My Phan, a senior at Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove, says she can't get help from teachers before or after school.

She and other members of the school's National Honor Society no longer can meet on Wednesday mornings because the teacher isn't in the classroom.

"Teachers used to be at school early – about an hour before classes started," Phan said. "But now they show up 15 minutes before the bell rings. They leave right after school."

Many Elk Grove Unified teachers are "working to the contract." They are putting in their required 7.5-hour days and nothing more, said Maggie Ellis, Elk Grove Education Association president. The work action is protesting a district proposal to cap its contribution to medical premiums at the 2010 level, among other things.

In January, more students are likely to notice their teachers aren't available for extra help.

The current action, which began in November, is a "soft" action, Ellis said. Because of the holiday season, union officers asked teachers to do their best to work only their required hours. But they will ask all teachers to try to participate in the work action in January.

"It's not something we want to do, but it's something we have been pushed into doing," Ellis said. "We know at some point and time we have to stand up."

The union president said most people aren't aware that teachers work many unpaid hours – grading papers at night and on weekends, preparing class lessons, copying assignments, running to the store for supplies and helping students after hours.

Students who need to make up tests or need other extra help should talk to their teacher, Ellis said. She said off-campus work sessions may be set up or school administrators may be asked to assist students.

"We won't compromise any students' grades," she said.

Elk Grove Unified school board President Chet Madison said district officials aren't worried about the work action. "If a teacher is dedicated to their profession, they aren't going to turn their back on an individual child," he said.

It isn't the first time the union has played hardball. Last year the union employed the same work-hours tactic for a short period of time.

Phan doesn't blame the teachers. "It's kind of affecting us, but I think they should do it because they have freedom of speech. If not, this (budget cuts) will continue to get worse."

The Monterey Trail senior said she first realized the budget cuts were a concern to students after her physics teacher retired last year. He had to retire because his salary was getting smaller each year, she said. Phan said her new science teacher has never taught physics before.

"I started to realize that this whole budget cutback is now having a serious chain of effects on my education," Phan wrote in a letter to The Bee.

The union angst goes beyond the proposed health care caps, Ellis said. The teachers union and school district have been in negotiations over the benefits since February, entering mediation in June. She said the union's relationship with the district has become "adversarial."

Madison said bargaining continues to be friendly, but that the district was forced to go to mediation because it must bargain rapidly in order to meet county and state deadlines to submit budgets. "We want to continue to negotiate in a collaborative way," Madison said.

Teachers approved $20 million in concessions as part of a two-year agreement in 2010 in order to preserve health benefits, according to union officials.

Now, district officials say they expect a $34 million budget gap next school year.

Madison is hopeful. "Looking around Northern California, we are still one of the premier districts. We will get through this," he said.

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Call The Bee's Diana Lambert, (916) 321-1090. Follow her on Twitter @dianalambert.

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