Teachers Strike a Deal, Structural Improvements, Electric Buses and More in the Works for SHUSD

The Southern Humboldt Unified School District (SHUSD) board held a special board meeting on September 26th at 4:30 p.m. to discuss teacher contract negotiations, campus structural improvements, electric buses and more as they convened at the South Fork campus in Miranda.

-With little fanfare and only three people present at the meeting, the board unanimously approved the contract agreement between the SHUSD and the Southern Humboldt Teachers Association (SHTA) that will give the teachers a 10% raise. The original ask from the SHTA was for an 18% raise given that the cost of living has increased 21% since their last raise, however, the district had originally offered them a raise of 1.54%.*

Due to the wide gap between the ask and the offer, negotiations had failed until recently, and the teachers had started the school year without a contract. The district cited fears of reduced funding and declining enrollment as hurdles to meeting the teachers’ raise requests. The approved agreement will cost the district an additional $402,643 dollars to the yearly budget reducing the district’s reserve fund.

Although the 10% raise isn’t the raise they asked for, the SHTA was said to have been pleased with the deal overall. We spoke with Redway Elementary School teacher and SHTA Negotiations Team Representative, Tami Bighead, about the agreement. She said, “[This time, the district] came to the table ready to bargain.”

The agreement is for a 1-year ongoing 10% deal, meaning that they raise will go forward but the SHTA can come back to the bargaining table next year with an additional raise request. Bighead said that she believes that the district did what they could financially for the time being and that ultimately, the goal is to increase enrollment and attendance with the retained and dedicated staff that will increase the funding the district will receive.

SHUSD Superintendent, Stephanie Steffano-Davis wrote, “I appreciate all three of our district’s bargaining teams. I’m very glad to have new contracts with both the CSEA and SHTA with salary increases coming for both classified and certificated bargaining units.”

For the first time in recent years, the district has an almost full roster of teachers for the school year and a returning admin staff.  Steffano-Davis praised the district’s staff, “All of our employees work very hard and with strong dedication for the students who are our future. It’s really good to be able to see theses well-deserved raises for them.”

Bighead says that the raises will help retain staff to provide much needed continuity for students within the district, providing a better learning environment for both students and staff.

-The board had another big-ticket item to approve on the agenda as the Director of Maintenance, Ethan Ricca presented the board with bids for new roofs to be constructed on the South Fork wellness center and cafeteria along with a new roof for the district office. The bid for the three buildings totaled approximately $170K.

Chief Business Officer, Johnna Emery told the board that the district had budgeted $200K for the roof construction.

The board voted unanimously to approve the bids. Ricca informed the board that the materials would be purchased as soon as possible to take avoid inflation costs by waiting even though the construction will not take place until next summer when school is out on break.

-The SHUSD Director of Transportation, Lisa Cory is currently seeking a Rural School Bus Pilot Program (RSBPP) grant that will pay for electric buses for the district including a charging station. Although Cory was not in attendance, Steffano-Davis said that the administration staff recommended the board approve Cory’s ongoing pursuit of the grant funding.

Concerns were raised by SHUSD Board President, Cinnamon O’Neill-Paula about whether PG&E would provide service to the charging station the electric buses would need. PG&E recently informed Humboldt County supervisors that the energy grid is currently at capacity and will not be able to provide energy to additional development projects in the Southern Humboldt area. Since that time, PG&E has rolled back some of that language stating that they have some short-term solutions available as they work toward long-term solutions. However, O’Neill-Paula stated that several local electric-vehicle charging stations were built but had not yet been connected to the PG&E grid.

Ricca also voiced concern about the size of the power drop to the bus yard, stating that the current power supply was not large enough to handle the needs of a charging station.

SHUSD board member, Brandy Bremer clarified that pursuing the grant funding did not mean the district had to accept the funding even if awarded should hurdles arise preventing the district from being able to have a charging station for electric buses.

The board unanimously approved pursuing the RSBPP grant funding.

-Steffano-Davis told the board that in collaboration with Redway Elementary School Transitional Kindergarten (TK) teacher, Erica Mendes, the admin staff had chosen the ‘Wonders of the World’ curriculum for the district’s TK students at Redway Elementary School, Casterlin and Whitethorn.

The curriculum flyer included in the board packet states, “Prepare for kindergarten success with rich, cross-curricular learning experiences[.]”

SHUSD board member Collett Fenske noted the importance of play for TK aged students. Steffano-Davis responded, “Play is how we learn.”

Steffano-Davis praised Mendes for her integral part in developing the TK program for the district and bringing the ‘Wonders of the World’ curriculum for board approval.

The curriculum will cost the board approximately $3600 per set for each of the three TK programs in the district.

The board voted unanimously to approve the TK curriculum.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for October 13th at South Fork High School in Miranda at 4:30 p.m. Those wanting to make a public comment can attend the meeting in-) person, email the district at [email protected], call the district office at (707) 943-1789 or mail your public comment to SHUSD BOARD OF TRUSTEES P.O. Box 650, Miranda, CA 95553.

This article is written by Lisa Music, a local freelance journalist. To reach Lisa about tips, questions or comments, email her at [email protected]

*The original offer amounted in a 6% increase over multiple years that added additional paid work hours.