Mediation Between Santa Barbara Unified and Teachers Association Ends Without Resolution

Threat of Teachers’ Strike Still Looms as Parties Proceed to Fact-Finding Stage of State-Mandated Impasse Process

SBTA has put out a call for potential future donations to an “educators strike fund” now that mediation has ended without a settlement. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom File Photo

The Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA) and Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) were officially “released” from the mediation process by their state-appointed mediator on Wednesday, following an eight-hour session that left them no closer to a contract settlement.

It was their second lengthy mediation session since declaring an impasse in negotiations on January 19 due to their disagreement on wages.

Although the sessions are confidential, it is not difficult to imagine the temperature in the room — this last session follows on the heels of the district’s layoff notices to staff in March, as well as more than 100 teachers speaking out during Tuesday’s school board meeting.

From the get-go, the district has stressed that the parties have “vastly different perspectives” on the district’s finances, which they say are now compounded by other budgetary issues, such as the loss of one-time funds and an expected state budget shortfall.

Teachers and their supporters, however, claim the district has the money to pay for their proposed 23 percent salary increase but is, instead, pinching pennies.

At Tuesday’s meeting, SBTA leaders presented their “Open Community Letter”— signed by hundreds of educators, community members, and local businesses — to the school board, asking the district to pay teachers and staff “enough to live in Santa Barbara.” The union said the letter complements the 700 lawn signs — saying “we stand with Santa Barbara teachers” — posted around the city.

“We have reached out to people and organizations all over this region, and they get it,” said SBTA Organizing Co-chair Kate Lambert. “Community members understand that SBUSD needs to create an environment to attract and retain a high-quality teaching workforce for our students, and the district is not there yet.”

Now that mediation is over, the parties may proceed to the next stage of the legally mandated impasse process: fact-finding. This involves both sides submitting factual evidence to a panel — consisting of one person selected by each party and one neutral member — that will make recommendations for a settlement.

In this case, the panel will most likely consider the fiscal impact of the parties’ proposals and their comparability with similar school districts. According to the district, the process can typically take anywhere from three to six months. The resulting fact-finding report is advisory only, for each party to take into consideration.

Either the recommendations in the report will serve as the basis for a settlement, or a second impasse will be declared and the negotiation process will end. At that point, the district would have the legal right to unilaterally impose terms and conditions from its last, best, and final offer to SBTA, and SBTA may engage in a lawful strike.

Considering SBTA’s recent social media appeals to the community to pledge future donations to the “educators’ strike fund” (should the time come), they are not wasting any time.

However, a strike cannot occur until the parties have gone through the entire impasse process.

“The District will continue to participate in the impasse process in good faith to reach a fair and sustainable agreement for students, staff, and the District community,” the district said.