State Cash Seen as Last Hope to Avert Teachers’ Strike

As teachers packed up materials and some students skipped school, leaders of both the teachers’ union and the Los Angeles Unified School District held out hope Friday for a last-minute contract settlement based on an infusion of additional money from the state.

Campuses throughout the district struggled through a confusing last day of classes before a scheduled teachers’ strike, as pressure grew for a settlement--or at least a postponement of the Monday walkout. Los Angeles-area legislators and PTA leaders called for round-the-clock negotiations. In Sacramento, there was much talk of how a strike could influence Gov. George Deukmejian’s expected announcement of a revised budget next week and Democratic plans for the state tax revenue surplus.

United Teachers-Los Angeles President Wayne Johnson, in an interview at his office, said he met Friday morning with two members of the school board and characterized the discussions as “positive and friendly” but stressed that there had been no breakthrough.

“Our communications are like a professional boxing match in the first round. We are sort of feeling each other out,” he said.

Johnson added that he hoped “the meetings might get us to a point where we feel we can make a deal and then make one.”

Good Communication

Board member Jackie Goldberg, who showed up at a morning press conference by Democratic legislators, urged lawmakers to help free up additional money. “Communication is going on very nicely,” she said, referring to informal talks with the union. “The problem is whether we can agree.”

Dick Fisher, the district’s chief negotiator, stressed Friday that the district is committed to using 60% of any new state monies to fulfill the current offer. He said the offer guarantees teachers 21.5% over three years--8% this year, 5.5% in 1990 and 8% in 1991--and pledges to raise the second year to 8% if the district receives sufficient additional state funds. That would allow the district to offer a total raise of 24% over three years.

But Fisher said a stumbling block is the union’s reluctance to agree to a settlement based on the contingency of the state funds. “If those funds occur, it gives the contingent part of our offer more hope,” he said. “We see no possibility of the board going beyond” a 24%, three-year increase.

The seven-member school board is reported to be badly divided on how quickly to make a new offer, and that was compounded by uncertainty about the size of the state surplus. On Friday, board members talked informally, clustering in groups of twos and threes, in district headquarters hallways. Board President Roberta Weintraub said that a closed meeting of the school board was scheduled for today.

Several well-placed sources on legislative staffs and among Sacramento lobbyists on Friday offered three scenarios for the use of what many expect will be a $750-million revenue surplus. The most optimistic scenario for a strike settlement is that the Legislature will allow all the provisions of Proposition 98 and the Gann spending limit to take effect, sending about $560 million to schools and community colleges; under that, the Los Angeles district might receive $60 million, most of that with no strings attached.

Another possibility will be offered next week by Democratic leaders. That will shift budget limits around, allowing only $300 million extra for schools, with $33.7 million going to Los Angeles, according to the experts. The Los Angeles share available for salaries could be much lower if legislators and the governor require that education funds go for school maintenance or textbook purchases.

“But the informal thinking is that most of it would be available for local districts to do what they want,” said one legislative aide. Yet an influential lobbyist stressed that there is much Republican hostility toward the overwhelmingly Democratic Los Angeles district and its teachers’ union.

The third option is that two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature, and the governor, move to suspend Proposition 98, the measure passed last fall by voters that guarantees much state funds for schools. A suspension could mean no extra monies for schools. “The big question mark on this is where the governor is,” another source said.

The governor, who was in Los Angeles Friday, refused to comment on the surplus. He is expected to present his budget revisions by the end of the week. The Senate Budget Committee is expected to discuss this Monday afternoon.

At their downtown press conference Friday, nine Democratic state lawmakers called for pressure on the school board and the teachers to settle without a strike. Los Angeles Assemblywoman Maxine Waters warned that a walkout could put more students on the street and increase the risks of gang violence. While not taking sides, Sepulveda Assemblyman Richard Katz hinted that the Los Angeles school system could have trouble getting funding and programs through the Legislature if a strike occurs.

PTA Chides Both Sides

While emphasizing their collective political clout, the lawmakers sidestepped questions about using that influence to help increase state funding for the district so the board can boost its pay offer. Citing the uncertainty of how much money will be available, and the complexity of the legislative process, Waters said, “for us to commit on (future) dollars that will be available would be irresponsible.”

During their own press conference, leaders of Parent-Teacher Assns. around the district echoed that call for negotiations and criticized both the union and the district. “It is clear that rancor has been building for many months, resulting in the current lack of trust between the parties. If a strike occurs, there will be no winners,” the PTA announced.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig, saying he has been in touch with both sides, called on the union to delay a strike until after the fact finder’s report comes out on Wednesday and the governor’s update on state revenues is released next Friday. “If there is an offer on the table that’s substantial and there is a chance of more money, it seems to me that (a strike) is not a responsible action.”

Attendance at some schools dropped as much as 15% Friday, with absent students figuring that little would be accomplished in the tense pre-strike situation. Feelings of division grew between those teachers who are committed to a strike and those who say they will go to work on Monday. Some faculty lounges were said to be as unpleasant Friday as border state households were on the eve of the Civil War with different sons heading to opposing armies.

Most Seniors Expected

At Marshall High School in the Los Feliz-Silver Lake area, Principal Donald Hahn said that about 600 students--50 more than usual--were absent out of a total enrollment of 2,800. He estimated that, if there is a strike on Monday, only about 1,600 students would come to school. “I expect most of the seniors will come in because they want to ensure graduation,” he said. But younger students have less at stake, he explained.

About 150 students at Palms Junior High School walked out of classes for about an hour Friday to show support for teachers but also to express concern that striking teachers pledged not to file student grades next week. Principal Minnie Floyd described the rally as “extremely orderly.”

At Nightingale Junior High School near downtown Los Angeles, about 100 students left campus during a break Friday morning, but school officials persuaded most to return to class, Principal Jess Bojorquez said.

“Nobody mentioned anything about the strike but there’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty going on,” Bojorquez said.

Both district and union leaders expressed concern about possible violence on campuses next week if there is a strike. District police canceled all vacations and training programs and are placing officers on longer shifts as of this morning.

Teachers committed to a strike were also reviewing their finances, as they could face weeks without pay during a lengthy walkout. To aid them, the teachers’ credit union announced Friday that it would allow a moratorium on payments due on car and personal loans for the duration of a strike but that mortgage payments could not be postponed.

During breaks Friday, teachers carried the last boxes full of personal belongings and teaching materials from classrooms to their cars. School-owned materials were tucked away in locked storage closets, and classroom bulletin boards were stripped of their construction paper displays.

“It’s really a hard day,” said Adele Mallin, a drama teacher at Reed Junior High School in North Hollywood. “You don’t know when you’re saying goodby to these students whether you’re going to ever see them again.”

Teachers who decide to work can earn as much as three and four extra hours worth of pay each day of the strike by teaching extra class periods, as well as for admitting extra students to their regular classes, school officials said.

The job of scheduling and operating classes during the strike will rest with individual school principals and their administrative staffs. The district has insisted, however, that all schools remain open. Room keys were collected from teachers as they left school Friday.

Administrators at Huntington Park High School mailed letters to parents on Friday, directing students to meet at various locations--such as the cafeteria, library and gymnasium--according to grade levels.