500 Santa Ana Teachers Stage 2nd Sickout

About 500 of Santa Ana schools’ 1,750 teachers staged a sickout Thursday to protest their lack of a contract and pay raise.

“It appears pedagogical flu has struck,” said Diane Thomas, spokewoman for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

The sickout--a wildcat action not sanctioned by the teachers’ union--was the second in seven days. About 300 teachers called in sick last Friday. But unlike last week’s action, the one Thursday was not accompanied by student demonstrations.

Classes continued in all schools, but some students and teachers reported that little learning took place. Some classes were combined with others because of a shortage of substitute teachers. Thomas said substitutes could not be obtained for about 30% of the missing teachers.

It was not clear if teachers plan another sickout today. The Santa Ana Educators Assn., the teachers’ union, is meeting this morning with district negotiators and a state mediator. They hope to reach a settlement after nine months of stalemate over a new contract for the teachers.

The teachers’ last contract expired July 1. The union is asking for an 8% pay raise retroactive to July 1. The district’s last offer was for a 3% retroactive pay raise, with a 1% one-time-only payment.

On Tuesday, teachers authorized their union to strike if salary differences can’t be resolved. No date has been set for a strike.

Thomas said the school district, which has 38,500 students, was taking several actions to try to halt more sickouts.

“The district and its labor attorney are preparing an unfair-labor-practices action, charging that there are concerted work actions by the teachers while still in the bargaining process,” Thomas said.

“The district is also asking the Public Employee Relations Board to get an injunction from Superior Court to order the teachers back into the classroom.

“And, third, the district is requiring a physician’s verification of every illness called in. Those failing to produce a verification will have their pay docked.”

School district officials said no demonstrations occurred Thursday. The campuses of Santa Ana High, Valley High and Saddleback High all appeared normal during the lunch period. By contrast last Friday, some of the high school students carried picket signs during the noon break and more than 200 students boycotted classes.

The substitute teachers Thursday received special pay of $175 a day--more than double the amount normally paid substitutes in Santa Ana. Thomas said substitutes teaching less than 10 days usually receive $70 a day, and the pay is $80 for those working longer than 10 days.

The Santa Ana Unified school board voted Tuesday night to offer $175 a day to substitutes during any work actions, such as a strike or sickout. Regular teachers Thursday complained about “the exorbitant substitute pay” and said it was another example of the district’s misuse of money.

Thomas said student absenteeism was only slightly higher than normal Thursday.

Gail King-Burney, president of the teachers’ association, reiterated Thursday that the union did not authorize or sanction the sickouts. “We are on record about this,” she said.

She, added, however, that she thought that the district’s estimate of 500 missing teachers Thursday was too low. “I think the number of people is higher than that,” she said. “Quite a few people are ill.”

King-Burney said the union does not believe that the school district can require the absent teachers to produce a physician’s statement. “We don’t agree that is necessary,” she said. “You don’t always go to a doctor when you’re sick. Many of these teachers are suffering with stress. Stress is a physical and mental illness. Our teachers are stressed every day, and their self-worth suffers because of the way the district treats them.”

Debby Huffman, a Valley High School teacher and a member of the union’s board of directors, said the board has asked for an independent audit of school district finances.

“We’d like to know where the money is,” she said.

Santa Ana Unified district officials have said the financial records are open for public inspection. The main reason there is no more money for teacher pay, district officials have said, is because the state only gave schools a 2.54% increase this fiscal year.