LA teachers strike, Day 2
LAUSD teachers strike, Day 2: Beutner says district lost $25 million in attendance, but saved $10 million in wages
The district's chief urged teachers to come back to emptier classrooms after nearly a third of students did not show up on first day of the massive walkout, prompting a net loss of $15 million.
Teachers, parents and students picket outside Beckford Charter Elementary School in Northridge on day 2 of the LAUSD teachers strike on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
By Daily News |
PUBLISHED: January 15, 2019 at 6:23 am | UPDATED: January 15, 2019 at 5:58 pm
Thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers headed back to rain-dampened picket lines Tuesday as the district's chief made a plea for a renewed effort to seek funding from the state to help meet teachers' demands on the second day of the giant school system's first walkout in 30 years.
It was a day when the collective call for smaller class sizes, a salary bump, more nurses and counselors at local campuses and the regulation of charter schools continued to echo from megaphones and chants from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro.
Picketing LA Unified teachers were joined by their counterparts at The Accelerated Schools charter school in South Los Angeles, who also went on strike Tuesday, calling for increased teachers' salaries and health benefits in order to bolster teacher rentention. Those teachers are represented by the same union that represents teachers in the LAUSD. The walkout was said to be the first ever in California by charter-school teachers.
Day 2 — like Day 1 — was also marked by half-full classrooms and campuses, leaving administrators, students and substitute teachers trying to bring some sense of normalcy to the situation. All 1,240 elementary, middle and high schools were open Monday and again Tuesday, thanks in part to substitute teachers and credentialed school staffers, Beutner said. Bus service was operating normally, and meals were being served to students as usual.
But the emptiness did not go unnoticed.
"Our students are best served with an educator in every classroom," said L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner in a morning news conference, where he was flanked by School Board President Monica Garcia. "We need our educators back in our classrooms, helping to inspire our students."
Educators back in classrooms means students back in classrooms. And that means dollars for a district that needs them.
Beutner announced that 159,142 students attended school Tuesday, about 17,000 more than went to school on Monday (141,631). The district has about 500,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and typically about 450,000 would attend school on a rainy day, Beutner said. Ninety percent of the district's funding comes from the state. And because the district receives funding based on student attendance, Beutner said the district lost about $25 million, and saved $10 million because of unpaid wages to striking teachers and staff who walked the picket lines on the first day.
Beutner on Tuesday lamented the state's funding model, which allocates $68 per pupil to the district for each day they attend. But, he said, it would take a concerted effort between a truly unified school district — union and district together — to lobby the state for a better funding model that could help ease the district's financial woes.
"Let's get to Sacramento and let's have the conversation in the right place," he said.
After two years of contentious bargaining, Beutner appeared to be trying to strike a conciliatory tone, saying he wished he and the district could meet teachers' demands.
But the "painful truth" is that the district did not have enough money — and that state and local regulators have confirmed the district's precarious financial position.
Emily Johnson, 6, and her sister, Jessica, 2, hold hands and sing as Oliver Dawahare, 6, holds a sign along with teachers, parents and other students outside Beckford Charter Elementary School in Northridge on day 2 of the LAUSD teachers strike on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Some students arrive for school at Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle School in Northridge on day 2 of the UTLA strike on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Teachers and a parent outside the Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle School in Northridge on day 2 of the LAUSD teachers strike on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
District and union negotiators have found little common ground, prompting thousands of teachers to make good on a threat to strike on Monday — the first district walkout since 1989. On Day 1, they formed early picket lines outside schools across the vast district and converged in downtown Los Angeles, where they marched from LA City Hall to LA Unified headquarters.
Lots of horns this morning on the other side of the school – where most of the actual striking is happening. pic.twitter.com/hCkog5Np8x
— Bradley Bermont (@bradleybermont) January 15, 2019
Despite urging from elected leaders such as LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Gavin Newsom to hash out a deal, the district and United Teachers Los Angeles remain locked in an impasse over the union's demands for a 6.5 percent raise, smaller class sizes, more counseling and nursing resources at local campuses and regulation of charter schools. And UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl has couched the strike in the context of a bigger-picture struggle for "the soul of public education."
Los Angeles teachers work day in and day out to inspire and educate the next generation of leaders. I'm standing in solidarity with them as they strike for improved student conditions, such as smaller class sizes and more counselors and librarians. https://t.co/WcUdrSOk7D
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 14, 2019
Teachers reiterated those demands Tuesday morning, as union leaders and supporters gathered at The Accelerated Schools, a charter network in Los Angeles, where its staffers began the first-ever strike by charter teachers in California, calling for increased pay and health benefits to reduce the high teacher turnover rate at the school.
"We are going to win this fight for basic respect for educators," said Caputo-Pearl. "Take pride in being an educator. Take pride in the organizing … We are doing this for your rights right now."
Beutner noted that no negotiations were planned for Tuesday, but added the door is open, despite talks shutting down on Friday.
