GOMPERS School’s top leaders, teachers at odds

Although on-loan to Gompers, the four remained employed by San Diego Unified and received health and retirement benefits that San Diego Unified offers — which are more generous than what Gompers offers its employees.

Last fall San Diego Unified staff proposed ending this on-loan arrangement because charter schools and their employees are meant to be independent of the district.

Ending the on-loan arrangement would have forced the four employees to stay with the district and be re-assigned to another school to keep their benefits, or stay with Gompers and lose the more generous benefits.

Gompers leaders perceived the district’s recommendation to end the on-loan status as an “attack” on the school, which is “a shining star among struggling schools in southeastern San Diego,” Gompers Chairman Cecil Steppe wrote in an October letter to the Gompers community.

The San Diego Unified School Board voted unanimously at its meeting Tuesday to extend the on-loan status to the four employees for as long as they work at Gompers.

“We’re only talking about four employees,” said Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne.

“It just keeps churning and churning and churning, and I just think that people need to spend their energy in another direction.”

San Diego Unified Trustee Michael McQuary said at Tuesday’s meeting he thinks the on-loan arrangement shows preferential treatment for the four employees over the other Gompers employees.

“My position is not about a criticism of Gompers,” he said. “It is about a concern that this ... creates a condition in which four employees have benefits that probably more employees at Gompers would like to have ... and why we as a board would agree to making a special arrangement for these four employees.”

Other trustees said it was OK to make an exception for these Gompers employees, but on-loan agreements

should not happen again in the future.

“Let’s make an exception for four people that have made a phenomenal impact on the lives of thousands of children in San Diego,” Trustee Kevin Beiser said.

For months, Gompers’ leaders have been at odds with a majority of Gompers teachers, who formed a union two years ago.

The union blames the school for being unwilling to continue negotiations on a potential contract. The union has filed two unfair labor practice charges against Gompers. The California Public Employment Relations Board recently ruled in favor of one of the union’s complaints, and another is pending.

“Gompers teachers have been bargaining for the same job protections and union rights that are afforded district staff and employees with on-loan agreements,” the Gompers Teachers Association said in a statement. “Teachers find it ironic that the school has been unwilling to bargain many of the same rights and protections for those who are employees of the school.”

Gompers officials said that because their school is much smaller than the district, they can’t afford to provide the same benefits as the district does.

While all San Diego Unified board trustees voted to extend the on-loan status of the Gompers employees, multiple trustees said they expect Gompers’ board to provide to all its employees similar rights and benefits that the San Diego Unified board is providing to the four employees.