Students Widen Protests in Teachers’ Dispute

The running labor dispute between the Los Angeles school district and its teachers escalated Tuesday as student protests spread to three more high schools and the teachers’ union formally urged its members not to file students’ mid-year grades with school offices.

The latest walkouts by students occurred at Manual Arts High in South Los Angeles and Monroe and Taft high schools in the San Fernando Valley. A total of more than 400 students participated in the peaceful one- and two-hour demonstrations, with some voicing support for teachers’ pay demands and others expressing anger at possible delays in receiving official grades.

Blaming the District

“Without my grades, I won’t be able to get into college,” said Cecilia Galvez, a Monroe High senior. “It’s the district’s fault for not paying the teachers enough.”

Tuesday’s protests brought to seven the number of student walkouts at Los Angeles Unified School District campuses in the past week. The demonstrations began with an impromptu walkout last Wednesday at Fremont High School that nearly turned into a riot.

The protests, which teachers say they have tried to discourage, are an outgrowth of a year-old contract fight between the school district and instructors over wages and other issues.

Recent developments on the campuses have pushed the dispute into public view, although both teachers and school board members are fearful that the events could bring a backlash from outraged parents.

“It’s a double-edged sword for teachers,” said Catherine Carey, spokeswoman for United Teachers-Los Angeles. “Parents want their children in school. They don’t want them outside demonstrating.”

Students and parents have expressed increasing frustration over being caught in the middle of the dispute, which has included a teacher boycott of yard duty, parent conferences and filing student progress reports with the district. Students have been given the reports directly by teachers, however.

As expected, a spokesman for United Teachers-Los Angeles announced Tuesday afternoon that the boycott will be extended to include fall semester grades due Feb. 3. The marks will be given to students directly on unofficial, union-issued forms, but not recorded with school offices until a contract is signed.

The move is controversial because school district officials, and some university admissions officials, contend that certain college-bound high school seniors--those with marginal academic records or those trying to get into the most competitive programs and colleges--could be at a disadvantage if the grades are delayed.

But for most college-bound seniors, it appeared Tuesday that the harm would probably be minimal.

“I’m sure our campuses are doing everything possible not to penalize students,” said Lee Kerschner, vice chancellor of academic affairs for the California State University system. Kerschner said most students probably would not be affected immediately because final transcripts are not needed until the summer. “But . . . admissions are a complicated process today. . . . For students on the margin it could pose a significant problem.”

Frances Haywood, vice president of the union, denied this, saying high school counselors who belong to the teachers’ union have contacted college admission officials they deal with to ensure that students will not be harmed. Based on the union’s report cards, student counselors will be able to write letters to college admission officials that will secure a student’s standing until transcripts arrive.

A spokesman for the University of California agreed with Haywood that the effect of withholding the grades would be minimal.

Nonetheless, top district officials said they were worried that some students simply may not take the steps necessary to obtain their grades and ensure that they are passed on. “I’m gravely concerned,” Supt. Leonard Britton said Tuesday. “It’s too many ‘ifs.’ We have enough problems now with the routine procedures.”

Problems Seen

School board member Rita Walters, who has been harshly critical of the teachers’ actions and alleged they are prompting students to protest, said the greatest problems could be with out-of-state colleges and universities unfamiliar with the problems Los Angeles students may face.

School district officials have vowed to take actions to ensure that official fall semester transcripts are available on schedule, although they have not spelled out how they would force teachers to file grades. However, Britton noted that teacher grade books “belong to the school system. They don’t belong to teachers. They are property of the state.”

The purpose and effectiveness of the grade withholding and student protests is being widely debated.

Carey of the teachers’ union said the intent of the boycott, at least, is not to hurt students, but to deny the “mammoth bureaucracy” of the nation’s second largest school system data it needs to function.

The only gauge of how well the tactic is working, she said, will be the final result at the bargaining table.

No Effect on Funds

One factor that minimizes the effect of the student protests is that they do not cause any cut in state funds to the school district. The state aid is based on student attendance, but district officials said that students have been showing up for official morning roll calls and then typically missing only a few classes.

Some school board members acknowledge that the student protests and the withholding of grades have them concerned and angered. But they contend that parent support is swinging their way and they have not changed their negotiating posture as a result of the recent events.

“I see more of buckling down than a bending” on the part of board members, school board President Roberta Weintraub said Tuesday.