That's when the district increased its contract offer after Newsom unveiled his state budget proposal, which includes more money for school districts across the state. The offer also includes, among other things, reducing class sizes in middle schools, a full-time nurse at every elementary school and another academic counselor at high schools. The increased staffing would only be for one year, as the district said the money to pay for the extra employees would come out of a one-time reserve, according to reports.
Garcetti said Monday he was hopeful for a deal to be struck soon, but reiterated the need for both sides to ease up on the rhetoric. There was some movement outside the district on Tuesday after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to provide the district with up to $10 million for nursing and mental health services — saying it would be enough to fund a nurse at every LAUSD elementary school. That funding was included in Beutner's most recent contract offer to the union last week.
The LAUSD has offered teachers a 6 percent raise spread over the first two years of a three-year contract, while UTLA – skeptical of claims that the district's $1.8 billion reserve cannot accommodate teachers' demands — wants a 6.5 percent raise that would take effect all at once and a year sooner. The union claims the district's proposed salary hike would be contingent on benefit cuts for future union members. Beyond the numbers, the union's Caputo-Pearl has couched the strike in the context of a bigger-picture struggle for "the soul of public education."
In the meantime, campuses from the San Fernando Valley to the Harbor area were anything but normal Tuesday.
When asked about the district's reported loss in income because of student absences, Sean Mullen, a UTLA school representative at President Avenue Elementary School in Harbor City, said the district has to "feel the financial impact" of the teachers' walkout.
At San Fernando High School, English teacher Kim Wyneken, reitereated concern over class size: "We just can't manage 50 kids," she said, adding that even as she was acting for the good of teachers she felt anxious about the "indefinite aspect" of this strike. "We have bills & mortgages like everyone else."
Inside, administrators, many of whom parachuted in to local schools to fill vacant teacher spots, tried to impose some sense of normalcy to their thinly attended schools.
Joe Nardulli, principal at Vista Middle School in Panorama City, was doing the best he could on Day 2.
At at school of 1,174 students, the 476 students who showed up on Tuesday was a bump up from Monday's 341, but Nardulli was clearly melancholy about what was happening.
"It's a difficult situation," he said. "We care about our teachers and we support all that they do. We're really hoping for a quick resolution … in the best interest of our students and the community."
And in South L.A., charter school teachers at The Accelerated Schools, were on the picket line lamenting their own situation: "We have to come here every single day, not knowing if they're going to fire us just because they don't like us," said Alex Collie-Hartmann, a music teacher for Wallis Annenberg High School.
As Day 2 came to an end, questions remained about whether students will be penalized for missing school.
In a letter to parents, the district said while students are expected to attend class and attendance will be taken, principals will "work with" students and their families regarding attendance.
"We understand that many students were unable to attend school and are concerned about their report cards or transcripts. Be assured that LosAngeles Unified is not going to put our students in the middle of disputes between adults," the letter from Deputy Superintendent VivianEkchian reads.
Ekchian also said absences will not impact graduation.
Beutner said despite the impasse, life had to move forward on local campuses.
Beutner spoke about students, like those at Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima — where about 20 percent are homeless — who came to school.
"They came for shelter from the rain. They came for a warm meal and a secure, welcoming environment and yes, they came to learn," he said.
While some students at schools are filling their days with watching movies, Beutner said staff are doing the best they can.
"I'm not going to shut schools," he said. "Shutting schools leaves those children out in the rain."
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At a @LASchools morning press briefing, @AustinLASchools says $15 million was lost by the district yesterday: $25 million due to students who were absent from school and the district saved $10M by not paying teachers.
— Sarah Favot (@sarahfavot) January 15, 2019
Check out this #PublicEdDanceChallenge. Students from Venice are challenging all of Los Angeles to learn these steps and show up on picket lines at your local neighborhood school. #WeAreLA #LAUSDStrike #UTLAStrong pic.twitter.com/qQcHXr8s7H
— United Teachers Los Angeles (@UTLAnow) January 15, 2019
English teacher Kim Wyneken says she's feeling anxious given the "indefinite aspect" of this strike. "We have bills & mortgages like everyone else. When Beutner talks to the media instead of to us, it's disheartening. He sounds so reasonable…we just can't manage 50 kids." pic.twitter.com/TrAfxuVsmq
— Ariella Plachta (@AriPlachta) January 15, 2019
As the second largest school district in the nation, the LAUSD covers an area totaling 710 square miles and serves more than 694,000 students at 1,322 schools, although 216 schools are independent charter schools, most of which are staffed with non-union teachers who would not be affected by the strike. The district says about 500,000 students and 1,100 schools are impacted by the walkout.
The district hired 400 substitutes, and 2,000 administrators with teaching credentials have been reassigned.
UTLA represents more than 31,000 teachers.
The district has set up an information hotline for parents at (213) 443-1300.
Reporters Sarah Favot, Ariella Plachta, Donna Littlejohn, Bradley Bermont, City Editor Ryan Carter and Photo Editor Dean Musgrove contributed to this story.
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