Santa Barbara School Board Approves New Contract, Averting Teachers’ Strike

The battle is over. 

On Tuesday, July 16, the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a new contract with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA).   

With the new contract came a startlingly quiet boardroom — a surprising sight after several months of teacher protests, rallies, and picket lines at board meetings that often ran late into the night.

The district narrowly averted a teachers’ strike, finally reaching an agreement following unsuccessful state-mandated mediation and an intense 18-hour fact-finding meeting moderated by a third party. 

The agreement involves a 10 percent raise this year and a 5 percent raise next school year (3 percent in July, 2 percent in January), which is 8 percent lower than the union’s previous demand, and much closer to the district’s last offer of 9 and 4 percent.

Alongside reduced class sizes and better benefits, the agreement produced one of the largest raises in district history, costing the district more than $24 million in total. For reference, a teacher currently making a median base salary of $85,000 will make $98,231 after all is said and done. 

However, as said by Kelly Savio, a Dos Pueblos High School English teacher, “This is not just about salary; this has never just been about salary.” 

Throughout the lengthy contract negotiations, trust in district leadership eroded. Teachers crowded board meetings over the past several months, frustrated with boardmembers and pleading for better wages so they can afford Santa Barbara’s increasingly unaffordable living costs. However, many nights, they left the board room feeling unheard and unappreciated.

“Trust has been demolished, and the only way to get it back is for each side to dedicate themselves to making it happen,” said SBTA member Joel Block, a longtime teacher in the district.

Boardmembers likewise emphasized how difficult negotiations were, which only strained relationships among admin, boardmembers, and teachers. Over the past year, there were several nights where they felt disrespected by teachers firing off accusations in the boardroom.

“From the outset we were serious,” about ensuring fair compensation for teachers, “despite what we heard over the last nine months,” said board vice chair Gabe Escobedo. He said the last nine months were “the toughest” that he’s had in public service.  

“There are people up here and there are people in this room that sincerely care,” he said. “There was a narrative about it being otherwise. I am here to say absolutely we care, and we heard you.”

Board president Wendy Sims-Moten even apologized. 

“I offer this apology as a board that we had to go through that, that we weren’t communicating, that it felt like we didn’t care, if it felt that way in any way,” she said. 

Later, the board voted unanimously to extend Superintendent Hilda Maldonado’s contract through June 2027, with a base salary of $275,000, despite some opposition from the school community.   

In the few years after she was hired in 2020, several top administrators, including almost the entire former cabinet, left the district. Teachers at Tuesday’s meeting asked the board not to extend her contract, citing concerns over Maldonado’s leadership that were repeatedly voiced during negotiations. Teachers questioned her priorities, leadership style, and willingness to understand their struggles and their work in the classroom. 

Katie Garibay, a teacher at San Marcos High School and district parent, criticized the summer vote on the contract extension as an attempt to “fly under the radar.” She said she was there “on behalf of many teachers who couldn’t be here during summer break” to oppose the extension.

“Since she has been hired, a vast majority of district office staff have quit, numerous administrators and principals have and continue to quit,” Garibay said. “When these passionate, long-term district employees left, they gave exit interviews, but the information shared in these interviews has never been made public.”

She continued, “I am confident that if this agenda item was during the school year, and if teachers had received more than 24 hours’ notice, this board room would be overflowing.”

Teacher Kelly Savio also addressed the board, saying that by doing performance reviews on administrators and making decisions about their employment “without our feedback” is “yet another way you continue to foster an ever-widening divide between the staff of this district and yourselves.”

She continued, “It seems our school board is sitting in an ivory tower writing its own narrative about how things are going in the district, supported by evidence that has been cherry-picked.” 

However, the board defended Maldonado, acknowledging that taking on the position at the height of the pandemic was difficult. Sims-Moten said that now is a time for healing, and echoed sentiments that the following years can be used to “reset” and move forward, working from the “inside out” to repair relationships. 

“We need to give the leadership a chance to reset,” Sims-Moten said. “We cannot get there unless it is us working together. It is not us and them; it is all of us together.”

Maldonado thanked her colleagues for voicing concerns about her leadership but expressed that she does not think her intentions have “translated well.”

“There are a lot of things that have been said about me that have been very hurtful,” Maldonado acknowledged, her arms crossed over the podium.

“I have been othered because I am from Los Angeles, but I am from many places,” she continued. “I have made it a choice to be here with all of you.”

Maldonado went on to describe herself as a “reluctant leader.” She was a teacher for eight years, and said she never aimed beyond being a principal. 

She reflected on her journey as an immigrant child who didn’t speak English, with parents who had limited education. She took pride in rising to superintendent. 

“I don’t think I will ever stop learning,” she said. “I recommit, once again, to this board, to the teachers … to continue to do better on behalf of our students so they can thrive. I believe strongly in the power of public education. I believe it changes lives.”

She acknowledged teachers’ fatigue and expressed regret that district leaders and teachers didn’t get to “shake hands” after reaching an agreement. “I’ll continue to be your proud superintendent, whether you agree with me or not; whether you like me or not, ” she said. “I will continue to try to earn your support.” 

The board’s approval finalized the new contract, effective for teachers’ September paychecks.

Additionally, the board approved the same wage increases for management — including principals, deans, and managers — as a “me too” agreement, which will cost more than $1.5 million over the span of the three-year contract. The increases will also apply to Superintendent Maldonado and her six cabinet members, costing over $200,000.   

SBTA treasurer York Shingle said that while he is happy they were able to reach an agreement, he’s “heard from a number of newer teachers that it’s not enough to keep them here.” 

“So while I recognize that this is a huge increase of millions of dollars, and a great first step forward, it can’t be the only step,” he said. “I hope you’re continuing the conservation to be able to pay us even more in two years when salary comes up. And I hope in the meantime, you start listening to and asking for teacher, student, and community voice in your decision-making.”