The school’s campus could be facing a strike as the search for contract negotiations by teachers haven’t been met.
“We were hoping [the negotiations] would lead to a settlement of a fair contract and a comparable salary increase for our teachers here,” United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) chapter chair and English teacher Carlos Monroy said.
Contract bargaining began August of 2023, and the school’s teachers hoped to have the bargains resolved by the end of their contract in July last year. While the negotiations have been long since in discussion, they have been drastically prolonged.
“We are at a point right now where this has been dragged out by the administration, specifically the executive director Mr. [David] Hussey, our chief business officer Mr. [Gregory] Wood, and the board of directors,” Monroy said.
In terms of the specific contract UTLA has been negotiating about, there will likely not be any additional negotiations within a reasonable timeline. The contract negotiations have been a long, but nonlinear process, where the school and UTLA have become incapable of reaching an agreement on the salaries of the educators on campus.
“In the spring of 2024, our bargaining sessions did fail, so we went into state mediation,” Monroy said. “We had two mediation sessions, and those also failed.”
Because of their continuous failed mediation sessions, both parties are now moving into a phase called “Fact-finding,” in which UTLA presents its case to a three-member panel. The panel consists of one independent panel member, and two with each to represent either side of the negotiation.
“As of right now, the fact-finding report just came back,” Hussey said. “Both sides have seen the report, and we’re working on setting up another meeting to…look for solutions.”
As the negotiations progress further, the school’s educators and members of UTLA hope to resolve their conflict in a way that is mutually beneficial to both the educators and the students seeking an education.
“I’m hoping that the school…can see our intrinsic value as educators…and the service we provide to the children of this community,” Monroy said. “But by dragging this out, they’ve made it very clear that they think we’re replaceable.”
As the contract continues to be discussed, the school is worried about how this may advance into a strike.
“If the teacher’s do go on strike, the school would get substitute teachers to fill those positions, and they would provide work during that time,” Hussey said.
Although certain aspects of the school’s campus may have changed, the school is working to resolve the issues educators have with their contracts and salaries.