OAKLAND, Calif. _ Even as California's superintendent of schools tries to sway Oakland Unified and union officials to cut a deal to end a contentious teachers strike, a state fiscal overseer is warning he won't allow the union to get its proposed 12 percent pay raise unless the district cuts substantially more from its budget than planned.
"I will stay or rescind any agreement that would put the district in financial distress; A 12 percent salary increase would do just that," state fiscal oversight trustee Chris Learned said in a written statement released by the district Sunday. "What the district has on the table now is what the district can afford."
And even if Learned blesses whatever agreement is reached, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Karen Monroe still must weigh in. Although she didn't specifically say whether she would approve an agreement with a 12 percent raise, Monroe told the Bay Area News Group she wouldn't approve a contract that isn't fiscally sustainable for the district and it's unlikely that she and Learned would disagree.
Monroe said that under California Education Code, the county superintendent has the final say in major financial decisions like this one.
Oakland Education Association President Keith Brown could not be reached to comment about Learned's assertion he could strike down any agreement that would give the union too big a raise without commensurate budget cuts.
During months of bargaining _ which continued through the weekend and throughout the day Monday as teachers and other union employees hit the picket lines for a third straight day _ union representatives had refused to budge from their demand of 12 percent over three years, as well as the hiring of additional nurses and counselors.
The district contends it can't afford such a raise because of a looming budget shortfall that is forcing it to possibly cut $21.75 million from a 2019-20 budget. It had offered a 7 percent retroactive raise across two and a half years plus a 1.5 percent bonus going into Sunday's negotiations, which broke down after only an hour.
The district's hands are tied for a couple of reasons, Monroe said.
She said Learned has veto power over the district's finances even though it emerged from state receivership imposed in 2003, because it still owes California $30 million to avoid bankruptcy.
In addition, under last year's passage of AB 1840 that provides Oakland Unified up to $34.7 million in emergency debt relief, the state trustee now reports to the county superintendent.
"I will be looking at all of those things, what agreement we're landing on, what is the commitment to making reductions and looking out over three years if that is tenable," Monroe said in an interview. "I'm not ready to say unequivocally no (to a 12 percent raise), but we do know where the district now stands, and we know those things have to be in place in order to have an approvable budget."
During the day, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond met with representatives of the district and union in an attempt to find common ground. They planned to negotiate into the night, all but assuring a fourth day of picketing on Tuesday.
Thousands of teachers, counselors and nurses took to the picket lines again Monday after doing so last Thursday and Friday. They also rallied at Frank Ogawa Plaza during the noon hour, where former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich gave a speech in support of the teachers and questioned the district's assertion that it can't afford a 12 percent raise.
"I know this because I've had personal experience, when people in power say they can't afford it, what they mean is either they don't care or they're not going to work hard to get the resources necessary," Reich told the crowd. "What you are doing by being on strike, by being out today, what you are doing is bringing the attention, not only of them in power but also the community as a whole, you're bringing their attention to a fundamental injustice, a fundamental imbalance in power."
The district has hired fill-in teachers and assigned administrators to lead classes, although many of Oakland Unified's 37,000 students have stayed away during the strike.
Meanwhile, support for the thousands on strike in Oakland appears to be gaining steam elsewhere.
Unions from around the San Francisco Bay Area and the state are showing solidarity with the Oakland Education Association, fundraisers are being held to support teachers and students with food and supplies during the strike, and celebrities and entertainers with ties to Oakland have appeared in videos on behalf of teachers.
Berkeley Federation of Teachers president Cathy Campbell said union members there have joined teachers picketing in Oakland before and after school hours, and are "adopting" Oakland sister schools to provide moral and material support such as coffee and ponchos.
Gloria Martinez, the elementary vice president of the more than 30,000-member United Teachers Los Angeles _ which won concessions from the Los Angeles Unified School District after a six-day strike in January _ showed up in Oakland on Monday.
"I couldn't be prouder to be out here today in Oakland supporting the teachers and their struggle," Martinez said in a video posted to the Oakland Education Association's Facebook page.
Charter school teachers also may be joining the fight this week. Some are considering a sick-out Friday if the strike continues that long, a charter school teacher told the Bay Area News Group.
This strike has lasted longer than the most recent Oakland teachers strike in 2010 _ which ended after one day. The last strike before that was in 1996 and continued 26 days.
