The sixth day of their strike finds Yuba City
teachers standing strong for students. Teachers are joining parents and
community members in a huge rally expected to draw 2,500 people before a
showdown at the school board meeting tonight. Teachers will demand a fair and
just contract and parents will tell school board members in three languages to
settle the contract.
Parents will speak in
English, Spanish and Punjabi to the school board. Taking direct action,
teachers will present school board members with the Yuba City Teachers
Association’s solutions for settling the strike and halting an exodus of
teachers who leave for better teaching and learning conditions in nearby
districts. Read the union concepts here.
“Parents are creating a fair
atmosphere for a fair contract at this event,” Dina Luetgens, president of the 700-member
YCTA, said of the expected outpouring of community support. “We hope the school board itself will review
the concepts that we have proposed. Our students are losing out because the
district refused to invest enough in attracting and keeping the best teachers.
The district is hoarding millions in state funds instead of investing more in
our students.”
Educators’ pay ranks low
compared to nearby districts. They want a contract that will help attract and
retain the absolute best teachers for the district, now and in the future. YCTA
sent a proposed solution that works within the school district’s offer of 11.1
percent and asked twice Wednesday and once again today to negotiate.
District delay tactics are prompting
parents, community members and teachers to question the real motives of the
superintendent and the school board. “It doesn’t seem they’re interested
in settling the impasse. They're not interested in our students. They're not
interested in our teachers. What their motive is, we don't know,” said
Luetgens.
When: Rally is 5:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Thursday, Sept. 15, followed by
school board meeting.
Where: Andros Karperos School, 1700 Camino de Flores, Yuba City,
95993.
Who: Speakers at the rally include parents, community
leaders and teachers.
### The Yuba City Teachers Association is affiliated with the 325,000-member California Teachers Association and the 3.2 million-member National Education Association. | 
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