Bo Williams has spent the past four Goleta Union School Board meetings echoing the same demand: an equitable pay raise.
Williams, a 25-year employee with the district, works as a teaching aide for special needs students at Isla Vista Elementary School.
Last meeting, she had written statements from colleagues who she said wanted to be there but couldn’t—they were working second jobs.
“They go to Lompoc, they travel to Santa Maria. It truly breaks my heart to see how hard they work, but they aren’t compensated for it,” Williams said at the meeting.
She, along with nearly 20 others, were there rallying in support of a higher raise for classified employees—people like Williams who work jobs at the district that don’t require additional certification.
The Goleta Valley Chapter 311 of the California School Employees Association, the largest classified school employee union in the country, is currently in contract negotiations with the district. They’re advocating for a 4% raise as opposed to the 3% currently being offered by the district.
While a 3% raise is also what’s being offered to teachers, the union argued that a 3% increase for teachers is a higher dollar amount than it is for classified employees.
“As you can tell, classified employees are not in it for the money,” Peggy Ochoa, the CSEA region representative for the Santa Barbara-Goleta area, told board members. “They do this work because they truly care about the students and the community.”
Zachery Ortiz, the chapter’s labor relations representative, told the News-Press that with inflation and the rising cost of gas, a dollar-match with what teachers are receiving is more appropriate than a percentage match.
Additional financial burdens such as rising healthcare premiums and the cost of rent were mentioned at the meeting as reasons for the demand.
Following additional negotiations meetings, Ortiz said the district has remained firm in its current offer.
President of the GUSD Board Ethan Bertrand told the News-Press that he cannot offer comment on ongoing negotiations, but that “the board really appreciates the classified workers…their service to our kids and their advocacy at our meetings.”
