Compton : Dominguez High Teachers Return From 1-Day Sickout

Teacher turnout at Dominguez High School in Compton returned to normal this week, school officials said. Almost half of the 65 classroom teachers called in sick last Friday, forcing officials to assign substitutes and district administrators to the classrooms.

Dominguez Principal Ernie Roy said he has met with the teachers to discuss why they staged the work action, which was not sanctioned in advance by their union. The teachers said they were concerned that the Compton Unified School District was trying to cut older, higher-paid teachers and replace them with younger teachers at lower salaries, according to Roy.

However, a district source who asked not to be named said that the complaint is a labor union ploy designed to keep pressure on the district to raise the salaries of experienced teachers instead of raising entry-level salaries for younger teachers.

Compton, which has the lowest-paid teachers in the county, has experienced severe teacher shortages this year. The teachers and the district are locked in a battle over a new contract. The teachers have been working without a contract this year.