Santa Barbara Teachers and School District Hit a Wall in Round Four of Salary Negotiations

In the fourth round of salary negotiations between the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA), the parties hit a wall. 

The union submitted their same December 12 proposal of a 15 percent increase for the 2024-2025 school year and an 8 percent increase in the following year. 

Additionally, the union rejected the district’s proposal of a 9 percent increase in 2024-2025 and 4 percent in the following year, paired with a 4 percent increase for both the lowest and highest salary steps. 

“Today SBTA is standing on our last compensation proposal,” the union’s proposal stated. 

In response, the district stated that it “did not believe SBTA’s response was good faith negotiations and placed it in a position of negotiating against itself until SBTA might decide a proposal is acceptable.” 

The district declined to engage in what they called “this kind of one-sided negotiations,” saying that “in effect, the District would have to make proposal after proposal while SBTA made no new proposals.”

The union’s proposal included an explanation of why it believes the district can afford its proposal, which the district said was evidence of “vastly different perspectives of the district’s finances.”

To try and remedy the situation before they are forced to enter a mediated impasse process, the district proposed a process of in-depth budget analysis and fiscal fact-finding. Each sides’ budget experts would meet, confer, and report findings and recommendations to each party to inform proposals.

“Even assuming no agreement is reached, it is likely both parties will be better informed and more prepared to engage meaningfully in the impasse process,” the district stated in its negotiations update.

According to the update, the district “emphasized that having ‘new eyes’ examine financial information held a better promise of moving the parties forward than continuing the present process, stating, ‘We want to reach an agreement and we think this will help.’”

In response, SBTA said it would consider the “Process Proposal” and respond to the district soon.

Since the salary dispute began, evidence of community support for SBTA has grown. Messages of solidarity have been posted in the windows of local businesses, written on the back of cars, and bolded on lawn signs around the city.  

In Instagram posts about the negotiations update, SBTA wrote, “The power of our collective bargaining comes from your support,” and that it will “continue to push for calendars and salary schedules that make our district more attractive for all those who work with students.”

[Update 1/18/24, 1:00 pm]: The Santa Barbara Teachers Association has declined the Santa Barbara Unified School District’s proposal for early budget analysis. Union president Hozby Galindo said that their “stance has been that the district has to stop spending on consultants, services, and other operating expenses,” such as an unofficial fact-finding process, “rather than putting that money toward the classroom.”

“It was not official, it was not going to be binding, and we want to make sure we all stay on track,” he added.