Teachers rallied outside Mendoza Elementary wearing all black to let every passerby know: things are not okay in the South Bay.
“This is what we’re going to do until you understand that we need help,” said special education teacher, Amy Perrea.
Perrea has been a special education teacher in the South Bay Union School District for 11 years.
“What we do in the classroom is life changing for these kiddos,” she said. “It’s the difference between being able to be in a work program some day and staying at home and not being able to have their needs met.”
Shrinking overcrowded classes like hers is one of the main topics her union has been butting heads with the district for a year and a half to no avail.
Vanessa Barrera leads the union of 400 staffers and said the other sticking point in negotiations has been pay.
“We have not received a raise since 2023,” she said. “Our out-of-pocket health insurance premiums have increased, which means that 70% of our members have taken a pay cut.”
She said workers have been asking for 2% increases each semester since July 2024 and 1% when they’re off schedule.
South Bay Union School District responded with a statement:
“The district has made proposals to the Association that address fair wages, class size reductions, and special education. At the same time, declining student enrollment, declining state revenues and increasing operating costs are forcing school closures, layoffs, and massive budget cuts. The district’s 2024-25 Unaudited Actuals report indicates a deficit spending amount of $3,480,592. Looking ahead the district anticipates continued deficit spending over the next three years. We believe our community and employees understand that this is not as simple and one-sided as the Association suggests. The Association’s proposals, if accepted, would actually hurt students and ignore fiscal realities.”
Barrera said the district has 15x the state required amount in reserves, can pay for these needs and the problem isn’t about the money.
“It is a priorities problem,” she said.
“They don’t want to acknowledge what we’re doing,” Perrea added. “It’s more of a ‘No. You’re okay. But we continue to get raises,’ — the administration, superintendent. And it’s not even about the money. It’s about helping these kids.”
Perrea said the fallout is strained teachers with less and less to give, who end up leaving the district or striking if they stay.
“The ship will have to run itself,” she said. “It’s going to sink without us. But if they believe that they don’t need us, then let’s see how that happens. Lets see how it works.”
The union and district are in the last phase of negotiations before being authorized to strike. The soonest the strike would happen is late January.
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