Teachers Go on Strike in San Diego

After contract bargaining broke down in the predawn hours, teachers in the state’s second-largest school district went on strike Thursday, as administrators scrambled to find enough substitute teachers and others to maintain order in the 130,000-student district.

“No teacher wants to strike and leave her students,” said teacher Mollie Crispen, as she picketed outside Brooklyn Elementary School. “But this is the only way to get respect and a decent raise from the school board.”

There were conflicting reports about how well the 160-school district, the eighth largest in the nation, was coping without most of its 6,500 teachers.

About 24% of teachers crossed the picket lines set up by their colleagues and went to classes. Absenteeism among students was 25%, about twice the normal rate.

At some high schools, students reported being herded into auditoriums and shown movies. But at many elementary schools, younger students adapted well to having substitute teachers, classroom aides, administrators and parents take charge.

“Children are in their classrooms, and they are learning,” said Brooklyn’s Principal Margie Lincoln. “Our kids are adjusting. They miss their teachers, but they’re resilient.”

Mayor Susan Golding took to television to urge both sides to reach an agreement and also to remind parents that, strike or no strike, they have a legal obligation to make their children attend school.

School district lawyer Tina Dyer said the school board may seek a court injunction forcing the teachers back to the classroom by alleging unfair labor practices.

The board has offered an 11% raise over three years, but the teachers union wants 15%.

The salary schedule, which ranges from $24,881 to $48,046, has not been sweetened in five years, although nearly half the teachers have continued to get annual raises by virtue of longevity or completing college courses. As Golding noted on television, city employees during the same period have suffered a reduction in pay as the local economy has soured.

San Diego teachers have one of the lowest salary schedules of any big-city district. In the Los Angeles school district, the salary range is from $29,529 to $54,703.

If the teachers accepted the board’s offer, by the third year of the contract the average teacher would make $45,005 for a 184-day work year, along with having fully paid dental and medical insurance for the teacher and his or her family.

The school board has offered the 5% increase retroactive to July 1, and then 3% raises in each succeeding year. The teachers union wants 7% retroactive, and 4% in each of the next two years.

An independent fact-finder said the district could afford the union’s request but would have to make cuts elsewhere. Teachers have said the district could begin by cutting administrators, but school officials disputed the union’s figures on how much is spent on administration.

“The board will not cut into the budget and damage instructional programs to students to fund additional wage increases,” Supt. Bertha Pendleton said in a letter to parents.

The district and the San Diego Teachers Assn. have been negotiating since the expiration of the contract last spring. The final session was a 14-hour marathon in which a state mediator shuttled between the two sides. At 4 a.m. the session broke off.

Jefferson Elementary School Principal Bonnie Russell said her students were adjusting well.

“We’re trying to be extra loving to the children,” Russell said. Just then, an aide brought to Russell a young girl who had been in a playground scuffle.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Russell said in a soothing voice as she put her arm around the girl. “Today is a special day, and everybody has to respect everybody else.”

Some parents walked their children to school but stopped to talk in friendly tones with the picketers. A small group of parents called the teachers greedy and offered to do the teaching themselves.

In high schools, where students are more apt to razz a substitute teacher or exploit a lack of control, students complained to reporters about watching nothing but “boring” movies.

Younger students were less riled. “The whole thing is cool,” said Jeff Hunt, 10, a fifth-grader.