Sara Kennedy

Bargaining Update - October 23

Yesterday was the seventh bargaining session between SDEA and San Diego Unified. We made progress on some details of our next contract, but an ongoing lack of response to anything with a price tag means that movement has been gradual on the issues that SDEA members are feeling most urgently.

Yesterday we continued our discussion from last session about how safe school facilities and effective Community Schools can support our students and communities, and what an improved evaluation process would look like in our next contract.

Article 36: Community Schools

SDEA presented a counterproposal to continue clarifying improvements to our Community Schools model. The District’s last proposal established continued staffing for Community Schools, so our proposal seeks to refine Community Schools’ ability to meet community needs by giving SGTs oversight over any available funds and more of a role in the recruitment and recommendation of site coaches. Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 36: Community Schools. 

Articles 14 & 18: Evaluations

The District presented counterproposals to Article 14 & 18, which propose details aligned with the MOUs that SDEA members recently ratified on evaluations and supports for educators. This is an ongoing effort to improve the evaluation process. Read the Educator Evaluation Plan 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, access more information here (including a summary and FAQ), and see yesterday’s proposals from the District on how these changes would look in our next contract: Article 14: Performance Evaluation Procedures and Article 18: Peer Review & Enrichment Program (PREP).

Article 11: Safety Conditions of Employment

The District’s counterproposal yesterday continues to push back on our demands for robust air filtration in our classrooms, even as we are starting to see flu and COVID numbers rise. The District maintains that they cannot maintain HEPA air filters in classrooms because of the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds. With illnesses directly impacting attendance and funding, we maintain that there are multiple reasons why the air quality of our schools is an investment in the well-being of our entire community. Read all the District’s proposed changes to Article 11: Safety Conditions of Employment.

SDEA and the District each presented a counterproposal related to staffing, and we also addressed the Education Specialist caseload overage grievance that remains unresolved.

Article 17: Summer School/Intersession Hours & Conditions of Employment

SDEA presented a counterproposal with more suggested changes on how to make Summer School staffing more fair, balancing a priority for seniority with options that allow for staffing Summer programs with staff with experience necessary to meet individual site and program needs. See all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 17: Summer School/Intersession Hours & Conditions of Employment.

Article 31: Reduced Workload 

The District presented a counterproposal that brings us very close to agreement on this article, since they have agreed to extend eligibility to employees who are part of CalPERS pension programs as well as CalSTRS. This impacts about 200 educators in our bargaining unit, mostly people who started as classified and stayed with CalPERS. See all the District’s proposed changes to Article 31: Reduced Workload.

Grievance Settlement Proposal: Caseload Overages in 2023-24 & 2024-25 School Years

We are still pushing the District to resolve two school years’ worth of Special Education caseload grievances, not even counting this year’s overages, which have been filed separately. Not seeing a fair resolution after years of being over contractual caseload limits is driving overworked special education teachers to leave our district or the profession entirely, further exacerbating the staffing crisis.

After the District refused to settle these over the summer, we urged them to resolve both past and future grievances at the bargaining table through our proposal to improve Article 29: Special Education. Our proposal includes concrete, enforceable language to stop the ongoing cycle of caseload violations and delayed settlements: For example, a monthly case management day, and automatic stipends for Ed Specialists over caseload, paid within the month of the overage. The District has not responded to that proposal since we presented it 7 months ago. So yesterday, we presented a settlement agreement that puts the responsibility on the District - not on individual educators - for balancing caseloads and requires immediate extra support when an Ed Specialist is over caseload.

We believe this is a reasonable proposal, based on previous settlements. However, the bigger reality is that the District is saving money by leaving SpEd positions vacant, delaying compensation for overloaded educators, and shortchanging students in need of support. 

After 7 years of grievance settlements that are now taking years to resolve, it’s clear that stronger contract language is essential. We will continue to push for a fair settlement, but also for bigger picture solutions. 

Read SDEA’s full counterproposal settlement agreement, and see all past settlement counterproposals here.

The District still hasn’t responded to our “big ticket” items: Special Education staffing, wages, ending Fall excessing, expanding mental health supports, or even extending the ECE TK co-teacher stipend to reverse a serious pay cut to our lowest-paid educators. They did present a counterproposal on Article 34, which is SDEA and the District’s shared commitment to advocate for more funding for our schools in the wealthiest state in the country. The reality is that along with continuing to push the District to responsibly spend every available dollar on the resources our students need, we’ll also need to advocate together at every level to fix our state’s shameful underinvestment in public education. Read the District’s full counterproposal on Article 34: Revenue for Public Education.

What's next?

At the beginning of the month, SDEA members showed up strong to demonstrate that we are Seeing Red. With

the District still not countering on any cost items, and with the understaffing of Special Education in particular creating urgent issues across the District, it’s time to turn up the pressure even more. That’s why SDEA members across the District are putting up “I’m ready!” signs to say: “If a vote were held tomorrow, and if the District can’t fully staff special ed., I’d vote YES for a 1-day unfair labor practice strike.” 

If you didn’t get to attend your October union meeting at your site or program, make sure to connect with your union rep!

Stay informed:

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for November 6, 2025. 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.

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

by Sara Kennedy