Mood of Students, Teachers Grows Dark

Social studies teacher Jeff Davis had counted on being back in class Monday morning, instructing his El Camino Real High School history students about labor strife during the Great Depression.

Instead, the Woodland Hills teacher was at a union rally in the downtown Sports Arena, howling venomously at the mention of district Supt. Leonard Britton’s name.

“I thought the board members would act like adults and settle the contract over the weekend,� the 29-year-old striking teacher explained. “I hope my kids are learning that you have to stand up for your rights.�

Nothing Much to Do

A few blocks away, senior Edwin Williams was walking out the front door of Manual Arts High School headed for a late-morning nap at home. There was nothing to do at school, Williams said, besides catching a showing of the film “La Bamba� in the girls gym.

Like Davis, Williams said, “I’m tired of this. I’d like school to get back to normal.�

And at the downtown offices of the Los Angeles Unified School District, public information officers were fielding a flurry of phone calls from frustrated parents asking about the prospects for more contract negotiations after the rancorous end to bargaining late Sunday night.

“They can’t believe that the strike has gone this far, and they want to know when the next round is scheduled,� said public information officer Tammy Sims. “But I don’t have anything to tell them.�

The first week of the 1989 Los Angeles teacher’s strike had hardly been a garden party. But it was only one week--no longer, really, than the average school vacation. With the announcement from Sacramento last Thursday of a $2.5-billion state surplus, the path had seemed clear, many reasoned, to a weekend agreement.

But now, with those hopes dashed and no settlement in sight, the second week of the strike began Monday with a heightened sense of anger, frustration, even outrage. The feelings came from all sides.

On Monday afternoon, the rancor spilled over during a protest outside district headquarters when at least 10 striking teachers and union leaders were arrested.

Moods Have Darkened

At the Sports Arena earlier in the day, teachers had carried picket signs calling for respect as well as pay hikes. They acknowledged their moods have darkened. Several complained that school board members have treated them like “tall children.�

“They don’t care how we feel. . . . It’s like they are feeding us scraps off the table,� said Gardena High School English teacher Marshall Jones, who carried a sign reading, “21.5% Won’t Buy Me Dignity.�

Six teachers from Garvanza Elementary School in Highland Park were garbed in mock jail inmate’s outfits, hoisting placards that read, “I am guilty of being a dedicated teacher.�

Outside some schools early Monday, picket line talk focused on financial planning and how to survive the long haul, if necessary.

At University High School, for example, 30 instructors sat on a lawn and discussed interest-free, $50-per-day loans that United Teachers-Los Angeles will be making available to strikers after Friday. Each of them could receive up to $2,000.

Even students, many of whom had relished the freedom from class work last week, seemed about to lose their patience.

“Kids are playing dominoes and watching movies, and I’m tired of it,� said Manual Arts student Williams, 17. “I’m getting out of school soon, and I’ve been accepted at Grambling (State University in Louisiana), but I’d like school to get back to normal before I leave.�

At Audubon Junior High, dozens of unsupervised students shot baskets or sat on schoolyard benches at noon. Several admitted to being bored.

“My mother said if I stay home, I’d have to wash dishes and wash clothes,� said eighth-grader Christopher Collins, 13. “I’m now ready to take her up on it. That’s a very big leap.�

Parents also appear to be at wit’s end, calling both the school district and the Los Angeles District PTA headquarters with queries and advice.

“We’re getting calls on a regular basis from concerned parents,� said Susan Mansion of the PTA. “Some who are keeping their children out of school are having to pay a high cost for child care, or they have to stay home with the children themselves.