Santa Barbara School District and Teacher’s Association enter collective bargaining impasse process Friday
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Unified School District and the Santa Barbara Teacher's Association have agreed to enter a new stage in their negotiations on Friday after talks stalled last week.
Both parties have agreed to an impasse process under the state's collective bargaining law which now moves to the Public Employee Relations Board for certification share the Santa Barbara Unified School District in a press release.
According to the Santa Barbara Unified School District, the two parties had agreed on nearly all issues except wages for certified staff and conditions for special education.
Once the Public Employee Relations Board certifies the decision, a state mediator is assigned at no cost to either party to manage the agreement process going forward.
A depiction of the process is shown below:
A state mediator has no authority to force a specific resolution and notably, there is no time limit for the process, but only the mediator can terminate the mediation and send the parties to the fact-finding stage detail the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
The fact-finding stage can be suggested by either party and once there, a three-person panel reviews evidence submitted by both parties and makes recommendations for a settlement.
That three-member panel during the fact-finding stage is made up of representatives of each party as well as a neutral person either appointed by the Public Employee Relations Board or selected by both parties state Santa Barbara Unified School District.
Unless parties agree to an extended timeline, the fact-finding panel must meet within ten days of their appointment, must hold a hearing, and issue a fact-finding report within 30 days of appointment as required by law.
Santa Barbara Unified School District is required to make the fact-finding report publicly available within ten days of receipt detail the school district.
This latest update comes as students at Goleta Valley Junior High walked out Friday morning in solidarity.
Students at multiple schools within the district have walked out as negotiations have dragged on since November of last year.
