West County Teachers Reach Settlement with District

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After three days on the picket lines, teachers in a West Sonoma County high school district will return to work on Monday.

On Friday afternoon, the West Sonoma County Union High School District and the union representing teachers agreed to a new contract that will give teachers a 12 percent pay raise over three years, with the last year tied to a parcel tax the district is hoping to place before voters in 2020.

Since it began on Wednesday, the strike has impacted more than a thousand students at Analy, El Molino and Laguna High schools, which primarily serve students in Forestville and Sebastopol. Since Wednesday, classes were largely empty as students stayed home awaiting the outcome of the strike and negotiations.

The High School District says it lost about $85 thousand on each day of the strike, as funding is tied to student attendance.

While the teacher’s union asked for a 12 percent pay hike over three years, the West Sonoma County Union HS District maintained it could not afford to grant the increase without a new funding source. The district plans to ask voters next year to approve a $24 a year increase in parcel taxes to help fund the raise.

Union President Lily Smedshammer told News of the North Bay that without the pay increase, the district was in danger of losing young teachers who cannot afford the high cost of living in Sonoma County.