On May 8, more than 10,000 teachers and friends of education rallied on the Capitol steps in Sacramento, chanting "Show us the money." Now, just a few months later, many local associations throughout California have negotiated new contract settlements that include salary increases in the double digits.
"It's about time," declares CTA President Wayne Johnson. "This is absolutely wonderful news. Teachers deserve a livable wage - and respect - for all the work they do."
"We are very, very excited," reports Katherine Underwood, president of the Moreno Valley Educators Association. Her members received a tentative 10.94 percent increase in salary with another 1 percent increase due in February. "Everybody is looking forward to their first paycheck. We know it will be a significant amount. This finally makes us feel like a priority."
Teachers haven't been such a high priority since ... well, most people can't remember when. But thanks to intensive government lobbying and careful salary negotiations, the tide is definitely turning.
A sampling of tentative salary increases for 2000-01 includes Santa Clara, 13-15 percent; Oakland, 13.95; East Side (Santa Clara), 12.98; San Leandro, 12.95; Escondido, 12.8; Santa Ana, 12.4; Bridgeville (Humboldt), 12; Huntington Beach, 11.9; Santa Maria-Bonita, 11.76; Templeton (San Luis Obispo), 11.52; Cayucos (San Luis Obispo), 11.1; Temple City (Los Angeles), 11.01; Reed (Marin), 11; Riverside City, 10.96; and Oceanside, 10.65.
"I would say that many of the settlements coming in are in the double digits," relates Kelly Horner, manager of CTA's Negotiations and Organizational Development Department. "We also have had a lot of settlements in the 6 to 7 percent range, too. That's due in large part to mutual interest of the association and administration in restoring programs. Restoring programs means restoring personnel, such as librarians, nurses and counselors. But teachers shouldn't back down on salary demands because of program restoration. There are sufficient funds for double-digit increases and program restoration."
After decades of famine, teacher associations are finally enjoying a feast for a variety of reasons. In many cases, the high percentages are based on COLA plus previously bargained "contingency language" and "revenue limit increases" that allowed associations to capture all new, unrestricted funding made available to school districts. When the governor signed a record budget for education, teachers received an unexpected but well-deserved windfall, because districts were bound by previous agreements to put all new funds toward salaries.
CTA is cautioning local chapters to be careful in bargaining contingency language, because the language may be subject to legal interpretation. CTA bargaining specialists can recommend language on request.
Even with contingency language in place, most associations agree there would have been no salary surge without CTA's May 8 Action Day for Schools rally, which prompted Gov. Davis to loosen the purse strings for schools.
"I sincerely think that the rally had something to do with so many associations having salary increases," offers Annette Symons, president of the Huntington Beach Elementary Teachers Association, which has a tentative 10.96 percent increase and an additional 1 percent increase slated for February. "The rally showed that the teachers in the state of California are strong and united on the issue of funding education. I truly believe there was a cause and effect."
Leigh Hawkinson, president of the Alvord Educators Association, believes the rally was a turning point in her district's negotiation process. "We had been bargaining for 14 months and had gone to impasse," she explains. "We were picketing at open houses, passing out informational fliers to parents and trying to get parents on our side. Our new superintendent of seven months went with us to the May 8 rally with two board members. They were so impressed by what happened there that, when the governor announced the additional money, they said, 'You can use it any way you want.'"
Before the rally, the district only wanted to raise the pay of beginning teachers, recalls Hawkinson. But after the rally, district officials saw the importance of raising all of the teacher salaries. There is a 2:1 ratio between the salaries of top-level teachers (now $72,000) and beginning credentialed teachers (now $37,000).
"I think it's the best settlement we've ever had in Alvord," says Hawkinson of the agreement, which offers beginning teachers a 5.5 percent raise and longtime teachers a 12.6 percent raise. "Morale is higher than I've ever seen in my 14 years in the district."
The settlements not only bring teachers closer to a livable wage, but also help with recruiting and retaining teachers.
"We've experienced a real drain of staff people to other districts and dot-com companies," reports Dorothy Dow, president of the Dublin Teachers Association, which received a tentative settlement of 10.95 percent. "We had one teaching position held by three different people this year. One left for another business and one went to a dot-com company and another didn't work out. Some teachers can't afford to live here, even if they are renting. They are dismayed to see themselves as adults who can't afford to rent their own apartment. By making salaries more attractive, we can help to stop that outward movement. At last, the issue is finally being addressed."
"Our members are very excited and happy," says Rowland Shores, president of the Stanislaus Association of Certificated Personnel. "Being a county office, we have never been funded adequately, so it's really exciting for us to actually be using figures that reflect what the district needs. Also, it's hard to find special education teachers with a credential, so we're hoping it will attract new people to work here."
Last year there was only a 1 percent increase for Stanislaus teachers. "Our tentative settlement this year looks to be approximately 10.4 percent," says Shores. "If that's the case, we will definitely have a lot of happy members."
Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
