Teachers OK Contract Cutting Pay by 2.3%

Montebello teachers this week approved a contract that cuts their pay 2.3% and increases class sizes to as many as 40 students.

“We think it’s a terrible contract for a collective bargaining agreement, but under the circumstances of the district’s financial woes, it was better than letting the district go down the tubes,” said Kenny Kim, executive director of the Montebello Teachers Assn.

In May, the state controller’s office placed the Montebello Unified School District near the top of a list of 32 state school systems facing insolvency. The district’s financial rescue plan has included laying off about 150 employees, most of them teachers.