Fremont Teacher Contract Fight Escalates

Fremont teachers upset about salaries and class sizes are taking their concerns directly to parents.

This morning, teachers passed out pamphlets to parents at every Fremont Unified school urging them to contact school board members and Fremont Unified Superintendent Jim Morris. 

They are planning to leaflet again tonight outside of the Fremont Unified School District office from 6:40 to 7 p.m., according to Brannin Dorsey, president of the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association.

“Please ask them to make the students in Fremont their priority by improving class sizes and compensating their employees,” the teachers’ handout states. “Ask them to recognize what their teachers have sacrificed and to compensate them fairly.”

The actions are part of a new campaign to get district officials’ attention.

Teachers have spent the last year trying to negotiate employment contracts with the district. On March 5, both sides declared an official impasse. They have since resumed talks and are scheduled to meet with a state mediator today.

Fremont teachers say they have been offered inadequate raises despite accepting 12 unpaid furlough days since 2009.

“This district has five times the reserve funds that are required by the state of California,” said Dorsey, who heads the 1,650-member teachers association. “The district is growing in enrollment, which brings in additional revenue, and it’s benefiting from teachers’ help in November to pass the governor’s Proposition 30, which stabilized funding.” 

“The time to respect teachers is now. We deserve better, and so do our students,” Dorsey added.

The teachers association is demanding that the district set smaller class-size maximums with a student-to-teacher ratio of 24-to-1 in K-3 classrooms and 27-to-1 in 7-12 classrooms.

According to the FUDTA, the district is offering a 29-to-1 ration for kindergarten classes, 30-to-1 for grades 1-3 and “no relief for all other grades.” Currently there is a 30 student cap for K-6 classrooms with a 30 student average “goal” for middle and high school classrooms.

The association states that some middle and high school classrooms have reached 35 or more students, causing teachers to file grievances with the district.

Though the district has a reported $26 million in reserves, officials have stated that they must remain frugal.

In a past interview with the Fremont Argus, superintendent Jim Morris said he anticipates an annual $6 million spending deficit through 2015.