said it could give the teachers 8.2% for the current school year and could pledge “not less than 4%” for 1986-87. The offer did not include any pay raise for the 1984-85 school year.

School board president Dorothy Ralston has said the board will not increase that “final offer.”

Banis and other union leaders, however, have said they think community pressure will persuade the board to resume negotiations with the teachers. Negotiations broke off last Thursday after the school board’s representatives presented the board’s “final offer.”

The school board will meet Monday at 7:30 p.m. Teachers at the Thursday rally at Peppertree Park indicated they thought the strike should continue at least until then. Banis urged the teachers to get as many parents as possible to attend the meeting. She also suggested that parents be urged to call Ross and ask for “a larger meeting place Monday night.”

On Thursday, between sessions of picketing the 14 schools in the district, teachers took turns handing out leaflets to Tustin-area residents. Banis said that more than 25,000 leaflets were distributed. The handouts charged that “Tustin teachers have the lowest salary schedule of all the 30 school districts in Orange County.”

$29,000 Average Salary

District administrators, by contrast, claim that Tustin’s teachers are among the top-paid in Orange County.

Both sides have agreed that the average teacher’s salary in Tustin is about $29,000. Ross has said the average salary is about $29,700, while union officials said the figure is just barely above $29,000.

Banis and the 150 teachers at the Thursday rally cheered a string of notes and telegrams from teacher unions in other California districts who sent messages of support. Some groups, including Fountain Valley teachers and the West Orange County United Teachers, said they had raised money to give to the Tustin strikers’ cause.

The teachers scheduled a meeting at 1 p.m. today at the Tustin Community Center.