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200 Ventura Unified Teachers Protest Lengthy Contract Negotiations

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More than 200 Ventura Unified School District teachers crowded into the district boardroom Tuesday night to protest unresolved contract negotiations that are now in their 10th month.

Bearing signs reading “We Want a Fair Contract” and “We Can’t Go On Meeting Like This,” the teachers stood quietly while union representative Jerry Mittelholtz accused the district of turning a “cold shoulder” to the district’s 650 teachers.

“We just don’t feel important,” said Barbara Schmidt, a reading specialist at Montalvo Elementary School. “I think that the trust between teachers and the school board is not strong . . . Our teachers are excellent, but the morale is low.”

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District teachers have been working without a contract since June, unable to reach agreement on items ranging from salary to retirement benefits.

Last month the state Public Employees Relations Board appointed a mediator in hopes of concluding an agreement.

Under the expired contract, Ventura Unified teachers earn between $22,902 and $44,772.

One district official told The Times on Wednesday that the entire union salary and benefits package represents a 14.8% pay and benefits increase. A union official said the district’s latest pay offer is a 1.5% salary increase, but would not say what the union is demanding.

Tuesday’s protest came less than 24 hours after an informal meeting, an eight-hour meeting district negotiator Richard Averett described as “very productive.”

Both district officials and teacher representatives declined to discuss the specifics of the meeting. However, they indicated that little has changed since contract meetings began in April of last year.

“The main issues are still a fair contract monetarily, fair fringe benefits and fair treatment and equality for all our teachers,” said Mittelholtz, president of the Ventura Unified Education Assn., which is representing the teachers.

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Mittelholtz, who attended Monday’s informal meeting, was guardedly optimistic. Negotiations were scheduled to continue today.

While teacher contracts remain unresolved, efforts to convert two Ventura elementary schools to year-round education appear close to completion.

Citing parent surveys that appear to indicate overwhelming support, parents and educators from E.P. Foster and Sheridan Way elementary schools urged board members Tuesday to approve a year-round schedule for the two Ventura Avenue-area schools. Under the plan, the two elementary schools would move to a year-round schedule by July. The board is expected to make a final decision Feb. 27.

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