Talks between representatives for the La Cañada Unified School District and the La Cañada Teachers Association continued in earnest this week as representatives wrangle over teacher compensation.
Tuesday’s bargaining session, which was ongoing in the afternoon, lasted until after 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to Superintendent Wendy Sinnette.
“It was a productive session with proposals and counter-proposals entertained, but no tentative agreement was reached,” she wrote in an email. “Talks are ongoing and we remain positive.”
Both sides say they want to close a gap between what’s earned by teachers here and their counterparts in four comparable districts in Los Angeles County: Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, San Marino and South Pasadena school districts.
The district has identified a variety of measures that could pull it closer by offering, for example, $97,851 to teachers with 25 years of experience who now earn a maximum of $90,720 — significantly less than the $100,423 earned by the San Marino Unified teachers with 20 years of experience.
At last week’s LCUSD Governing Board meeting, LCTA bargaining team member Tracey Calhoun said the union had presented the district with a counter-offer that she said would satisfy teacher demands, and would cost the district just $300,000 more than what already has been offered.
“We will not waver,” Calhoun, a high school English teacher, said at the board meeting. “We have learned the value of standing up for ourselves.”
On the district’s campuses Tuesday, teachers wore matching red LCTA T-shirts that read, on the back, “We stand together.”
Negotiations Continue Over Teachers’ Pay
