Huntington Beach to Go It Alone in Teacher Strike

Huntington Beach City School District teachers plan to go on strike today, but no other school districts are joining in the protest.

Last week, three other teacher unions in school districts with unsettled pay disputes threatened to unite in a strike today, which is the state’s “Day of the Teacher.” The other three school districts are Magnolia School District, Westminster School District and Orange Unified School District.

Magnolia’s teachers, however, reached a tentative agreement late last week, and, on Monday, the negotiators for Westminster teachers also settled on a pay proposal.

Orange Unified teachers, who staged a one-day strike last month, still have not reached agreement on a new contract, but union officials said late Tuesday that tentative plans for a strike today were called off.

“We’re getting close (to settlement),” said Mark Rona, president of the Orange Education Assn., late Tuesday afternoon. “We’re taking a break from negotiations tonight, but we’ll get back together at 2 o’clock Wednesday afternoon. We’ve called off the strike. We still have some language to clear up (in a proposed settlement), but I think we’re getting close.”

Rona met with about 200 teachers Tuesday afternoon at an outdoor rally at Hart Park in Orange to discuss how negotiations were faring. He said the teachers seemed cheered by the prospects for possible contract agreement.

In Huntington Beach, the elementary school district’s administrators said all classes will be held today despite the teacher strike. Supt. Diana Peters said adequate substitute teachers have been found to staff the schools. “I’m telling the parents we will have a safe and productive day of school,” she said.

The Huntington Beach Elementary Teachers Assn. announced its strike Monday after the administration refused to offer more than a 3.5% pay raise to its 216 teachers. The union has asked for a 5.5% pay raise.

According to district figures, the pay for teachers in Huntington Beach City School District ranges from $19,213 to $42,009. The average teacher salary, the district has said, is $37,190.

Carol Autrey, president of the Huntington Beach Elementary Teachers Assn., said the strike will be for today only and that teachers will return to their classes on Thursday.