Compton Seen Hemorrhaging in Ranks of Its Teachers

More than 120 classroom teachers in the Compton Unified School District are resigning to take other jobs, mostly in Los Angeles, according to figures released Monday by the district teachers union.

The Compton Education Assn., which is at an impasse with the district over contract negotiations, contends that low pay and poor working conditions are behind the flight of more than 10% of the district’s 1,185 teachers. According to the union, most of the teachers who are leaving already have handed in resignations and others will do so in coming weeks.

“The teachers are telling me it’s because they are just tired of working in substandard working conditions, not having sufficient supplies . . . and they’re also just tired of the low salaries,” said Wiley Jones, executive director of the association.

‘Compton Is Not Unique’

School district officials could not be reached for comment. School board member Kelvin Filer acknowledged that “we are losing an inordinate number of teachers this year” but added: “The important thing is that Compton is not unique in that. If you ask Long Beach, Lynwood, Paramount, all the districts that are losing teachers, it is because of the salary increase that was awarded (in Los Angeles) as a result of the strike.”

Los Angeles district teachers won a three-year, 24% pay raise this spring. Compton teachers want the same; the district is offering 18% over three years.

Compton teachers, who struck for higher pay three years ago, can earn a maximum salary of $38,000 a year, compared to a maximum level in the Los Angeles Unified School District of $49,000, Jones said.

Jones also said that the district’s buildings are crumbling and that safety is a problem for teachers. At one school last September, Jones said, some teachers were robbed as they prepared to open classes for the new academic year.

Leaving Because of Money

One 28-year teaching veteran, a bilingual teacher who is leaving Compton for Los Angeles, said she will make $10,000 to $11,000 more a year there.

“That’s important to me,” said the teacher, who asked to remain anonymous. “Also teachers (in Los Angeles) do not have any yard duty. . . . As a result of their strike, the teachers do not have to take part of their free time to supervise the children they have been with all day.”

School politics in Compton have been contentious for years, with district administrators and elected officials engaging in heated disputes with teachers and parent groups. Thirty candidates are seeking five open board seats in the November elections. Student scores on the state achievement tests this year were in the first percentile, meaning that 99% of the students in the state did better on the standardized tests than Compton’s children did.