Teachers’ union president says contract talks are ‘adversarial’
Negotiations for raise also look at starting salary and long-term earnings, which educators say are too low.
Contract negotiations between La Cañada Unified School District and representatives of the La Cañada Teachers Assn. have reportedly turned adversarial, according to an email sent Wednesday by the president of the teachers’ union.
Since Feb. 4, representatives of the La Cañada Teachers Assn. had been working with school officials through “interest-based bargaining” on revisions to the contract for the 2015-16 school year. Among the topics being discussed were potential salary increases and a revision of La Cañada Unified's certificated salary schedule, the chart that details how and when pay increases are earned over a teacher's tenure.
But on Wednesday evening, LCTA President Mandy Redfern claimed in an email statement officials had expressed a desire to halt the interest-based negotiations format.
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“The school district unilaterally moved the bargaining process from Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) to adversarial, positions-based bargaining at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27,” Redfern said in the email. “LCTA remains committed to the IBB process and reaching a fair settlement.”
When asked for a response to Redfern’s statement, La Cañada Unified Supt. Wendy Sinnette confirmed officials have “requested to move to a traditional bargaining format to promote transparency, communication and clarity within the community.”
Sinnette provided her own statement, indicating the district’s current salary offer is a 4.1% raise retroactive to the start of the 2015-16 school year. She also stated that LCUSD has offered to revise its salary schedule for the 2016-17 school year to include overall increases in teacher salaries at multiple levels.
“The district is confident that the restructured salary schedule will strengthen the common interest of increasing lifetime earnings for employees, competitively positioning our teachers among comparable school districts at present,” Sinnette said in the statement.
In recent months, educators had claimed shortcomings in the pay schedule — especially as teachers approached and passed the 15-year mark, where increases occur in five-year increments and top off completely at 25 years — have left LCUSD less competitive than its comparable counterparts.
The disparity, teachers say, can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in the decades-long span of one's career.
At the last regular school board meeting, high school English teacher Justin Valassidis informed board members he was actively interviewing for at least one job at another school district.
“I've been teaching English at La Cañada High School for the past 10 years, but I'm concerned this (year) may be my last,” he said at an April 19 school board meeting attended by more than 150 LCUSD teachers whose union is currently engaged with contract talks with the district.
“A week from today, I will be interviewing for another position at a school that respects and empowers teachers, fosters innovation and creativity, is close to where I reside and pays nearly $10,000 more every year,” Valassidis continued. “I am at a crossroads.”
In an April 21 sit-down interview, La Cañada Unified Supt. Wendy Sinnette, Chief of Business and Operations Mark Evans and Assistant Supt. of Human Resources Jeff Davis identified some key areas of focus in the district's salary schedule and considered how the document's numbers stack up to similar districts.
They stressed base salaries are only one part of what a teacher may earn, in addition to health benefits, retirement savings and extra-duty stipends, but agreed to focus their talk on comparing teacher pay.
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Late last year, in preparation for negotiations, members of LCTA sat with district officials and zeroed in on four districts — San Marino, South Pasadena, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Manhattan Beach unified school districts — whose salaries could be compared to LCUSD's. Evans clarified that among all districts in Los Angeles County, not excluding larger, dissimilar ones, La Cañada Unified was in the top quartile for teacher pay.
The two parties examined the base pay for new teachers with no previous experience, mid-level educators with 15 years experience and a master's degree or a bachelor's plus 60 additional educational units, and the maximum earnable salary for each district.
Using the most current salary schedules for all five districts, the Valley Sun found La Cañada Unified ranked in the middle for new teacher salaries at an annual $47,429, compared to South Pasadena at the bottom with $44,143 and Palos Verdes at the top with $52,571.
But for the mid-career teachers with advanced education, LCUSD ranked fifth out of five at $80,575, compared to South Pasadena's $87,833. It also ranked fifth for highest attainable base salary at $90,720 for teachers with 25 years of experience. At San Marino Unified, teachers top out with an annual base of $100,423 and reach that earning level after just 20 years.
Evans and Sinnette said over the years the schedule's formula has emphasized teacher recruitment by beefing up new teacher totals and honoring up to 25 years of tenure they bring from other districts. An incoming teacher with a bachelor's degree and 10 years of teaching would earn an annual base of $60,222, compared to a new-hire's $47,429.
“That's an advantage most districts don't offer,” Sinnette said.
According to the district’s current salary schedule offer for 2016-17, as explained in the superintendent’s statement, new teachers' beginning salary would increase to $47,687, while teachers would reach a salary level of $90,429 in their 16th year. The maximum earnable base salary under the latest proposal would increase to $97,851, attainable at the 25-year mark.
In the LCTA statement, Redfern claimed teachers were previously promised by the superintendent that any additional ongoing funds from the state would be dedicated to certificated employee raises.
“We (the teachers) do not understand why these promises are not being upheld. We want to earn competitive salaries that value the hard work that we do each day to ensure that our students receive the best possible education,” she stated.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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