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CSEA member challenges district budget framing, says classified staff are 'the backbone'
Summary
Vanessa Vaquerano, speaking for CSEA members, disputed the district's assertion that a 2% salary increase for CSEA would create a budget deficit, noted a 45-cent/hr illustrative increase for a range-14, step-3 employee, and suggested redirecting roughly $34,000/month from local property revenues to ease general-fund pressure.
Vanessa Vaquerano addressed the board during public comment on behalf of CSEA members, rebutting the district's budget presentation and challenging comments that a 2% on-schedule increase and 1% off-schedule increase for classified staff would cause a deficit. Vaquerano said that framing "sends a message that our hard work is an afterthought," and added, "We are the backbone of this district."
She provided a concrete illustration, saying an employee at range 14 on step 3 would see an increase of about $0.45 an hour under the proposal and argued that negotiated salary increases for administrators carry a far larger cost. Vaquerano also referenced monthly revenue from a local property project — about $34,000 — and suggested the board consider redirecting those funds to relieve general fund pressure. The minutes record her request as public comment; no board direction or budget amendment was recorded at the meeting.
