Teachers fill LTUSD board room to ask for pay increases

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dozens of school teachers in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) filled the board room in South Lake Tahoe last Tuesday to show trustees they want a cost of living increase to their pay.

Jodi Dayberry, President of the South Tahoe Educators Association, led the teachers in their presentation to the LTUSD Board of Trustees, telling the five elected members teachers are struggling due to the high cost of living and many have second jobs and summer jobs to fill their financial void.

Signs being carried by the teachers at the meeting said several things, including "We cannot put students first if we put teachers last," and "LTUSD can afford a decent raise for teachers."

Teachers in LTUSD start at $47,475, and depending on their degree and extra units, the salary can be up to $51,823 (or $67,374 for teachers who have the maximum years of prior teaching experience and units). A teacher in the district 29 years can possibly make up to $101,117, again depending on any extra education they have received (there is a $1,732 master's stipend that is granted for any advanced degrees held by the teacher).

Salaries are negotiated for the school year already in progress, once funding from the State and enrollment, among other variables, are known.

In the 2013/14 school year, teachers received a 6.5 percent increase followed by a 3 percent increase in the following school year and a 4.5 percent increase in 2015/16. The last two years have been much smaller, with their cost of living increases at 2 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Dayberry said they wanted to meet with Superintendent Dr. Jim Tarwater in August but negotiations didn't really get started until February when they hit an impasse. Dr. Tarwater said the District likes to start negotiations in November once the funding numbers are released from the Governor's office. In a document received by South Tahoe Now, teachers are asking for 4.75 percent increase for 2018/19 retroactive to July 1, 2018, and 6 percent for the 2019/20 year, also retroactive to July 1, 2018. They want their Health and Welfare insurance cap to be raised from $11,000 to $11,500.

LTUSD has offered a five percent increase over two years - 2 percent for the 2018/19 school year with 1.75 percent retroactive to July 1, 2018, and 3 percent for the 2019/20 year effective July 1, 2019, with an insurance cap of $11,250 each year. The second increase would only be in the event the national COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) is 3.46 percent. If more or less, the bargaining units would meet and negotiate.

The teachers and their union told the trustees the money for their raises is in the budget, something both Dr. Tarwater and the District's Chief Business & Operations Officer Billy Wessell say isn't so.

Dayberry said there is $1,427,996 in the budget for books and supplies that weren't used, along with Certified Teacher salary savings of $59,185 and Services and Operations Expenditures of $553,697 that has not been used this year.

LTUSD says the $1.4M is through federal grants and programs, and donations, and can only be spent on items outlined by the funding source. Salaries are not allowable according to Dr. Tarwater and Wessell. They said the same goes for the $553k as they are restricted.

District restricted programs include Title I low-income student funds, Title II teacher improvement funds and Title III, money for English learners, restricted lottery-funded instructional materials, College Readiness Block Grant, and donations from local nonprofits and Vail Resorts.

Passionate teachers spoke to the trustees and asked why they are so undervalued. "We want what's right, not what's left," and "We need to feel valued and we don't feel valued if we have to fight for COLA."

According to Wessell, the District cannot create a budget that is irresponsible as it is approved at the County level once a fiscal analysis is completed. He said spending more than what they have would be prevented at the next level.

"We're done being patient," said Dayberry. "We are done being ignored and having to grovel for the leftovers. Our patience is wearing thin."

They met on February 14, 2019, where there "was no love" according to Dayberry. Due to the impasse at that meeting, they now have to involve a mediator who will come from Oakland on April 30 for negotiations.

"Teachers do a lot for this community and the students," said Dr. Tarwater. But he said there just isn't money in the budget to meet the COLA and insurance caps they are asking.

He said ten teachers are retiring after the current school year and they will not be replaced (6 elementary, 1 middle school and 3 high school). Kindergarten to 3rd grade will now see an increase in class size from 21-22 to 24. He said these changes won't free up enough retirement contributions into the State Teacher Retirement System (STRS) and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) to give larger pay increases. The teacher's union disputes this fact.

The teachers also added that they cannot attract enough candidates for open jobs due to the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing in South Lake Tahoe, something a higher wage would help solve.

In a move to help attract those teachers, LTUSD added low-cost daycare for both infants and toddlers. The infants up to two-years-old go open space at Mt. Tallac High at a cost of $40 per day, and after the age of two, they go to Al Tahoe at a charge of $25 a day. They offer discounts for more than one child in a family.

The teachers wrapped up their presentation at the board meeting with the verbal reply "Find the Money" to Dayberry's "It isn't right, it isn't fair."