This week saw continued salary negotiations between the Corona-Norco Teachers Union and Corona-Norco Unified School District. Unfortunately, these negotiations have reached an impasse in recent weeks, with the union requesting a 6.5% salary increase, while the school district is offering a 2.5% salary increase with a 0.5% benefits increase, a 3.0% increase in total compensation.
In their FAQ page, CNUSD acknowledged the financial difficulties that they, like many school districts across the country, are faced with, such as declining enrollment and “uncertainty in state funding.”
The negotiations as a whole concern how the district plans to spend its $892 million budget. $384 million, or 43% of those expenditures, went to staff salaries. The average starting salary for teachers in CNUSD is $75,444 per year, first among 15 listed districts, according to CNUSD itself, while the overall average teacher salary stands at $122,109 per year, ranked third on the same list. However, this does not consider the fact that inflation expectations are currently at 3.6% for the year and rising, meaning that the actual raise the union proposes would be 2.9% or less.
“I think it’s unfair for the district folks to view teachers the way they do, and to offer such a small increase compared to the cost of living,” shared one teacher at ERHS who requested anonymity, “…and for the amount of work that teachers put in for the programs that we use… I don’t think it’s fair, and I think all we’re asking for is to be fairly compensated.”
ERHS calculus teacher Nicholas Lopiccolo commented on the issue.
“My big concern is that money is spent wisely… and you make sure your employees are happy. If things are on the up and up, everything will be good.” He continued, “People won’t complain when the right thing is being done.”
Lopiccolo also defined what money “spent wisely” is, from his perspective.
“Make sure… It’s going to the right training. It’s not, hey, here’s the new hottest thing. Money for the facilities and what the facilities need.”
Negotiations are ongoing as the school district and the union attempt to reach a mutual agreement. The collective hope, however, remains that an agreement will be reached that benefits teachers, students, and the districts as much as possible.
