Union On SRVUSD Offer: 'That Is Not Moving Us Forward'

SAN RAMON VALLEY, CA — Some San Ramon Valley Unified School District staff could strike in the coming weeks if the district does not make an offer that its largest union deems acceptable.

San Ramon Valley Education Association, which represents educators and school specialists, rejected what SRVUSD called its best and final offer during their third mediation session Monday. Negotiations now head into the fact-finding stage, where three panelists will hear out both parties and present what they feel are the facts of the situation, said SRVEA President Ann Katzburg.

The district can then make a final offer, at which point the union can discuss and initiate a strike, she said. Ninety-eight percent of SRVEA's 1,688 members voted to authorize a strike.

It would take at least three to six weeks for SRVEA to find out the results of the fact-finding process, she said.

SRVEA weighed a strike last year too, Katzburg said.

SRVEA is calling for a nurse and counselor at every campus, and caps on elementary and special education class sizes, though Katzburg stressed the union knows these things will take time and additional funding.

"We are not interested in bankrupting them," she said.

The district said Monday in a note to parents and staff that it could not afford all of the union's requests, but the Board of Education would remain "committed to prioritizing its employees by negotiating a contract which honors our educators and staff, while maintaining a sound and responsible budget over the long term."

Katzburg said there were bright spots in the district's offer Monday: the district agreed to a 2.5 percent salary increase, offered to hire five additional psychologists and offered additional pay to teachers who are assigned class sizes larger than the cap size.

SRVEA also requested the latter provision in hopes it would deter the district from exceeding class size caps, Katzburg said.

She noted SRVEA supports putting the California Teachers Association-backed Schools & Communities First proposal on the November ballot. The proposal would raise commercial property taxes to raise money for local schools and governments. Proponents say the initiative could raise an estimated $12 billion per year.

"If there is future funding, those are priorities that we believe are essential," Katzburg said.

There was room for improvement in the district's offer when it came to capping class sizes, and bringing more specialists onto campuses, she said.

The state recommends a 24-student elementary class cap and SRVUSD elementary teachers currently have up to 26 students, Katzburg said.

The district said in its last offer that kindergarten through third grade classes would be capped at 26 students, with no more than 27 students allowed. Teachers with 27 students would receive extra compensation.

"That is not moving us forward," she said.

Katzburg, an elementary school teacher, recalled when her class size dropped to 20 students from 32 students in the mid-1990s. It made a big difference, she said.

"We know ... that what we're fighting for is for our students," Katzburg said. "It starts off with making sure that we can negotiate, and it's been a struggle."

SRVUSD said its offer also included an improvement in the middle school counselor to student ratio (600:1 from 650:1), a .5 percent increase in the top step of SRVEA salary schedules and more.

SRVUSD said Monday that its note to parents and staff would serve as its final comment on SRVEA negotiations.

SRVEA said its members are currently working under a contract that expired in June.

The union and district last reached an agreement in March, which included: a 4.18 percent salary increase; improved staff-to-student ratios for librarians, counselors, nurses and more; caseload maximums for special education professions; an extra 50 minutes of prep time for elementary school teachers; and more, the district said.

The union plans to hold two town halls for members of the public who wish to learn more about their efforts from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Feb. 28 at Dougherty Valley High School and from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., March 12 at the San Ramon Valley High School library.

Read more about the district's proposal on class size caps here.

More Tri-Valley news:

• San Ramon Valley teachers union authorizes strike
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Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the elementary school class size cap proposed by the district.