FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2022
Tahoe Truckee Education Association Truckee, CA 96161 tahoetruckeeteachers.com/ facebook.com/tahoetruckeeteachers | instagram.com/tahoetruckeeeduassociation | twitter.com/TTTeachers
Contact: TTEA Interim President Nik Fertitta tahoetruckeeteachers@gmail.com
Tahoe Truckee Teachers Stand Up for Students and Strong Schools Teachers declare impasse; overwhelmingly reject district’s offer that hurts, not helps attract and retain high quality teachers
TAHOE TRUCKEE — In the midst of record district revenues, Tahoe Truckee Education Association (TTEA) educators are standing firm in their commitment to smaller class sizes for younger students, more in-person instructional time and salaries and benefits that attract and keep teachers and local schools stable and strong.
Local teachers have just filed for impasse after rejecting a contract offer from the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD). TTEA educators say negotiations failed and teachers overwhelmingly rejected the district’s offer because it does not do enough to provide the resources and supports teachers and students need to succeed.
“TTEA is committed to negotiating a fair contract on behalf of Tahoe Truckee teachers. We have been working diligently without a salary contract this year and we’ve been proposing contract language that would provide our teachers with the support and resources our students need to continue succeeding. We want a contract that offers a competitive salary schedule that will help attract and keep the best teachers for our students,” said TTEA President Nik Fertitta.
A state mediator appointed by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will now be brought in to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. TTEA declared impasse for the 2022-23 school year on salary, health benefits, class size, leaves, transfers, and hours of employment. The teachers have proposed language to protect class sizes, increase in-person instructional time with students, and increase salaries to keep up with inflation and to be more competitive in attracting and retaining local educators.
“Despite TTUSD receiving a 9.5 percent increase in ongoing revenue to its general fund this year through increased local property taxes, creating yet again a record setting budget, TTUSD is not willing to pass on a fair share of this new money to keep teachers from falling behind inflation. At the same time, the district has increased its unrestricted reserve last year to over 15 million dollars (18.88 percent), well above the State mandated 3 percent reserve for economic uncertainty and the higher locally adopted board reserve level. The district has expressed a clear priority to increase its savings at the expense of members falling behind inflation and having no means to save on the home front,” said TTEA Bargaining Chair David Steakley.
“Over time our TTUSD has not kept pace. We have an educator recruitment crisis, and our district is failing to offer competitive salaries and benefits when compared to other similar Basic Aid districts and other Placer County districts funded through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Our students deserve the best education possible, and we need to be able to attract and retain the best teachers for our students who can live in and be part of our wonderful community,” Steakley added.
“Our teachers are committed to our students and our community, and we are hoping a state mediator will be able to help us reach a fair agreement with the district,” Fertitta added.
###
The Tahoe Truckee Education Association is an affiliate of the 310,000-member CTA and the 3 million-member National Education Association.