Striking San Francisco teachers have demanded parents avoid homeschooling their children to help support their push for higher wages and better conditions. <\/p>\n
More than 50,000 children were kept home on Monday and Tuesday after teachers walked off the job and joined picket lines<\/a>, demanding a nine per cent raise over two years and subsidized family health care, which the cash-strapped San Francisco School District claims it can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n More than 50,000 children were kept home on Monday and Tuesday after teachers walked off the job and joined picket lines. REUTERS<\/p>\n And with the strike set to drag into a Wednesday, local parents are now fuming after teachers emailed them and asked them not to encourage any home study. <\/p>\n The district \u2014 which says it could lose millions in funding each day the strike goes on \u2014\u00a0offered homework packets that include \u201cfive days of independent study work and practice in both English Language Arts and in Math,\u201d according to its website.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> But teachers claim in messages they sent to parents that the packets were a ploy to ensure the district continues to receive funds during the strike, meaning the district would be able to avoid caving to the union\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n \u201cIf many families participate in independent study, it reduces pressure on the district and can prolong the strike,\u201d read a screenshot shared on social media. \u201cIf you are able, we ask that you do not participate in the independent study provided by the district.\u201d<\/p>\n Striking San Francisco teachers have demanded parents avoid homeschooling their children. x\/NadimHossain<\/p>\n \u201dIf you are able, we ask that you do not participate in the independent study provided by the district.\u2019<\/p>\n Tech worker Nadim Hossain, who has a child in elementary school, described the email as \u201dmessed up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201dStrike if you must but it\u2019s diabolical to say \u2018don\u2019t do independent study while we shut down the school for a few days,’\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n Starting salaries for a K through 12 teacher are about $80,000 a year, with the average about $100,000, which is significantly higher than the national average of about $72,000. Getty Images<\/p>\n The email sparked arguments on social media<\/a> with one pundit equating the homework with \u201ccrossing the picket line\u201d \u2013 while others blasted the union for appearing to discourage children from keeping up with they studies during the strike.<\/p>\n \u201dThe district providing packets like this that the teachers themselves did not put together \u2013 which is in their statement that you quoted \u2013 is essentially the same as using scabs,\u201d one parent claimed.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there was no sign of a deal between teachers and the public school district Tuesday night, which is already facing a $100 million deficit and ongoing budget crisis that\u2019s led to deep cuts to school.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Starting salaries for a K through 12 teacher are about $80,000 a year, with the average about $100,000, which is significantly higher than the national average of about $72,000.<\/p>\n Union organizers claim San Francisco teachers need better pay and benefits to survive in the notoriously expensive city, where rent for a one bedroom apartment is at least $3,000 per month and the median home costs $1.3 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to stand together until we win the schools our students deserve and the contracts our members deserve at every single school site \u2014 until we close this deal,\u201d union president Cassondra Curiel said on Monday<\/a>. <\/p>\n But the district, plagued by spiraling pension costs and under state oversight after years of mismanagement and enrollment losses, claims it\u2019s too broke to raise salaries by much.<\/p>\n There was no sign of a deal between teachers and the public school district Tuesday night. REUTERS<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Heartbreaking images shared on X <\/a>showed one family squashed into a Chinatown motel, assisting their children with workbooks.<\/p>\n Superintendent Maria Su said at a Board of Education meeting last week that the district could lose between $7 million and $10 million every day schools are closed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t have instruction, we cannot get any funding for that day, and the loss of funds per day of not having instruction is significant,\u201d Su said at meeting on February 3.<\/p>\n She pleaded with the board to let her to negotiate with state education officials to reduce penalties associated with the school closures.<\/p>\n The union reportedly agreed to reduce its 9% pay raise demand, but the two sides are locked apart on health care benefits and total pay as the district countered with a 6% raise for teachers and wage increases for paraeducators and security guards, according to the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other points of negotiation included paid sabbaticals and test prep periods and health spending accounts, according to reports. <\/p>\n The strike has sent local parents scrambling for backup child care, with some forced to pay for babysitting help or even stay home from work to mind their kids if they can\u2019t access limited city-run camps. <\/p>\n The teachers\u2019 union, United Educators of San Francisco, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
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