Parents Ask School Board to Speed Negotiations : Education: Ocean View School District teachers, who are refusing to donate their time for extracurricular activities, get support at meeting.

More than 200 parents, angered over stalled contract talks in the Ocean View School District, jammed a meeting of the district’s board Tuesday night to voice concerns that their children are being ignored while negotiations drag on.

The meeting, moved from the district board room in Huntington Beach to Westmont School because of the overflow crowd, brought to a peak a recent surge in activism by parents who say the contract dispute is just the latest in a series of problems that has plagued the district for a decade.

On Tuesday night, parents and teachers used the forum to vent their frustration over budget cuts and declining services. Parents reminded the board that four of the five members are up for reelection this year.

Parents also criticized the board for failing to speed up contract negotiations, and questioned allocations of funds from the state, arguing that surrounding districts are receiving similar funding but paying teachers more.

“I ask you to restore to our teachers the level of dignity and respect they deserve, so our kids can receive the level of education they deserve,” said Chuck Emde, a parent.

Sally Alvino, a parent on the advisory board of Marine View Elementary School, said parent activism increased after teachers in the district said they would not donate time to supervise extracurricular activities until the contract is settled.

Contract negotiations are deadlocked over salaries, health benefits, the use of state lottery funds earmarked for education and allocation of money from the Proposition 98 school-funding initiative approved in 1988.

The district has proposed cutting its share of the total contribution to the union’s health maintenance organization and is offering teachers a 4.3% average pay hike. The union is seeking full health benefits and a 9.3% average raise. Talks are scheduled to resume Thursday.

Meanwhile, sports, except for intramural contests during regularly scheduled class time, have been brought to a halt by physical education teachers who have declined to coach after-school games, and science fairs in six schools are in jeopardy because science teachers have refused to help pupils outside of class.

Still, parents said they are sympathetic to the teachers, arguing that such actions would not be necessary if the teachers were adequately compensated. “The driving force behind the Ocean View School District is the teachers,” one parent said at the meeting. “They work very hard, and it seems to me that they’re getting short-changed.”

Board members argued that all of the funds available to increase teacher salaries have been put on the negotiating table. The board members also explained that other state funds carry restrictions that prevent them from being used for teacher salaries.

“We are trying to put as many resources as we have available for things and for people in front of the negotiating group,” said board member Carolyn Hunt.

Board member Elizabeth Spurlock said, “Classrooms should be our No. 1 budget priority.” She reiterated the board’s contention that new sources of funding must be developed before Ocean View teachers can be brought up to the countywide salary average.

Spurlock urged parents to contact their legislators and ask them to press for new laws that would change the school-funding formula. “I would really hope that what we see as a turnout of support for teachers and students can also be directed to state legislators.”