Paso Robles teachers consider strike as contract negotiations stall. Here’s what’s happening

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District and its teachers union appear to have hit a wall during contract negotiations — and union leadership says it is considering a strike.

The Paso Robles Public Educators Association and the school district are currently at the stage of fact finding in their contract negotiations, according to a news release from the school district on Feb. 23.

The union — which represents more than 400 employees across the district including librarians, teachers, yard aids, speech pathologists and more — began contract negotiations last spring, according to union President Bernadette Boddington.

The union is demanding an 8.2% cost of living salary increase, while the school district has said they can only afford a 2% increase, Boddington said.

“(The school district) tried to tell us, ‘Oh, you know, we can’t afford the raise because our facilities are falling apart and we need to put new carpets,’” Boddington told The Tribune. “But then what good does it do if you have a classroom with new carpet if there is no one to teach in it?”

The district meanwhile asserts it “must face certain fiscal realities” and cannot approve a larger salary increase, according to the release.

Paso Robles teacher contract negotiations hit impasse

Negotiations entered the impasse stage in January, Boddington said.

Impasse is the third-to-final step in contract negotiations before the union can legally declare a strike.

After impasse, the union and district entered mediation, where a third-party negotiator attempted to come up with compromises. This stage failed and now the negotiations are in fact finding, according to Boddington.

Both sides submitted their cases to an independent third party, a fact finder, which generated a fact finder’s report, which is intended to show which demands are fair and which can be met.

If no agreement is reached in fact finding, the union can legally declare a strike.

Why are Paso Robles teachers asking for a raise?

Boddington said the 8.22% cost of living increase will help the district retain employees and fairly compensate existing ones properly.

A survey conducted by the union found 50% of Paso Robles educators worked a second or even third job alongside their main job. Boddington herself works at a winery on the weekends to keep up with bills, despite the fact that she has worked for the district for 24 years, she said.

“When you have to work a second job, that takes away from that time that you would have to plan the lessons, to do extracurricular activities with the students,” Boddington said. “We want to come to a place where we can make a decent living with this job and this can be our only job.”

She added that the district has had to replace 150 of its employees over the past three years due to the pay.

Meanwhile, the district has the funding to be able to approve a larger increase, Boddington said.

According to Boddington, the state earmarked a $7.3 million increase in funding for the school district to help it meet increases in the cost of living locally. The union is asking for $3 million of that funding, she said.

What does Paso Robles school district say about negotiations?

The Paso Robles school district contends that it cannot afford a larger salary increase after the 10% increase educators got in their previous cycle of negotiations, according to the district news release.

“While we deeply value and appreciate the hard work and dedication of our teachers, the district must face certain fiscal realities,” it said in the release. “Unfortunately, we find ourselves constrained by limited financial resources. It is our responsibility to ensure that any agreements are both financially sustainable and in the best interests of our students, staff and community.”

In the release, the district noted that it has seen an increase in fixed costs like facilities, maintenance, utilities and retirement funding, and it “must ensure that teacher compensation remains in line with projected revenue and the increase in fixed costs so as to ensure that we remain fiscally solvent.”

The district added that since funding is tied to enrollment, and enrollment dropped by 100 students in the previous academic year, the district will not be able to afford an increase in salaries.

“We remain steadfast in our dual commitments: to provide the best possible education for our students, and to foster a supportive and equitable working environment for our teachers and staff,” the district said.

Will Paso Robles teachers go on strike?

Boddington said there have been discussions of going on a strike, but no planning has started.

She added that she feels the recent United Teachers of Los Angeles strike and the United Auto Workers strikes have emboldened her members to consider a strike.

“We are really hoping we don’t have to get to that because, you know, our business is to make sure that our children get an education,” Boddington said. “What we want is what is right, and what is right, is to get a cost-of-living adjustment.”

Paso Robles educators are expected to picket in support of a fair contract outside the district’s office at 800 Niblick Road on March 12 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.