Teachers in the San Juan Unified School District could start working to the bell this week, cutting out any commitments not required by their contract to pressure district officials into a pay raise.
It's a "work-to-rule" action, and it could be evident in some schools by the end of the week, according to Tom Alves, executive director of the San Juan Teachers Association.
What it will look like at each school may differ, depending on plans adopted by staffs of the district's 74 schools. Alves said students and parents could see end-of-day walkouts, sidewalk pickets and an absence of teachers at fund-raisers, committee meetings and extracurricular activities.
Teachers spend countless of their own hours helping students, Alves said, so some may find it difficult to hold back that time. But the district's 3,000 teachers are angry over stalled contract negotiations, he added.
"It creates an emotional dilemma for them, absolutely," Alves said. But, "you push them too far, and they will rise up."
Negotiations between district officials and the union stalled after the union declared an impasse in December. A fact-finding hearing is scheduled for June 2, during which a panel of negotiators and a meditator will review the talks and issue a non-binding recommended solution.
If one side rejects the proposed solution, all bets are off: District officials can then impose contracts on their employees, and teachers can strike.
In San Juan, teachers and administrators disagree over use of a reserve fund that, at the beginning of the 2007-08 fiscal year, was a robust $72 million. San Juan is required by state law to keep in reserve 2 percent of its $364 million, or almost $8 million.
Union officials, who have been seeking a 4 percent raise, say their plan would cost the district $28 million over three years. If the district used reserves to cover that cost, they argue, there still would be $36 million left.
"They can clearly afford" the raise, Alves said. "All they have to do is do the math."
But district officials say approving a raise would not be fiscally sound based on current information. They say they pulled an initial, 3 percent pay hike offer from the table in February after calculating the impact of state funding cuts called for in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's January budget proposal.
District spokesman Trent Allen said the district could not responsibly promise pay increases knowing they could be followed by dramatic cuts. Already, the district has cut $4.5 million from next year's budget – without any pay raises planned.
Approving a pay raise, Allen said, "wouldn't be fair or honest to our employees or our community until we have a firmer picture of the state's budget."
He said the district built up a healthy reserve anticipating tough financial times. The plan had been to dip into the fund instead of making cuts until the district could better adjust its spending to reflect its declining enrollment.
Then, Schwarzenegger proposed a 7 percent cut that left San Juan Unified's 2009-2010 budget short by $4.5 million – prompting the recent cuts.
A 3 percent raise over a three-year period, Allen said, would have required another roughly $21 million in cuts.
Union officials say they remain unconvinced the state's final budget will reflect the deep cuts educators have been preparing for. That might be true, Allen said, but until then, it's a reality districts must live by, as county offices of education review three-year spending plans.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
