Banning Students Return To Class, But Teachers Notably Absent

BANNING, CA — Banning parents were outraged Wednesday, as students headed back to school — many without teachers. The Banning Teachers Association is on a three-day strike through Friday, while the district superintendent says the union is holding "hostage the education of hundreds of students."

The strike does not affect substitute teachers, which have been called in to help fill some of the void left by the teachers' strike.

Several parents have contacted Patch, alerting them that there was no plan in place for their child when they arrived at their assigned campus on Wednesday. However, in a written statement, the district said they were “taking the necessary steps to ensure a smooth opening to a new school year for our 4,565 students.”

While Banning Unified School District Superintendent Robert Guillermo declined to speak with us in person at the district office, he did phone us back to answer a few questions and released the following statement:

The teachers union chose to launch a strike just as we are welcoming children back to school, and I find it disheartening that they would deliberately try to disrupt our schools. As Superintendent, I do not deny the union, or any employee, their right to disagree with me, but I do believe this approach to problem solving is nothing short of unprofessional. There are more productive ways to settle adult disagreements, rather than trying to hold hostage the education of hundreds of students.

At the heart of the union’s concern is the fact that at the beginning of the last school year, the District added instructional minutes at Nicolet Middle School, where the students were receiving nearly one hour less of instruction compared to Banning High School. Our children deserve our best, and they deserve a full day of instruction. I am immensely proud of our strong administrative team, who pulled together to ensure that
we have substitute teachers here to greet our students, and I am grateful to our dedicated support staff in the areas of transportation, food service and office support, who are on hand to do their jobs and welcome all children back to school.

Teachers stationed outside Nicolet Middle School to stage a protest for several hours on Wednesday, chanting and passing out fliers to passing parents urging them to contact the school district on their behalf. The union says they've been trying to negotiate with BUSD for more than a year after their days were extended without additional pay.

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Patch photos by Renee Schiavone