Back in May 2014, the Lucia Mar Unified School District and Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association began talking.

Actually, they were talking before that, I’m sure, but these talks were official—like, “let’s make sure everyone at the table here keeps working and our children continue to learn about math and reading and science and stuff” talks.

They haven’t stopped talking yet.

Well, sure they take breaks to eat and sleep and, you know, actually do the district administrating and teaching required for the aforementioned science-and-reading-teaching purposes. But the conversation itself is ongoing. And maybe less of a conversation and more of a fight. Or it’s getting to that point, anyway.

There have been many developments over the months since last May, but one of the most significant came in September when the two parties reached an impasse and agreed to bring in an impartial state mediator to help move the process along.

So what is the log that is jamming these talks?

The teachers want a 10 percent increase in salaries, driven, in part, by the fact that it would bring them closer in line to what teachers in neighboring districts earn. The district is offering a 2 percent increase, which is all the administrators say they can afford. “We cannot spend money we don’t have,” reads a labor negotiations update the district made in the fall of last year.

“Hogwash,” say the teachers. (Actually, that’s a paraphrase.)

Local educators claim that the money is there; it’s just prioritized differently. They cite administration, pet projects, and an overly high reserve fund among the items getting a cash influx that should, in their opinion, be going to “address the wage gap.”

The most recent attempt at a resolution via meditation happened on Friday, Feb. 27, and that apparently didn’t go so well, since there’s now another attempt at a resolution via mediation set for March 25.

The district seemed have such high hopes going into the most recent meeting. A Jan. 21 update mentioned a 2.25 percent increase retroactive to July 1, 2014, and steps to take if a fact-finding effort revealed that even more compensation should be given.

“We remain committed to participate in good faith in this process to try to come to an agreement,” the district reported.

The teachers, on the other hand, referred to the district’s good faith as “digging in their heels.” They also asked members of the community to contact the school board to help “avoid a strike and settle the contract.”

So that’s my call to action to you this week. Wherever you stand on this issue, let the Lucia Mar Unified School District Board know. Education is important. It’s valuable, it’s vital, it’s key. Everyone involved in this mediation process needs to know where the community stands in relation to teacher pay and attrition.

Speak up. Students are depending on it.

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