Teachers, support staff and union leaders press Mount Diablo Unified for higher pay, smaller classes and more support

Dozens of Mount Diablo Unified School District teachers, speech-language pathologists, nurses and union representatives used the board's public-comment period on Sept. 10 to press for a new contract they said would address high caseloads, large classes and insufficient pay.

Speakers asked the board and Superintendent Clark to negotiate with the Mount Diablo Education Association (MEDEA) in good faith and adopt measures to keep educators in the district. "We need to change from a caseload limit of 55 and change to a workload model, which is enforced by the American Speech Hearing Association," said Ezra Coco Contreras, identifying themself as a speech-language pathologist at Pleasant Hill Elementary.

The remarks were part of a sustained, hour-plus block of testimony. "Respect is at the heart of what we, as teachers, try to foster in our future citizens," said Becca Machado, an eighth-grade teacher at Sequoia Middle, criticizing what she called the district's public communications about bargaining and urging a respectful tone in community messaging. Multiple classroom teachers described regularly full sections and combo classes; Christina, identifying herself as a credentialed school nurse, said the district's nurse-to-student ratio remains approximately 1 to 2,400 and described recent incidents that strained coverage.

Several speakers gave detailed workload numbers. Nancy Bennett, a speech-language pathologist, told the board that the district's contract provides roughly 1,295 work hours annually but that actual SLP work can run to about 2,510 hours a year when assessments, report writing and collaboration are included. "This significant disparity forces SLPs to work an immense amount of unpaid overtime, leading to burnout," Bennett said.

Union and labor leaders also spoke in support of educators. Joshua Anadjar, executive director of the Contra Costa Labor Council, said the cost of living in the Bay Area forces teachers to consider other districts. "When push comes to shove, teachers will choose jobs that feed their families," Anadjar said. MEDEA's spokesperson at the meeting — identified in the record as Mrs. Ortega — thanked educators and reiterated union priorities including smaller class sizes, more counselors, more SLPs and stable health benefits.

Teachers described concrete classroom effects of current staffing levels. "With 33 to 37 students per class, it is impossible to meet the needs of every child, especially our focal students," said Deborah Wilson, a teacher at Riverview Middle School. Music and arts teachers said heavier schedules reduced or eliminated choir and rehearsal time. Several teachers urged the board to adopt the union's proposals, including workload models for specialized staff and guaranteed site enrollment for employees' children that would not add district cost.

The speakers repeatedly framed their requests as in the students' interest: smaller classes, more support staff and stable benefits, they said, would improve instruction and student welfare. Several speakers said the district's initial bargaining offer would have reduced benefits in exchange for small raises and called that effectively a pay cut for many employees.

The public-comment period also included calls for improved facilities scheduling and for the board to avoid conducting facilities work that disrupts classes early in the year. "These upgrades should have happened during the summer break to minimize impacts on our students' learning," the MEDEA spokesperson said.

Board members did not take action during public comment; the district's leadership and several trustees later acknowledged the breadth of testimony and reiterated plans to continue negotiations. The board's formal bargaining-related decisions and budget vote followed later in the meeting.