Rohnert Park Teachers Ready To Strike Thursday

ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, CA — More than 300 teachers in the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, the third largest school district in Sonoma County, are preparing to strike Thursday if the district does not agree on salary increases, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports. The strike would affect at least 6,000 families, and would be the largest teacher strike in Sonoma County in five years.

The situation has been brewing since at least November, when the Rohnert Park Cotati Educators Association teacher’s union authorized a strike if a settlement was not reached. Last week, the union brought in a fact finder, who recommended a three-year contract with raises of 6 percent in the first year, 5 percent in the second year, and a statutory cost-of-living adjustment projected to be 3.61% in the third year, according to a union news release from Monday. That equates to an approximate 14.6% raise, according to the Press-Democrat.

The district’s latest offer is less than half of what the union is asking for: a 6% total increase, comprised of a 3% wage increase for the current year, and a bonus of the same size, according to the Press-Democrat. Superintendent Mayra Perez told the Press-Democrat that the union’s current demands would force the district into a deficit in two years.

Several parents told the Press-Democrat that they would keep their children home in solidarity.