Hundreds of San Marcos Unified School District teachers crashed the school board meeting Tuesday to demand a new contract amid stalled negotiations.
The district’s meeting hall seats 80 people. Over 500 San Marcos Education Association teachers, nearly half the collective bargaining unit, showed up to say, “Let’s make a deal.”
On the other side of the wall from the board's executive session, members of the San Marcos education association made their voices heard.
"The resonation of our voice collectively gave me chills and hopefully gave them reason to think twice,” San Marcos High School teacher Robert Gordon said.
The delegation of teachers showed up at the board meeting unannounced. They have gone without a contract for over a year.
"It usually doesn't go this long, and quite honestly, we don't have 500 school teachers show up at a school board meeting,” SMEA President Michael Devries said.
The SMUSD thought it had this negotiating thing down 30 years ago when both the union and board agreed to always accept the fourth-largest salary and benefits package of all the districts in the county.
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"We believe that our group is as good as any in North County and we shouldn't have to fall out of our placement,” Devries said to the board. "You are showing us our time is not valuable and in turn we are not valuable."
Through good times and bad, fourth place was the agreed upon deal until now.
"We're dealing though with the harsh reality that our district is not adequately funded by the state,” SMUSD Superintendent Dr. Carmen Garcia said.
Devries says teachers would agree to take less of a raise in exchange for capped classroom sizes. But still, after 14 negotiating sessions, no deal has been struck.
"Your presence tonight underscores you passion for education and on behalf of the school district understand. We match that passion,” Garcia said.
The two sides are expected back at the bargaining table April 23.
In a statement to NBC 7, Garcia said the district has to make demands of its own directed at state officials.
"Our school district is currently in negotiations with both bargaining groups. We deeply value and respect our entire SMUSD team. We are dealing with the harsh reality that our district is not adequately funded. The LCFF base funding and supplemental dollars are not enough to support the current request of 10.5% pay increase over three years, in addition to other items. It’s important that we demand that Sacramento increase our funding to public schools."
