Connection in the Classroom

Every day, teachers make sure that their students feel seen and heard. We are behavior modification experts, friendship counselors, cheerleaders, psychologists, and health experts. We wear many hats. In addition to all our other duties, we teach.

While teachers are there for their students, day after day, Superintendent Hilda Maldonado of the Santa Barbara School District and the school board don’t do the same for educators. They definitely don’t hear what we have been saying for the last few months about our salaries, or about anything else, for that matter. We have said that we need a salary increase that would bring us closer to making ends meet in Santa Barbara, and one that would be an incentive, rather than a deterrent, for teachers interested in working for our district.

Right now, the Santa Barbara School District pays their teachers $10,000 less than nearby districts, and up to $30,000 less than ones to the south. We have asked for a 15 percent increase this upcoming school year, and 8 percent the next. The school district has offered an 8 percent salary increase the first year, with a 4 percent the next. No one is budging, bringing us to our current impasse.

Seeing Behind the Curtain

It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment when I woke up and realized that I was being duped. I remember voting “yes” on the salary agreements between the Santa Barbara School District and the Santa Barbara Teachers Union (SBTA) for the past nine years without much thought. When we were offered our usual 3 percent, or something similar, I simply agreed, thinking that the district was giving us what they could. It must be what they could afford. I believed that the district and teachers were partners in the fight to educate students, and what we wanted was what was best for everyone.

Now, I know that the district seems to have priorities that don’t put teachers and learning first. For me, the “aha!” moment occurred when teachers asked for a raise, 15 percent next year and 8 percent the next, and the school district refused to offer a fair alternative, or be able to explain why this wasn’t possible.

There was also a state waiver debacle in which the district thought they had paid teachers $6 million less than they were supposed to. In fact, when the district turned in their waiver, it was determined that they were only $3 million off. When I received an email to that effect from the superintendent, I was horrified. Who did the math, and made such an egregious error? When district representatives say that there is not enough money in the budget to offer a substantial salary increase, this is why I don’t believe them. Are they sure? Have they double-checked?

In addition to the fact that I am not quite sure whether there is, or is not, money for the salary increase, the district has been sending out a bi-weekly email in which the budget is “explained.” The emails have lists of budgetary items with little explanation, and conflicting information. Each of the emails leaves teachers more baffled, and sometimes angry.

Here is an example of one of the charts included in these emails:

Whose salaries? What benefits? The superintendent and administrators make $250,000-$300,000 (close to three times more than the highest-paid teacher). They get stipends for housing and travel, since many live out of town in Palmdale, Pasadena, etc. Were these salaries and perks included in this chart? How much money is available for salary increases? And what about the millions of dollars held in reserve? After reading the Did You Know emails, I can honestly say, I still don’t know.

The District Is Trying to Wait Us Out

While the district may be hoping that teachers will get tired, or give up, I don’t think this is going to happen. More than 600 teachers marched to the school district offices February 14, chanting things like “Fair Pay, Teachers Stay,” and “15 and eight would be great.” They also show up for each school board meeting en masse. Maybe the school district hasn’t realized that even if they wanted to give up, teachers can’t. If district officials want to know why, they should watch the replays of the school board meetings.

At every school board meeting, teachers highlight the challenges they face. They talk about driving an hour to and from work because they can’t afford to live in Santa Barbara, they talk about the extra duties and classes they take on because of the 100 teaching positions that have gone unfilled, and they talk about feeling disrespected. We speak our truths, and the Santa Barbara school board members and Superintendent Hilda Maldonado say nothing to us — ever. They watch impassively, even as teachers cry.

School board members have said that they are prohibited from reacting to public comments. What about a smile or a nod? What about making a statement outside of the public comment time — through an email, a conversation, or public statement? The disconnect between the superintendent, the school board, and teachers has created a sense of distrust and anger.

There are rumors that school district officials are just waiting us out, hoping we will give up. There are rumors that the superintendent might wait until the day before a strike before making a reasonable offer.

Through a wicked twist of fate, teachers have to wait until next year to go on strike. It is in the contract that teachers can’t strike this school year. Who would have thought that would have been in a teaching contract?

Message to the Superintendent and the Santa Barbara School Board

In order to turn the situation in the district around, school officials would have to make a fair salary offer, and work on changing how they interact with teachers. They would have to acknowledge the expertise teachers possess, and ask, as well as listen to, their opinions. This impasse is not only about the money, but it’s also about the way the district views teachers.

Here is one example of this type of disregard. When the district purchased a new math curriculum, they asked teachers to test out the program and then ignored their input. Teachers questioned its efficacy, but the district still chose it. When we look at our lower-than-normal standardized test scores in math, we can see the probable effects of this choice. The current district-adopted program is an appetizer, or a dessert, but not a complete meal. There is little to no practice, repetition, or fact practice embedded in the daily work. This is just one example of the decision-making process in the school district in which the people who know what is best for students — teachers — don’t have a say.

Message to Parents and the Community

Parents and the community can support teachers by emailing the Santa Barbara School Board and the superintendent, and demand basic changes to the way they interact with teachers. We should be partners, not adversaries. You can also vote for school board members who have been endorsed by the Santa Barbara Teachers Union in the next election.

Here are some of the key points:

• Teachers need to be paid competitive salaries. The district has to make a reasonable salary offer.
• Teachers need to have input in the decision-making process. They need to help select curriculum and identify which programs are working and which aren’t. There should even be a teacher committee that gives input on budgetary decisions.
• The school board should not be a rubber stamp for all of the superintendent’s proposals. If even one teacher were on the board, this wouldn’t happen. We have experience on the ground. We know what works and what doesn’t. We would say, “Now, wait just a minute — $6 million for that?”

Treating teachers with respect, paying them a competitive wage, and giving them a voice in the decision-making process would provide the environment in which both students and our community would thrive. As First Lady Jill Biden said, “As educators, our classrooms are where we live out a kind of faith: a belief that with patience and care, we can shape the next generation — help them build on everything that’s come before us to make our world better.” She believes, like I do, that what teachers do matters. That even one teacher, or one student, can change the world.