A sign read “Broken Hart.”
That’s how teachers within the William S. Hart Union High School District feel, leading them to descend upon the district’s administrative office on Wednesday evening before the district’s governing board meeting to voice their continued displeasure over the status of contract negotiations.
More than 800 teachers, represented by the Hart District Teachers Association, rallied outside the district office before the 7 p.m. meeting began. Chants of “we want a fair deal” and “the budget lies have got to go” could be heard from what amounts to more than 75% of the entire HDTA body.
The HDTA has been operating without a contract since June 2023. Another negotiating session is set for Thursday, according to an HDTA news release, with the hope “to stave off a declaration of impasse in contract talks.”
A formal impasse could be on the table following Thursday’s negotiating session, the first step in the process toward a potential strike, if there is no movement between the two sides, according to the release.
“That’s really all we want is something fair,” HDTA President John Minkus said. “We’re not asking for ridiculous numbers like other groups ask. We’re asking for what’s reasonable, what’s fair. We have a cost-of-living adjustment in our lives. That’s how we are funded, and the district gets money. We are their main resource. It needs to funnel its way down.”
California School Employees Association Chapter 349, which represents Hart district classified employees, has also been operating without a contract and joined the rally on Wednesday.
These negotiations come as the governing board approved layoffs for both certified employees and classified employees last month. District staff has said that the hope is that retirements and other means of voluntary leave will help to cut down the number of employees who will be laid off, but if that is not the case, 61 certified employees and 29.14 full-time equivalent classified positions would be cut.
Those layoffs would be part of a fiscal stabilization plan, designed to save the district approximately $21 million, that was approved in January and is meant to have the district cut back on its expenditures to keep its reserve above the state-mandated 3%. The plan would have the district save approximately $43 million over the next three and a half years.
HDTA personnel have begun operating under “working to rule” procedure, meaning voluntary services such as open classrooms during breaks and before and after school are no longer being offered. That could also impact end-of-year events such as proms, graduation ceremonies and award nights, the release states.
“What was identified were a number of activities at the end of the year that require teachers to volunteer to do, and if we don’t have a contract, then it’s going to be a big ask for people to volunteer their time,” Minkus said.
Jason Bornn, a history teacher at Saugus High School and the school’s head football coach, said the stipend that coaches and other club leaders get for volunteering their time outside of school time is not indicative of the amount of work they put in. Bornn estimated that he uses 10-12 hours a week during the offseason and upwards of 70 hours during the football season.
“The amount of money that we make compared to the amount of time and energy that we put into it is cents on the dollar,” Bornn said. “It’s insane.”
Diane Jacobson, a math teacher at Golden Valley High School, referenced a letter to the editor that board President Linda Storli wrote to The Signal last month in which she stated, “It just seems to me wrong to lay off employees and give raises at the same time. Years ago, we had a similar situation and we, the teachers, voted to forgo a raise and keep as many employees as possible. Not the same time, not the same teachers and not the same Hart.”
Jacobson said she felt disrespected by those words.
“That’s very divisive and that’s just not a professional attitude,” Jacobson said, adding that she and Storli do agree on hoping that the negotiations end soon. “That shouldn’t be our leadership.”
Multiple speakers mentioned how, under the current financial climate in the country, teachers are unable to live close to the school district they work in.
Board member Joe Messina, representative of Trustee Area No. 5, said the larger demonstration — teachers had previously demonstrated in a similar fashion with fewer numbers at a meeting last month — doesn’t change the fact that if the district does not have the funding, then it cannot allocate more money to teachers.
“This is not the first time we’ve had large rallies before at the board over many years,” Messina wrote in a text message to The Signal. “They feel like they’re not being heard, but they are! It doesn’t matter whether it’s 400, 600 or 900 (teachers) that show up. The money doesn’t, which makes it hard for us to give raises. They are part of the largest teachers’ union with the biggest influence in the state. It would be nice if they put the same pressure on legislators to give us our fair share of the money.”
HDTA representatives have cited the record 8.22% cost-of-living adjustment that all school districts across the state received for the 2023-24 school year, as well as Hart district budget reserves of more than $100 million being reported at the end of last year, as reasons for funding to be there.
“The state is giving our district more money, but they don’t want to give us a fair share of that,” said Chris Jackson, vice president of the HDTA. “That’s why we’re here tonight, because we want them to hear, ‘Treat us fairly. Put our schools first.’”
District staff was unable to provide a statement during the meeting, but in a previous statement, Hart district Superintendent Mike Kuhlman said teachers get 80-85% of the budget through salaries and benefits for a reason.
“Considering their outstanding work, I don’t begrudge them at all for advocating for increases in pay and benefits,” Kuhlman said in the statement. “Our task is to balance those demands with our need to ensure the long-term fiscal health of the district. That’s what’s happening through the negotiations process and I’m thankful that we can continue to have that conversation.”
