As the first day of their strike came to a close Jan. 20, teachers in the Needles Unified School District remained united in their fight for fair salaries - and to get the school board to bargain fairly after 18 long months of contract negotiations.
Eighty-six percent of the district's 74 teachers walked picket lines at the district's nine schools, says Gail McWilliams, president of the Needles Teachers Association.
"Our solidarity should send a powerful message to the district and school board," says McWilliams. "We are willing to stay out for as long as we must to resolve this."
The district is located on the Arizona and Nevada borders in San Bernardino County.
A beginning teacher in the district earns as little as $26,335, compared with a statewide beginning salary average of about $29,000. For the school years 1997 to 2001, the district receives cost-of-living adjustment funds from the state worth about 9.2 percent, yet is only offering teachers a 2 percent raise. Teachers have had no raises since 1997.
Teachers are also angry because the school board has rejected three tentative contract settlements delivered to it by Superintendent Cliff Turk in the past year and a half. The board pays Turk $95,000 a year but derails the bargaining process by failing to heed Turk's advice.