More Than Half at Westminster High : Students Walk Out to Support Bargaining Teachers

More than half of Westminster High School’s 2,750 students staged a short walkout Wednesday morning in support of teachers bargaining for a new contract with the local high school district.

Another 300 to 400 students left the campus and did not return, Principal Bob Boehme said.

Three hours later, a sudden power outage shut off the school’s lights and telephones. School officials unsuccessfully tried to restore power for 40 minutes before students finally were sent home, Boehme said. He said a subterranean short was believed responsible, and work crews were brought in to take care of the problem.

High School Boycott

The walkout followed a boycott by about 85% of Fountain Valley High School’s students Tuesday that virtually shut down that campus. About 20% of the students at Edison High School in Huntington Beach staged a similar boycott Tuesday. The three schools are part of the seven-campus Huntington Beach Union High School District.

Westminster High School Principal Boehme said 1,500 to 1,600 students left school at 10 a.m. at the beginning of the third period, but most were back in their classrooms 10 or 15 minutes later. The 300 to 400 students who left for the day will be treated as truants, Boehme said.

Shortly after the walkout began, science teacher Jim Pacelli used the campus public address system to urge students to return to their classrooms. Pacelli, a member of the teachers’ bargaining team that is stalled in contract negotiations with the district, told students that “a walkout at this time might be counterproductive,” he said.

“There are alternatives that students could employ that would highlight their concerns just as much as a walkout,” Pacelli said. Individual teachers also encouraged students to stay in the classrooms, he said.

The district has been embroiled in contract negotiations for months. Negotiations are conducted behind closed doors, but the main stumbling blocks appear to be the size of salary increases and whether all teachers should pay union dues.

5% Raise Sought

The District Educators Assn., which represents 584 teachers and other white-collar non-administrative workers, is seeking a 5% raise, while the district’s last offer of 3% recently was rejected by a vote of the union membership. Additionally, the two sides are in conflict over a provision sought by the association that would require all teachers to pay the equivalent of annual union dues, even those who choose not to join.

A meeting has been scheduled Friday, and spokesmen for both sides said they are optimistic about reaching a settlement.

Principal Boehme attributed Wednesday’s walkout to the publicity given the Fountain Valley High School boycott and “ideal beach weather.” After discussing the contract dispute with a number of students, he said, “I didn’t hear much talk of support for the teachers.”

Meanwhile, Fountain Valley High School Principal Dave Hagen on Wednesday said attendance “appears to be back to normal, with about 8% (of 3,400 students) out ill.” He said students who were absent Tuesday fall into three categories: Those with parental notes who were ill, those who were out at the request of a parent and truants without parental notes. Any truancy becomes part of a student’s permanent record, Hagen said.

A decision on whether the boycotting students will be punished further has not been made, Hagen said. Truants usually face detention, but since such a large number of students were involved in the boycott, he said the penalty might be relaxed.

On Tuesday night following the boycott, about 40 students from Fountain Valley and Edison high schools attended a Board of Trustees meeting to again voice their support for teachers.

Several students at Huntington Beach and Marina high schools on Wednesday said they planned to boycott classes today, but Assistant Supt. Glen Dysinger said district officials were not sure if potential boycotts at the two schools had actually been organized.

“We’ve heard the rumors,” he said, adding, “you never know if it’s just one person talking, or what.”