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Teacher at public comment warns district negotiations over hours, unpaid tutoring risk staff retention
Summary
A Mount Vernon teacher speaking during public comment said recent contract changes added hours and reduced pay relative to cost of living, and criticized a new Human Resources directive that would require unpaid tutoring directly after school. She said the district withheld $1.6 million from bargaining and urged the superintendent to follow up.
Janice Buonassis, a Mount Vernon teacher and union executive‑board member, used the Jan. 14 public‑comment period to warn the Lemon Grove School District board that ongoing negotiations over teacher hours and pay could drive staff departures if not resolved.
“Last year at this time, teachers were asked to give up 10% more hours at school,” Buonassis said. “At the same time they were taking a cut in pay compared to the cost of living … Those 2 cuts added up to 4%.” She said teachers accepted added time to define workdays and protect planning time, and that the district had told staff such time should be reserved for planning and collaboration except in “extreme cases.”
Buonassis said the district-employed human‑resources office recently emailed that tutoring must start directly after school and that teachers would not be paid for the first half hour of that tutoring — “which is usually about how long a tutoring session lasts.” She said that directive will make teachers unwilling to provide tutoring. “We do not want to add more to our day to do tutoring,” she said.
Nut graf: Buonassis told the board she and colleagues took on required additional on-campus hours while believing the district would be transparent during bargaining and that, had teachers known the district had additional funds, they would not have agreed to the concessions. She asserted the district withheld $1,600,000 from the bargaining process and said the issue could prompt her to leave the district if it is not addressed.
Additional details from public comment
• Funding and decision‑making: Buonassis said community‑schools funds are available to pay for tutoring but that, in practice, administration — not community steering committees — controls how those funds are spent at some sites. She urged that those hours be structured so they are “actually useful to teachers.”
• Teacher morale and retention: Buonassis said teachers are “not going to give up time and money for nothing in return” and that unresolved hours/pay disputes will hurt retention.
Board response
Board President Dr. Ayala thanked Buonassis for her comment and asked the superintendent to follow up with the board. The superintendent agreed to follow up as requested.
Ending: The board did not act on the public comment during the meeting; staff were asked to follow up with the board on the concerns raised.
