Davis teachers rally for better wages, benefits
PHOTO: Teachers, parents and students rally outside of the school district offices to demand better pay for teachers. (Photo Credit/Holt Klineberg)
By Noah Meyer
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff––
The chant “Davis students deserve the best” rang through the air on Wednesday afternoon as an estimated 200 teachers, parents and students lined the intersection adjacent to the school district offices near Central Park.
The Davis Teachers Association called the rally to publicize its ongoing fight to increase salary and benefits. Protesters drew attention by slowing traffic by crossing streets at the crosswalks. Passing cars honked their horns to show support for the demonstrators.
The point of the protest was “to demand that the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees accept DTA’s current proposal that invests in students,” according to the DTA’s press release.
Teachers are demanding a greater slice of increased funding from the state. K-12 education will be receiving a total state fund of $95.5 billion, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. That increases the budget for education by 19%.
“(It was an) unprecedented amount of money to state education,” DTA president Victor Lagunes said.
“We are currently negotiating only salary and benefits that are tied directly to the unprecedented funds the district received from the state,” chair of negotiations for DTA Amanda Rayls said. “Davis Joint Unified School District is one of the lowest paid districts not just in our region, but in the state.”
The negotiation teams met on Nov. 8, when two proposals were submitted.
“The Board of Education has committed 100% of new revenues for 2022-23 to employee compensation,” assistant superintendent Laura Juanitas said in an email about the second proposal. The district was contacted for a more in-depth interview but did not want to participate while negotiations were active.
Lagunes shed light on Juanitas’ statement. “They’re talking about three main groups, which are the DTA, the California School Employee Association, (the front office staff) and the last group which is the Administrative Leadership Team, so that’s your leadership team and administrators,” Lagunes said.
While the proposal was viewed as a positive move by the union, it’s not exactly what the DTA wants. “The district provided a proposal that is closer to where we would like to come to (an) agreement, however, there is still work to be done,” Rayls said.
The DTA wants an “across-the-board increase for all bargaining unit members, a one-time bonus, and 100% coverage of the lowest single-member health plan,” according to the DTA press release.
The negotiation teams are continuing to meet to try to work towards an agreement.
Currently, 68% of the budget given to DJUSD goes to the staff members represented by the DTA.
“(We want to) maintain the status within the budget. Build upon it… we want to be able to have the proper things to serve our students,” Lagunes said.
A strike does not seem likely. “It is not DTA’s goal to go on strike. We want to be in the classrooms with our students. We want this resolved quickly,” Rayls said.
Last year in April, the Sacramento City Unified School District experienced a strike, which left lasting impacts on the teachers who participated in the strike and those who didn’t.
“(The strike) was the hardest eight days of my career, maybe my life,” Sacramento teacher Alex White said.
A common message echoed by three Sacramento City teachers was that no one wanted to strike.
Brian Gleason was another Sacramento teacher who participated in the strike. “Nobody ever wants to reach the point of having a strike, but… (striking) became necessary to peaceably, but loudly, assemble,” Gleason said.
Lagunes is concerned about staff vacancies and retention problems, and he wants to address this issue.
“Our dream proposal would be… funding put towards (education) so that professionals that are out there… could be compensated in a way so that they can make a livelihood,” Lagunes said.
