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On Tuesday, September 26, teachers from Ventura Unified School District appeared at San Buenaventura City Hall to appeal for a new salary package that includes a two percent pay raise.

VUSD pays VHS teachers with a step and class system. A step and class system determines the amount of money our teachers receive based on how many years, or steps, that they have been teaching.

The classes are also what determine the amount of money our teachers make, based on what degree and other possible credits they received during their college education. For example, a class three teacher is defined as having a Bachelor’s degree, plus 45 upper-division semester units or having a Master’s degree.

According to each of the district’s salary schedules, Santa Barbara School District, Oxnard Union District, and Pleasant Valley Unified School District, are paying their teachers thousands more dollars per year than VUSD is paying its teachers.

Lola Bobrow interviewed Ruthann Brunell about the meeting and VUEA’s position:

https://soundcloud.com/cugrpress/two-percent-raise

Santa Barbara School District pays their class three teachers that have been teaching for five years $65,974.33. At 15 years, teachers receive $84,570.31, and at 21 years, they receive $86,671.08.

Oxnard Union School District pays their class three teachers that have been teaching for five years $73,679.64. At 15 years of teaching, teachers receive $96,039, and at 21 years, they receive $97,507.30.

Pleasant Valley School District pays their class three teachers that have been teaching for five years $62,519. At 15 years, teachers receive $82,186, and at 21 years, they receive $84,736.

Ventura Unified School District class three teachers that have been teaching for five years receive $55,826. At 15 years of teaching, they receive $73,631. Even at 27 years, the VUSD teachers receive $82,009, which is still less than teachers in the other three districts are paid at 21 years.

https://soundcloud.com/cugrpress/dan-nelson

Comparing the salary schedules of the different districts leads some to ask the question: “Why aren’t the VHS teachers leaving VHS to teach at other districts to make more money?”

Teacher Karen Reynosa said, “I looked at all the districts and I found out that, yeah I could make at least $10,000 more going to Oxnard, [but] the thing that kept me in Ventura is I really wanted to work and live in my community… I felt that if I were to go somewhere else for the money than I wouldn’t be part of my community. I also wanted to live and work in a place where I saw my students, I just felt like that whole network would create a family.”

VHS’s ASB president, Philip Riley, attended the meeting and was part of the school board panel. Riley later shared his opinion on what he believes is the right decision: “I know that Mr. Nelson mentioned that the district is in the red, so we don’t have enough money, but what he was saying is that we need to prioritize teachers and giving them that raise would show that to the teachers -that they are valued, and I agree with that, I think teachers are the most important part of the district.”