Teachers press Mount Diablo Unified board for full medical, smaller classes and lower caseloads

Dozens of teachers and school staff told the Mount Diablo Unified School District Board of Education on March 19 that improving pay, benefits and staffing is essential to student learning and safety.

Educators from elementary, middle and high schools across the district packed the public-comment period to ask the board to negotiate a contract that preserves "100% medical benefits," ends combination classes and funds smaller class sizes, more counselors and more nursing coverage.

The appeals opened with Brett Haupt, who said the district has "hundreds of notes and puzzle pieces" from educators and relayed requests including "Students thrive when counselors and nurses have manageable caseloads to provide individualized care." He added a nurse’s comment that with current staffing she can "spend more time at sites instead of one day per week" and can only respond to the most urgent cases.

Several teachers described classroom conditions they said undermine instruction. A teacher at Mount Diablo High School told trustees her schedule includes five class periods of 37 students each. Another speaker said preschool special education "should not exceed six students per session" and asked for two support staff assistants per session.

Multiple speakers linked pay and benefits to teacher recruitment and retention. Melissa Ayala Beam, an elementary teacher of more than 10 years, said smaller classes, compensation for after‑site work and full family medical benefits would help the district "remain competitive in our pay and benefit offerings" and keep educators in the community.

Special education staff and related specialists described heavy workloads. One speech gave a near‑tabulation of a speech‑language pathologist’s year: more than 2,500 hours when combining direct services, assessments, reporting and meetings.

Speakers also raised site‑specific safety and facilities concerns. A Northgate teacher said the science wing is "overrun with rats" and that classrooms lack doors, creating both safety and security risks.

Several speakers asked the board to eliminate combination classes (commonly called "combo classes") and prioritized allocating district reserves toward counseling, nursing and other student supports. The Mount Diablo Education Association and its executive director, Dan Reynolds, were visible in public-comment and later in communications to the board.

The board did not take an immediate vote on any of the staffing or contract demands during the March 19 meeting. Those topics were discussed in public comment and will factor into labor negotiations and the district's budget planning described later in the meeting.

Speakers' comments were part of a broad public‑comment block and were heard before the board proceeded to regular business and financial reports.