Compton Teachers Stage a Sickout

Nearly one-third of the Compton Unified School District’s 1,510 teachers called in sick and stayed out of work Friday to demand what they said are overdue raises and bonuses. But protesters were unaware of other events that might have led them to cancel their sickout.

The protest was held even though Compton’s district leadership moved the day before to give the teachers a 4% pay raise retroactive to July 1. Word had not gotten out in time to stop the job action, teachers and administrators said.

The district’s 39 schools remained open Friday, with nearly 500 substitutes, counselors, librarians, instructional aides and assistant principals covering classrooms in schools that were hit hardest by the sickout. Other schools, including the district’s four high schools, did not have any significant teacher absences.

The sickout was not endorsed by the Compton Education Assn., the 1,700-member teachers union, which in November won school board approval for a retroactive 4% salary increase and 2% bonus.

State trustee Randolph E. Ward had overruled the contract, saying it threatened the district’s financial health. The district was under state control from 1993 to 2001 because of dismal test scores and corrupt administration. Most of the school board’s authority was restored in December 2001, but Ward retains some powers to overrule it.

On Tuesday, the board approved a $4.2-million cut in funds for supplies, travel, computer hardware and school equipment, Supt. Jesse Gonzales said.

Ward decided to lift the freeze on the raises after the cuts were made. But he rescinded a board decision to offer an extra one-time 2% bonus to teachers because “we fear further cuts will be coming down the line.”

Compton Unified will be forced to slice its $180-million budget by an additional $5 million next year because of the state economic crisis, Ward said. “This is not the end of teacher frustration,” he said. “This is going to be a rough budget time for all districts.”

The union’s executive director, Tom Hollister, said he sympathizes with the teachers who stayed home, and said the union will fight Ward’s decision to withhold bonuses.

Teachers believe that “for many years ... they have been abused and disrespected,” Hollister said. “Teachers feel terribly undermined.”

Shirley Faulkner, a teacher at Clarence A. Dickison Elementary School who stayed home Friday, said teachers were upset about stalled raises, and worried that their benefits will be cut later this year.

Parents were more concerned about who was taking care of the children Friday. Maria Rivas, a mother of two students at Dickison, took them out of class after her son called to report that there were no teachers.

“We were in line [for class] and then no teachers came, and everybody started leaving,” said Rivas’ son, Omar, 11. “I’m going to study, because it’s still a school day. Tomorrow is my day off.”