Santa Ana : Teachers Stage March Protesting Pact Talks

Saying that they are unhappy with negotiations for a reopened contract, teachers staged a protest march Tuesday night outside the regular board of trustees meeting of the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Gail King-Burney, president of the teachers’ union, the Santa Ana Educators Assn., said the teachers are asking for “a pay increase of up to 10%, which isn’t unreasonable since this is a growth district and state funding has increased.”

She added: “The teachers are angry. They feel they aren’t being treated as professionals. The district needs to re-prioritize its budget.”

Don Champlin, assistant superintendent for personnel, said the school district has offered a 3 1/2% pay increase to the teachers “and we’ll give another half percent if the governor restores the aid to urban districts that he vetoed.”

Champlin said contract negotiations now are in the hands of a state mediator, and that the mediator has not yet scheduled another meeting between the two sides.

Champlin said that salaries for the 1,650 teachers in the district range from a beginning instructor’s pay of $20,265 up to $38,842, the salary for the most experienced and senior teachers.