Members of the Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association packed a school board meeting Tuesday night as they rallied for an increase in pay. Many of the teachers held signs noting the show of force was a ‘dress rehearsal.”
After the district received a $6.6 increase in state funding to its $80 million budget, teachers asked for a 10 percent pay increase.
However, district officials said the first priority should be to fund tutors and services for disadvantaged students at a cost of about $2.3 million. The district’s plan is to provide teachers a 2 percent pay hike at a cost of $1.3million per year while also spending money to close the pension gap and improve school programs and facilities.
The teachers association argued that teachers have gone several years without pay increases while having the greatest impact on their students. Teachers with the Lucia Mar have an average annual salary of $61,000.
Negotiations are currently stalled and both sides are scheduled to meet with an arbitrator on Feb. 27.
