Teachers in the Santa Barbara Unified School District say possible strike would not impact current school year

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-Teachers in the Santa Barbara Unified School District are prepared to call for a strike if mediation doesn't result in a new contract.

They started a strike authorization vote last Friday.

The voting at their schools ends this Friday when the results will be tallied.

Bargaining Chair and Santa Barbara High School Science teacher Ashley Cornelius said it would not impact the current school year.

"Right now we are working really hard to come to an agreement with the district, however we need to be thinking ahead and thinking about worst case scenario which might be that we need to strike in order to get a deal that is good for our teachers and therefore our students."

Uncertainty is what could lead to a authorized teacher strike.

"In order to impact the students the least we need to know now if we will be striking in the future."

The strike could happen at the end of summer or in the early fall.

They do not plan to decide on a potential strike date until after they see a fact finding group report that is supposed to be released mid-summer.

Santa Barbara Teachers Association President Hozby Galindo said their current contract ends June 30.

The next Fact Finding date could result in a medication session and a new contract.

It is scheduled June 12, the day before graduation.

"That is an opportunity for both the parties to present the facts the way they see them," said Galindo, "The neutral panelist will make the recommendation of what they believe could happen for both parties."

The neutral fact finder could facilitate a mediation session that last 24 hours.

"If they come to the table willing to compromise and willing to strike a deal we can definitely walk away that day with a settlement, but again it takes two teams to make that a reality."

Teachers who said they have worked hard to settle their differences plan to rally on June 11th to make the public aware of the sticking points.

"The biggest issue is that we are in a disagreement about what salary the district is able to compensate our teachers with. We are in a very different place about what the district is able to do and what the district needs to do to be able to retain the teachers," said Cornelius.

There are more than 850 teachers.

Their medium income in the district is $80,000.

Many of the teachers commute up to an hour each way due to the high cost of living in Santa Barbara.

SBUSD spokesperson Ed Zuchelli issued the following statement: "Santa Barbara Unified remains committed to finding a solution to our labor negotiations. We are hopeful that the Fact Finding process will help us find a path forward for an agreement."

Teachers plan to hold a rally on Tuesday June 11.