The imminent threat of a state takeover of SUSD creates questions and uncertainty about the future. Will we see wage cuts, furloughs or even layoffs? How much will our students’ education suffer due to the malfeasance of prior administrators?

But the biggest question in our minds is how will we navigate the unknown road ahead? Fortunately, your union has experience representing classified staff in districts under state trusteeship.

Trusteeships are rare but, with nearly 800 Chapters across California, CSEA has navigated the impacts of trusteeships in other districts including recent examples in South Monterey County Joint Union High School District (2009) and the Vallejo City Unified School District (2004). Each of those districts were put under a state-imposed trusteeship due to financial mismanagement, which took years to recover.

In both of those cases, CSEA members entered the trusteeship with solid contracts to push back against trustee-proposed budget cuts.

CSEA has close to 100 years representing classified employees in school districts and county offices of education throughout the state. In that time, we have secured nearly all the pension, leaves, salary increases, holidays, overtime, layoff protections and countless other rights and benefits our quarter million members enjoy.

The benefit of being part of such a large union like CSEA is the extensive resources available when chapters are in trouble. CSEA has labor representatives, attorneys, researchers, governmental relations representatives, communications specialists and other experts to help when a chapter faces a crisis like a state-imposed trusteeship. All those resources, working together, are necessary to push back against cuts proposed by a state trustee.

The most vital resource a chapter can have when facing a state trusteeship of their district is a valid contract. This helped both of our Chapters in South Monterey County Joint Union High School District and Vallejo City Unified School District when their districts fell under trusteeship. A contract provides the best foundation to fight back against potential cuts that could impact our wages, hours and jobs.

In a few weeks, SUSD will undergo another change in the superintendent position. It remains unclear when the key cabinet positions of chief business officer and assistant superintendent of human resources will be filled, so the financial and administrative instability in the district leaves a cloudy and uncertain future as we enter the new fiscal year. With the district under threat of a statewide trusteeship, we cannot leave ourselves with the uncertainty of not having a contract.

It is crucial for CSEA Chapter 821 members to secure a new collective bargaining agreement. This remains our top priority. Your CSEA bargaining team is doing everything it can to protect the paychecks and jobs of Chapter 821 members. 

Our next bargaining date is June 13th. Please stay tuned for more information.

For any questions, please contact Chapter Administrator Rosemarie Lopes-Horn at delta821administrator@csea.com