Yesterday, while you were all showing up in solidarity, your bargaining team met with the District to continue negotiating our next contract. This was our sixth bargaining session and we are now deep in the mix of our fight for a contract that ensures safety, stability, staffing, and the funding that makes this all possible.
A lot of the discussion yesterday focused on what our schools need to be safe, and how to continue strengthening our Community Schools.
Article 11: Safety Conditions of Employment
We shared a counterproposal on Article 11, revisiting the need for ongoing maintenance of air filters in our classrooms. Conversations about HVAC systems included the current reality of broken air conditioning and frustrating repair delays, particularly now that more of our school year is during the hottest months. We communicated the need for clearer communication to educators and other improvements to the PPO request system, since the current language in Article 11 leaves room for a frustrating lack of information on top of dangerous temperatures.
Other safety improvements we suggested:
- Ensuring everyone can request a walkie-talkie even with the District’s shift to new communication tools. (A recent District-wide internet outage and District phones going down just yesterday are examples of why we need other tools in an emergency!)
- Clarifying contract language around in-school suspensions for defiance and disruption. Recent changes to state law mean that students cannot be suspended from school for these two reasons, but they can be suspended from class (referred to as “classroom suspension” in the new Restorative Discipline Policy) to get the support they need.
- Read all of SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 11: Safety Conditions of Employment.
Article 36: Community Schools
SDEA union educators and our community allies fought hard to get Community Schools written into our union contract, and a recent study is showing just how impactful this model is for our students! Yesterday, the District accepted some of our proposal to further empower Site Governance Teams at Community Schools and advance community-based learning through teacher-leader site coach positions. This is important progress since shared decision-making is a key part of the Community School model and an important right to protect and expand in our union contract. Read all of the District’s proposed changes to Article 36: Community Schools.
Article 28 & Article 24: A revamped joint committee
The District also proposed revamping a joint SDEA-SDUSD committee and shifting its focus to solely curriculum and assessment. See all the District’s proposed changes to Article 28: Joint Committees and Article 24: Education Reform and Shared Decision-Making.
Article 17: Summer School/Intersession Hours & Conditions of Employment
We are continuing to advocate for improved Summer School rights in our contract. The District’s proposal accepted our language that ensures educators can use any available sick leave during Summer School. They also made movement toward our proposal to make the summer school staffing process more fair by prioritizing those with seniority. See all of the District’s proposed changes to Article 17: Summer School/Intersession Hours & Conditions of Employment.
We shared other counterproposals that would improve staffing:
- We resubmitted our proposal that would expand access to Reduced Workload Plans, including educators with both CalSTRS and CalPERS pensions to comply with state law. We want to keep experienced educators in our schools even as they get closer to retirement, and that includes our many educators whose experience isn’t limited to just our bargaining unit. See all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 31: Reduced Workload.
- We continue trying to clarify language about the timing of and rights for New Employee Orientations to ensure new employees can get the information they need (and join their union!) without losing a prep day. Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 5: Employee Organizational Rights.
Once again, the District did not respond to any proposals with a price tag, citing the lack of funds. Based on SDUSD unaudited actuals, the District has over $87 million in available reserves that can be spent on urgent needs in our schools. We need a commitment from the District to invest every available dollar in our schools now, and to join us in fighting for more resources in the wealthiest state in the country! To this end, we shared a counterproposal to Article 34: Revenue for Public Education, clarifying that we’ll need to advocate together at the local, state, and national levels for the funding that our students deserve. We shouldn’t be fighting for crumbs in the state with the 4th largest economy in the world. Critical resources are being hoarded by billionaires and corporations who don’t contribute equitably to fund our public schools. We Can’t Wait!
Read full proposals:
See a bargaining tracker for all proposals exchanged so far and all tentative agreements, with links to read the full text of each. You can access past bargaining updates, a community hub with multilingual family flyers, and more on this section of our website.
What’s next?
Our next bargaining session is scheduled for October 23. As a bargaining team we loved seeing the photos shared of your solidarity yesterday, and District leadership took notice as well. Our collective action demonstrates that they’re not just negotiating with those of us at the bargaining table – they’re facing all of us. Next week at Rep Council, SDEA site and program leaders will debrief and strategize for our next solidarity action as we continue escalating our contract campaign for fully staffed schools, improved pay, and stability for students and communities. Attend your next union meeting to find out more!
In Solidarity,
SDEA’s Bargaining Team
Kyle Weinberg, SDEA President, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, English and History Teacher; Laurie Bailon, Restorative Justice Teacher, Bell MS; Carly Bresee, Ed. Specialist: Moderate/Severe, Lafayette ES, Sarah Darr, SDEA Secretary, WCW Campaign Organizer & SLP; Christina Gallegos, ECSE Teacher, Rodriguez ES; Candace Gyure, School Nurse; Stacy Hernandez, SDEA Bargaining Chair & 2nd Grade Teacher, Dailard El.; Andrew Melia, School Psychologist, Riley School; Elizabeth Miller, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, Lewis MS; Eri Nall, Head Counselor; Kiki Ochoa, History and Ethnic Studies Lead Teacher, Lincoln HS; Lori Schmersal, PE Teacher & Coach, Clairemont HS; plus SDEA staff Anthony Saavedra, Executive Director, Sara Holerud, Organizer, and Rafal Dobrowolski, Contract Specialist
