Teachers: Three Furlough Days OK'd

The Mount Diablo Education Association — or MDEA, the union representing the district's teachers — overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement with the MDUSD school district on Wednesday, which includes three furlough days for teachers when classes won't be in session.

The furlough days are May 6, and May 27 and 31, with the last two included in the Memorial Day weekend, creating a five-day holiday for students and staff. The contract must next be approved by the Mount Diablo Unified School District board of trustees before the furlough dates become official.

For parents who have to work and don't get a five-day holiday from their employer, the days off could pose child care problems. The decision came so late in the school year because the teachers were working under an old contract that expired in June and negotiations continued to this point.

"It will have the least impacts on kids, based on the dates we had available," said Mike Langley, president of the Mount Diablo Education Association, which represents 1,700 teachers. Union members voted 1,148 to 135 in favor of the contract, Langley said Wednesday night.

The other three furlough days being considered were June 7-9, which would have ended the school year early but would have caused more problems for students facing year-end tests and field trips, and people who have booked graduation parties, he said.

"When you start to muck around with the calendar this late, there's all types of things that come up," Langley said.

The union agreed to three furlough days after the district agreed not to cut library services, vocal music and physical education at the elementary schools this school year, he said. Those cuts still could happen next school year, which is not yet covered by a contract.

For the next school year, the district is requesting seven furlough days, Langley said, which will save the cash-starved district about $5 million. Three furlough days will save the school district about $3 million this year, Langley said, or about 1.5 percent of the district's budget for salaries.

The Mount Diablo district has a "structural deficit" of $11 million, but it increases to a $23 million annual loss because the state isn't paying the district what it normally does.

With the three furlough days, the district is within the state requirements for classroom instruction, but would fall under it if seven furlough days are taken next school year. The state requires 180 days of instruction, but has recently amended that to 175 days. The furloughs in May would cut classroom days to 177 in the district, and seven furlough days next school year would cut it to 173 days, two less than the state minimum.

Teachers are paid monthly and will see their pay docked 5 percent for each paycheck in April, May and June, which equates to about $1,000 total for the average teacher, Langley said. The average teacher in the district earns $60,000 a year, with starting pay at $40,000 and the top level at $75,000 for the few teachers with 25 years of experience, he said.

The effect on teachers will be more than financial, Langley said. The stress of lower pay while still being asked to raise test scores with less instructional time is difficult, he said, adding that fewer administrators and secretaries at schools means more work for teachers.

"There are teachers that are just actually getting burned out," he said.

Langley acknowledged that taking away school days near the end of the school year makes it difficult for parents to plan, but said the dates the union approved Wednesday are the best solution because they wrap around a holiday and two are on a Friday, so cause fewer disruptions in school events.

Some union members wanted the furloughs to be in the middle of the week so parents would realize that things aren't OK in the district, Langley said. But parents already realize that, members decided, even with the furloughs creating extended weekends.