“The difference in salaries is significant, and a wage increase is necessary and appropriate to aggressively recruit and retain competent educators,” the report continues.
The panel, which issues a list of non-binding recommendations, suggested a 6% raise over two years, plus an additional 2% bump for special education teachers. In 2027, it suggested an additional 3% to 4% raise.
It also noted that the district had not been transparent about its financial situation, adding that, in years past, “at the eleventh hour, the district has found enough funds to either avert or end a strike. Needless to say, there were trust issues.”
In 2023, OEA held a weeklong strike that ended after teachers won a 15.5% raise over two and a half years.
The union has said that while OUSD insists it cannot afford to pay higher wages, it spends a significant amount of money on consultants and outside contractors to provide some services, instead of investing in its employees.
“That money, we’re asking to be reinvested in classrooms,” said Taiz-Rancifer, the union president.
She said that instead of hiring a psychologist for a campus, for example, OUSD sometimes contracts with one through an outside company.
“When you contract out that position, you’re actually costing the district nearly double the amount of money that you would for somebody who works in the district,” she said, adding that sometimes, the contractor works remotely, which requires another adult to supervise. “And in addition, you’re not getting the same kind of quality… [as] hiring somebody on-site that actually could build a relationship, build rapport.”
Hundreds of Oakland teachers and their supporters converged on Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall on May 4, 2023. (Aryk Copley for KQED)
The fact-finding report found that OUSD spent $316,000 on one outside consultant alone last year. It said the district needs to “wean itself” off consultants and outside contracts by increasing district wages to be more competitive.
“If the district is hiring consultants because they do not have enough qualified employees to handle the positions, then that supports the claim that wages are insufficient to recruit and retain the personnel needed,” wrote the fact-finding panel chairperson, Cheryl Stevens.
The report also said that throughout two days of hearings, the union wanted to bargain over other non-wage-related issues — including changes to the district’s Newcomer program for immigrants and English language learners, and continuation schools — that the district seemed less interested in discussing. Still, Stevens wrote that she believes if the parties can reach an agreement on salaries, they can avert a strike.
OEA has said it doesn’t plan to strike imminently and is still interested in returning to the bargaining table.
“[OUSD] can avert a strike if they bring something to the table that educators are willing to accept,” Taiz-Rancifer said. “They need to come with a real offer.”
KQED’s Billy Cruz contributed to this report.