Source: www.llcsd.net
The first educators’ strike in 150 years at the Little Lake City School District has come to an end after educators and the district reach a tentative agreement.
Around 200 educators at the Little Lake City School District, which serves the Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and Downey areas, are anticipated to return to classrooms on April 30, ending a 10 day strike.
Teachers represented by the Little Lake Education Association (LLEA), an affiliate of the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association, began the strike on April 16 after eight months of bargaining.
In a statement, the union said, “educators fought to protect class sizes and won, after the district proposed raising them to the maximum amount allowed by California law. They also won additional support for Little Lake’s growing population of students with special education needs after the district had initially rejected the request. Additionally, educators also fought to lower their high out-of-pocket healthcare costs, since the district cut benefits in the middle of the year, forcing educators to pay up to $1,400.
According to the LLEA, the district refused to bargain fairly or reallocate any of the 20% it spends on outside contractors toward classrooms, impacting special needs services for students and trying to make educators decide between healthcare and classroom sizes and delaying bargaining, leading the members to strike.
During the strike, Superintendent Jonathan Vasquez stepped down, citing health reasons for his departure, according to the Whittier Daily News. On April 26, the school board unanimously voted to approve the new interim Superintendent, Monica Johnson, a district administrator and former Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services.
“Throughout this process, both sides remained committed to reaching a resolution—grounded in a shared understanding that students belong in classrooms, supported by the teachers and school communities they rely on every day,” the district said in a statement.
Ratification will begin after the Tentative Agreement is finalized.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.