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Teachers and union leaders urge Paramount Unified board to restore collaboration time and address staffing gaps
Summary
Teachers, union representatives and a special‑education teacher told the board that collaboration days have become admin‑directed, cutting teacher planning and leaving special‑education staff and counselors stretched thin; the union asked for direct site conversations and sustained PD for new curriculum.
Multiple teachers and union leaders told the Paramount Unified board the district must restore meaningful teacher collaboration and address staffing shortages that reduce support for students with high needs.
"We are allotted only 45 minutes of planning every two weeks," Roosevelt teacher and TAP representative Monica Manglikma told the board, asking that collaboration days be returned to teacher control so teams can plan instruction, create assessments and ensure consistency across grade levels.
Ardelia Aldridge, president of the Teachers Association at Paramount, echoed that concern, saying administrators have increasingly directed collaboration days and that time is being used inconsistently across sites. Aldridge asked the board to speak directly with teachers and to slow down simultaneous change efforts — including a districtwide ELA adoption and the reunification of two high‑school campuses — so teachers have time to implement new curriculum and receive ongoing professional development.
Zamboni special‑education teacher Mari Sadi described how staffing shifts have increased classroom responsibilities: "I have 18 students on my caseload... without teachers having that resource period, more has fallen onto our counselors," she said, noting counselors and specialists are shared across sites and can take weeks to convene to address students with escalating needs.
The district did not propose immediate changes during the meeting. Teachers asked the board to visit sites, meet with classroom staff (not only administrators), and work with unions to ensure collaboration time is distributed fairly and implementation supports are provided for adopted programs like HMH ELA.
Why it matters: Teachers said reduced planning and lost resource periods harm instructional quality and special‑education service delivery. Union leaders framed the issue as a labor and implementation problem tied to collective bargaining and the district's LCAP commitments.
Next steps: Union representatives encouraged board members to meet with teachers on campuses, and district negotiators reported progress in ongoing bargaining sessions; no formal board action was taken at this meeting.
