WPUSD teachers urge higher pay, describe long hours and retention concerns

Teachers and other district staff used the public-comment period at the Western Placer Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 4 to press trustees for pay increases and to describe heavy workloads and student safety concerns.

“These past five years have been undoubtedly the hardest years of teaching,” said Jenna Millet, identifying herself as a teacher, asking trustees to “see the work we put into our classrooms.”

The most detailed complaints focused on compensation. Martin Mars, a 24-year WPUSD teacher, told the board he was “deeply offended” that the district’s proposed increase values long service and professional credentials at only “1.07%.” Maggie Hamrick said she has spent personal money on classroom supplies and asked the board to “offer us a raise of more than 1.07 percent.” Penelope Woodworth, a First Street teacher of 10 years, questioned the district’s budget choices and asked for clarity on how additional development and new-homes fees are being allocated.

Haley Albrecht, a third-year chemistry teacher at 12 Bridges High School, described juggling coaching and after-school duties with a second job to cover monthly expenses and said neighboring districts pay substantially more: “I could be making… $400 more per month after taxes in neighboring districts,” she said, adding that higher pay would affect whether she stays in WPUSD.

Trustees and staff acknowledged the comments. At one point Trustee Price said he valued the comments and described the board’s interest in directing resources close to students. Interim Superintendent designee DeGraw told the board Carrie Callahan, the superintendent, was recovering from a medical procedure and that the district is “hoping for a good faith effort” in upcoming mediation with employee representatives.

The board did take several ratifying personnel and compensation actions later in the meeting, approving a tentative agreement with the classified employees association that implements a 1.07% increase for the 2024–25 year (see “Votes at a glance”). Several trustees described the increase as the remaining unresolved article in that year’s negotiations and said the change will be retroactive to July 1.

Speakers and commenters repeatedly linked pay to retention, classroom stability and the ability of teachers to avoid second jobs. Several requested the district restore or maintain roughly 40 percent of the general fund budget directed to teacher salaries — a percentage they said the district provided in 2019 and that neighboring districts currently exceed.

The public-comment speakers also raised student safety and climate. Hira Burnham, speaking as an educator, said rumors that immigration enforcement agents were taking photographs around campuses had left students “scared,” and she criticized a trustee’s social-media posts that she said trivialized the issue.

The board did not take immediate action in response to the public comments beyond acknowledging them; trustees said some issues raised would be part of bargaining and some require additional information from staff. The district reiterated that it had reminded staff and families of board policies and administrative regulations regarding immigration enforcement and said it was coordinating with local police to verify facts and to protect a safe environment for students.