West Contra Costa School Board OKs labor deals amid funding worries

West Contra Costa Unified educators and union supporters, from left, Lisa McCaskill, Phi Do-Lui, Michelle Seymoure, Jessy Kronenberg and Ruth Fleeman picket outside the El Cerrito High School during the districtwide strike.

Credit: Michelle Quinn / EdSource

The West Contra Costa Unified School District Board has narrowly approved tentative labor agreements hammered out at the bargaining table late last year with its teachers and other employees without a clear plan for how to pay for them.

It’s a situation that may be replayed in other California school districts in coming months. Unions in at least a dozen other districts have declared an impasse in labor negotiations, including Oakland and San Francisco. Many of them are part of the “We Can’t Wait” campaign organized by the California Teachers Association, as were West Contra Costa teachers.

The five day strike of West Contra Costa Unified teachers and other employees during the first week of December was the first strike in the district’s history. In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the board voted to ratify the agreement with the United Teachers of Richmond, which represents teachers in the 25,000-student district in the San Francisco Bay Area. That agreement included granting teachers an 8% pay increase this year and next, as well as more generous health benefits. 

According to school district estimates, the increases in compensation and benefits to teachers and other employees will cost $105 million during the life of the three-year contracts, on top of an ongoing budgetary deficit the district is covering from a variety of sources.  

Earlier this month, the West Contra Costa School District Board passed a resolution committing itself to significant budget reductions in order to stay solvent. Administrators project the district will need to come up with $127 million over the next three years.  

‘Necessary budget reductions’

As is required under state law, the Contra Costa County Office of Education must affirm that the district could pay for the settlements. County officials did so on Tuesday saying they “cautiously concur” that the district could pay for the settlements, but warned the settlements would be “unaffordable if the district does not make the necessary budget reductions to maintain fiscal solvency” during the current school year and beyond. 

If student attendance continues to decline and revenues “come in lower than expected, the district would need to look at further reductions to address the deficit,” Daniela Parasidis, the county’s deputy superintendent for business and administrative services, wrote to West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton.

Over the last week, Cotton and her staff have presented a plan requiring deep cuts over the next several years. The board has yet to discuss those plans in any detail. 

Board members weigh in

“We cannot put students first without supporting our staff,” said Demetri Gonzalez-Hoy, a board member and a former teacher, who served as union president. He voted Yes. “They show up every day for our students, often with fewer resources and lower pay than neighboring districts. And they deserve respect and our support for that commitment.”

Leslie Reckler, another board member, was one of two who voted against the agreements. 

“While I’m willing to accept a reasonable level of risk, a plan requiring a projected $127 million in cuts through June 2028 exceeds what I believe is sustainable and what I can live with,” she said.

Jamela Smith-Folds, another board member, voted against all but one of the agreements between the district and the various unions and associations representing staff. 

“Teachers deserve a living wage voting for our employees, and to have healthcare coverage,” she said. “I will cast a vote not against helping staff, only against how these promises will be paid for.”

‘Sound financial state’

Union leaders, however, questioned statements about the severity of the district’s financial condition.

Mark Mitchell, the executive director of United Teachers of Richmond, said, “our district is in sound financial state.” He argued that the district’s budget projections included costs of paying for hundreds of staff no longer on the district’s payroll. “It’s a false number.”

In any case, he said, the district will be receiving more money from the state as a result of funding increases Gov. Gavin Newsom projected in his 2026-27 budget proposal earlier this month.

Others pointed out that much of those funds, if they materialize given the state’s own fiscal uncertainties, would be restricted to certain programs, and would not be able to be used for salary increases.