SIMI VALLEY : Mediator Denies Pay to Library Protesters

An outside mediator has upheld the Simi Valley Unified School District’s decision not to pay two teachers who took a day off to protest at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, officials said Monday.

Mediator Charles Brown, a retired Ventura school official, decided during a hearing last week that the reasons teachers Susan English of Hillside Junior High and Kenneth Butts of Sequoia Junior High gave for their absence did not qualify them for paid leave, officials said.

English and Butts had charged that it was unfair for the district to pay others who took a “personal necessity day” on Nov. 4 to participate in the library dedication ceremonies while denying them the same privilege. At least five other teachers attended the ceremonies.

English and Butts said earlier that they had taken the day off to protest Reagan’s civil rights policies.

The contract between the district and its teachers stipulates that teachers cannot take personal necessity days for vacation, recreation or to pursue personal business for profit.

Assistant Supt. Susan Parks said that Brown felt that the district was within its contractual rights to deny English and Butts their pay.

The teachers could not be reached for comment Monday.

Parks said they have 10 days to file an appeal with Supt. Robert Purvis. A state-appointed arbitrator would then be called in to hear the case.