Please See the Latest Update on Teacher Negotiations with the District - 4/19/26 Click Here for other Negotiation Updates and Information Latest Update on Teacher Negotiations with the District - 4/19/26 Show Transcript hello little Lake community many of you have asked why are we having a teacher strike how did we get here and how are we going to move forward I hope today is to provide you some information so you understand exactly how we got here and how we're going to move forward first and foremost the district prioritizes students and employees over the past 5 years employees have received an 18% increase to their base salary and 100 fully funded HealthCare coverage for themselves and their families the district has been experiencing declining enrollment during this time which has led to a client funding 1 time funds and reserves have been used to cover expenses the district is receiving less Revenue year after year 1-time funding resources have been exhausted reserves have been depleted and the district maintained benefits for employees as to cook however the district can no longer continue to fully fund benefits and it must revisit expenditure allocations the district is allocated over $8 million or 11% to directly impact student achievement through spec programs and services most of these funds are for professional service agreements not Consulting contracts as llea alleges these funds have been here marked to increase special education program costs enhance classroom instruction which intervention support personnel provide classroom instructional assistance provide speech and language Pathologists provide occupational therapist services to students as well as providing other health related student services the district has taken active role in sharing the long-term fiscal challenges that was facing in stock employee participation in and out of negotiations last year I visited every School site and talked to employees to answer questions and seek staff input regarding the challenges of meeting the long-term fiscal reality the district offered llea a 2-year proposal on Health and Welfare benefits that would have ease employees contributions toward their benefits unfortunately that deal was rejected now the district is offering to contribute 85 5% ongoing the significant increase to the current benefit cap amounts the district continues to engage in conversations with llea however changes need to be made some of the changes proposed require a negotiated agreement and that is why we are where we are today unless changes are agreed upon the district only has the ability to implement what is in the current contract and this is what currently exists in the contract a 60/40 split on health benefit contributions class sizes for TV through 3 at 24 to 1 class sizes for grade 4 through 6 to 31 to 1 and class sizes for grade 7 through 8 at 26 to 1 again the district has 101 students than 10 years ago but our staffing is firstly remain the same 1 time funds are exhausted reserves have been spent down the independent fact finding report cannot find any additional Revenue to offset the healthcare requests other than raising class sizes please note no changes have ever been proposed to class sizes in special education our District's fiscal solvency is far from ideal but we are working actively to address the deficit the district developed at fiscal stabilization plan budget cuts as far as from the classroom as possible our plan outlines a specific actionable and non-negotiated budgetary solutions to address structural deficits such as spending cuts or Revenue adjustments Leo is continued concerns over the decision ability to meet its Financial Obligations in the upcoming years like a reminder of the district but by law districts cannot enter into an agreement they can honor or forward in future years Little Lake is not unique in California most schools in California are experiencing declining student enrollment enrollment is a varied mechanism on how school districts receive funding Rising operating costs are exceeding existing let alone dwindling resources changes to current practices are necessary District desires and agreement that balance of student needs and employee compensation while ensuring fiscal solvency today tomorrow and into the future please know your board and superintendent care deeply about the teachers however if every demand was met knowing the district cannot afford or honor the agreement the district will be taken over by the state the state care is only about a balanced budget not the teachers there would be no any negotiation process the collective Barney agreement yes we are in a strike however kids are in school they are learning they are safe and they're being supervised by credential substitute teachers as mentioned before families they send their children to school or participate our independent study program we will continue to provide updates as they become available please continue to check the district and school websites for news and please know I want to work with our teachers to solve these challenges together thank you for your patience
