Contract efforts sputter in Chino Valley Unified

Mediator to intervene; teachers seeking raises, other concessions rally

A year into negotiations on a new contract, a union representing Chino Valley Unified teachers and the district are at an impasse, officials say.

Educators and community members rallied Thursday to show support for Associated Chino Teachers after negotiations with the Chino Valley Unified School District stalled last month. Protesters demonstrated at Kimball Park before marching to Woodcrest Junior High in Ontario for the board meeting.

Associated Chino Teachers declared a formal impasse in February, putting negotiations on hold until a formal mediation can be held, according to Steven Frazer, the union’s organizing chairperson.

“We’re seeing a big partnership between the community and our members,” Frazer said. “And we’re hoping that our strength shows the district how much they should value and how much we care about our students in Chino Valley.”

Annual salaries for Chino Valley Unified teachers are roughly $10,000 to $30,000 behind those in neighboring districts, Frazer said. Aside from seeking improved pay, the union wants additional support for the district’s special education program.

“Our special education teachers are highly overworked and highly underpaid,” Frazer added.

The union is looking to limit caseloads in special education and wants a Special Education Task Force that

would meet with members from the district and members from the union regularly.

Chino Valley Unified board President Sonja Shaw said financial constraints, due to a lack of state funding, make it difficult to meet union demands.

The union’s demand included a 10.25% salary increase and 0.97% additional health and welfare benefits. Additional stipends and salary increases proposed by the union would bring the

total increase in compensation to 11.65%, she said.

Districts with declining enrollment, such as Chino Valley Unified, don’t receive a full cost-of-living adjustment from the state, Shaw said. The state’s estimated $73 billion deficit, reported by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, directly impacts school funding.

“The (cost-of-living adjustment) for 23-24 school years was 8.22%, while our district only received 5.44%

PHOTOS BY TERRY PIERSON — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Chino Valley Unified School District second-grade teacher Erin Asam, left, and special education teacher Erik Martinez chant during a protest outside the district’s Board of Education meeting at Woodcrest Junior High in Chino on Thursday.

Chino Valley educators and allies march from Kimball Park on Thursday to the Board of Education meeting. The union, which is seeking 10.25% raises, says talks with the district stalled last month. A meeting with a state mediator is scheduled for April 16.

Demonstrators, including Chino Valley Unified teachers who say they make $10,000$30,000 less per year than colleagues in neighboring districts, take part in a rally Thursday.