Prospect High School Teachers Protest Aganist CUHSD

On Sept. 16, a group of Prospect teachers, part of the Campbell High School Teachers Association (CHSTA), participated in a sit-in to protest the Campbell Union High School District’s (CUHSD) refusal to give teachers a pay raise.

“We feel the level of pay is not reflective of the work being done and the cost of living here,” said AP Government teacher Spencer Swart.

Currently, CUHSD teachers do not have a contract to start the 2024-2025 school year and are actively bargaining with the district.

Swart puts this issue into context by noting that a teacher who has worked at Prospect for 12 years is considered low-income in Santa Clara County. According to Swart, the district implemented a pay raise of 9.2% last year – however, neighboring districts offered raises of about 15%.

“We would like to be competitive with our neighbors,” Swart said. “Low teacher pay is not helpful for attracting and retaining teachers.”

Comparing CUHSD’s teacher salaries to those of the Fremont High Student Union, Prospect teachers earn almost $25,000 less than their neighboring counterparts.

Swart explains that the district’s approach is about “doing their job” by ensuring they don’t overspend their budget on one area of education. However, he argues that this doesn’t mean there isn’t room in the budget to increase teacher pay.

“It’s always been a doom-and-gloom mindset with this district,” he said. “They’ve gone through a lot of financial challenges, claiming that the school will be insolvent if we receive a 1% raise. Then the following year, we find out there is an extra $20 million left.”

Moreover, CHTSA isn’t just advocating for teacher salaries.

“We’d like robotics advisors to be paid for their intensive positions. We’d like cheer coaches to be compensated, and we want to see lower class sizes,” Swart said. He adds that if these positions aren’t paid, the risk of shutting down programs increases because people cannot volunteer their time.

“We want to make the school a more accurate reflection of our priorities,” he said.
If CHTSA does not see movement from the district, the union has several courses of action they could take. Swart mentions that a few years ago, Prospect teachers participated in a work-to-rule action, meaning they only worked their paid hours.

“At 2:50 or 1:50 p.m., we get up and walk out,” Swart said. “Grades don’t get completed, and lessons don’t get prepared. It ultimately hurts the students, but that is somewhat the intended point—it shows how much work is done outside of contractual hours.”

Swart also mentions that striking is another possibility.

“It’s a really aggressive and dramatic action,” he said