The Inglewood Unified School District has a reputation for hiring excellent veteran teachers. In fact, educators from around the state often come to Inglewood to observe skilled inner-city school teachers in action.
Unfortunately, the district is poised to lose that reputation. Since 2001, it has pleaded poverty and refused to keep teacher pay competitive with surrounding districts.
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Fed up with three years of unproductive contract talks, Inglewood teachers staged informational pickets during school board meetings in June, July and August. They are also wearing black on Tuesdays, brandishing protest buttons daily and passing out fliers to elicit community support.
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Fed up with the situation, members of the Inglewood Teachers Association (ITA) are protesting the district's unwillingness to grant teachers a raise despite three years of negotiations. They have taken to wearing black on Tuesdays, brandishing protest buttons daily, passing out fliers to elicit community support and staging informational pickets during school board meetings in June, July and August.
"We have been working diligently with the district in the negotiation process since 2001 to get a raise," says ITA President Kathy Stewart. ITA has 850 members at 20 school sites. "Inglewood has some of the best teachers in the state. They should treat us with respect and dignity and pay us what we are worth."
Teachers are especially galled that the district says it does not have money for teachers, yet is "continuously hiring a slew of consultants," says Stewart. "To me, they shouldn't hire consultants if they can't take care of their teachers." And teachers are unhappy that the district's reserves are at $4 million. Under the old rules, they were required to have $3 million in reserve, says Stewart. Under the newly relaxed rules, the district is only required to have $2 million. "But they still won't budge from $4 million."
Teachers are also unhappy that the district has proposed cutbacks in health care and reduced the numbers of Peer Assistance/Review (PAR) teachers. PAR is necessary, says Stewart, because nearly half of the district's teachers are working on emergency permits.
"We are considered a training ground for new teachers," says Stewart. "Once they receive their credential, a lot of them leave our district and go somewhere else to make more money. It's unfortunate that the district has not kept up with surrounding districts on the salary schedule."
The two sides reached impasse a year ago and the dispute has now gone to factfinding. The chapter has filed an unfair labor charge with the Public Employment Relations Board, which will be heard in September.
The ITA is asking for a 3 percent raise retroactive to the 2001-02 school year, no raise for 2002-03, and a 3 percent increase for the 2003-04 school year. The school board offered zero for two consecutive years, but finally said it would grant a 2 percent "bonus" off the salary schedule for the 2001-02 school year, nothing for 2002-03 and 2 percent for this school year.
"We don't want a bonus," says Stewart. "A bonus does nothing for our retirement. But we really aren't that far apart. At least school board members have brought something forward after two solid years of offering nothing."
"We are trying our best to avoid a strike," she adds. "But that is exactly what we are heading for unless things get better."
Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
