2022-23 Collective Bargaining

The negotiations teams for the District and Lynwood Teachers Association met on Monday, March 27 to continue negotiation discussions. 

The District presented a counter proposal on Summer School as well as additional clarifying information regarding the state of the District’s budget, including:

• How ADA is calculated
  
• Types of funding sources (restricted vs. unrestricted)
• COLA LFCC Base revenue

As you know, school districts, including Lynwood Unified, are mandated to demonstrate that after a compensation increase, they are still able to meet all financial obligations in each of the next two subsequent school years. 

As such, the maximum amount that Lynwood Unified can offer is a 5% salary increase – or about $6.5 million – retroactive to July 1, 2022 and a one-time bonus of 5%.

The teams agreed to meet again in late April in good-faith efforts to continue to reach agreement. Please visit our website to stay updated. 

See update here.

Yesterday, the Lynwood Unified School District and the Lynwood Teachers Association met in negotiations to review a salary increase proposal.

The District is offering a 5% salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2022. Additionally, the current offer includes a one-time bonus of 5% of 2022-23 salary. With this salary increase proposal, teachers would experience a 14.5% increase in salary from 2018 and bonuses equal to 12% of salary. This year’s offer would represent approximately $6.5 million in increased pay to teachers.

The District has extensively evaluated its budget to offer the highest compensation possible while remaining fiscally solvent as we provide robust educational opportunities for students. The District shared and discussed our adopted budget with the LTA negotiations team to explain the District’s current financial status.

It is important to note that school budgetary constraints in Lynwood mirror that of many school districts not only in Los Angeles County and California but across the nation. Below are some significant factors to keep in mind:

• K-12 enrollment has fallen sharply over the last several years - a challenge that all districts in Los Angeles County are grappling with. Lower birth rates and increases in the cost of living in our area result in fewer students in our schools. The fewer students we have, the fewer dollars we receive.
• While funding drops because of fewer students, California schools are provided no relief from the State to address increased costs associated with contributions to employee pension plans and specialized programs, such as special education.
• This results in deficit spending. Lynwood was mandated by LACOE to provide a Fiscal Stabilization Plan to address deficit spending totaling $10.9 million in 2022-23.
• The future of California’s budget looks grim. School districts must prepare for funding reductions or cash deferrals in the upcoming school year. Governor Newsom shared in January that he anticipates a $22.5 billion statewide budget deficit in 2023-24.
• California’s budget is built on a progressive tax structure that relies heavily on personal income tax for the State’s highest earners. Massive layoffs in the technology sector as well as challenges in the stock market mean that personal income tax receipts will be lower and the budget will be negatively impacted.

While we have reached agreement on several topics, we are committed to continuing our discussions with LTA as we progress through bargaining efforts in good faith.

See update here.

The District and LTA met on Monday, Feb. 28 to continue negotiations. Proposals on summer school were exchanged, and there remains one outstanding item before hopefully reaching a tentative agreement on the summer school article soon.

The District’s new Assistant Superintendent for Business Services, Dr. Gretchen Janson, provided the negotiations teams with a status of the budget development. This presentation can be found here. Key points include:

• An overview of the Second Interim Budget that reflects current deficit spending
• An overview of the difference between the COLA percentage and the actual dollar increase districts receive when they are experiencing declining enrollment.
• The impact the Voluntary Retirement Program and other staffing adjustments will have on decreasing future expenditures. This adjustment is currently being processed and will be shared at the next bargaining session.

While the District has not made an offer yet on salary and benefits, we are diligently working on budget adjustments, analysis, and reviews to be able to make the highest possible offer to our employees while maintaining a secure fiscal future and robust programs supportive of student success.

With this in mind, it is important to emphasize the critical difference between money that can be spent on teacher salaries and benefits and funding that is restricted in use, such as the $250 million recently allocated to the District by the state. Much like facility bonds, this funding must be legally used for its intended use - reconstructing our fallen Lynwood High School Imperial Campus - and not on employee salaries.

We fully appreciate the hard work and tremendous dedication of our Lynwood educators and will proceed in good faith to ensure the continued well-being of our school community.

See update here.

Over the course of five meetings from November 2022 to January 2023, the Lynwood Teachers’ Association and District teams continued to meet, reaching agreement on eight Articles. Still outstanding are Summer School, Salaries, and Health & Welfare benefits.

LTA submitted a 14.5% salary request at the Nov. 28, 2022 meeting. The District anticipates remaining discussions to take place beginning in late-February.

We understand that post-pandemic challenges have been difficult for our teachers and are further compounded by the rising cost of living. Keeping this in mind, we are moving forward in good faith and recognize our responsibility to resolve negotiations when all pertinent information is in place and we have a stabilized budget.

With the recent Governor’s Budget proposal and cost savings associated with staff who participated in the Voluntary Retirement Program, the Business Services department is updating our multi-year budget projections.

We are inviting the three associations to join us in developing a multi-year budget that continues to focus on students while supporting our employees, who have received 9.5% on-schedule and 10% off-schedule raises over the last five years.

We fully appreciate the tremendous dedication our Lynwood educators put into their work every day and the support they give to our students and families. The District remains fully committed to providing appropriate salary and benefits increases to employees while maintaining a fiscally sound budget that keeps in mind the well-being of our school community into the future.

See update here. 

Over the course of three meetings in January, the Lynwood Teachers’ Association and the District teams continued to meet and reach agreement on several more Articles. This brings the total Articles that we have reached agreement on to eight. In January, the teams agreed on:

• Article 10 Working Conditions - providing additional preparation days for “late hire” employees, commitment to the first instructional day as a minimum day, and providing clarifying language to the non-instructional professional development days.
• Article 12 Transfers - providing clarifying language on the transfer process and additional days of “moving time” for teachers transferring.
• Article 11 Special Education - providing class size expectations for Moderate-Severe classes, ensuring District-provided legal consultation prior to due-process hearings, and increased details to Special Education committee requirements.

Still outstanding are Summer School, Salaries, and Health & Welfare benefits. The Business Services department is finalizing budget projections and the District anticipates these remaining discussions to take place beginning in mid-February. The District remains fully committed to providing appropriate salary and benefits increases to employees while maintaining a fiscally sound budget that keeps in mind the well-being of our school community into the future.