{"id":292445,"date":"2026-04-30T02:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T02:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292445\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T02:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T02:38:09","slug":"the-prolonged-little-lake-teachers-strike-takes-on-outsize-statewide-significance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292445\/","title":{"rendered":"The prolonged Little Lake teachers strike takes on outsize, statewide significance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The small Little Lake school district, which serves mainly low-income families in southeast Los Angeles County has become the setting for one of the longest teacher strikes in state history \u2014 reaching the the 10-day mark on Wednesday \u2014 as its 200-member union takes on significant issues straining districts throughout California.<\/p>\n

The teachers have walked out over health costs increasing by $14,000 a year for some, crowded special education classes and proposed class size increases in a district grappling with declining enrollment and unsustainable past spending. The teachers aren\u2019t asking for a pay raise \u2014 but their high-cost benefits are tantamount to a big pay cut.<\/p>\n

While a settlement appeared close with negotiations to resume Wednesday afternoon, the dispute has taken a toll. Although schools are open with substitutes, the strike has consumed about 6% of the academic year. Most parents have kept children home, while scrambling to manage disrupted work and home routines \u2014 especially difficult in a school system <\/a>where about 80% of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch because of family poverty. Teachers have typically lost several thousand dollars of pay that they are unlikely to get back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to stay positive but every day feels like a punch to the gut,\u201d Sabrina Ireland, a 6th grade math and science teacher, said on the picket line Wednesday in front of her campus, Lake Center Middle School. \u201cI\u2019m losing sleep… We have some teachers that both the husband and the wife teach here. They have no income right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard for Little Lake to be noticed alongside the mammoth L.A. Unified School District, which has about 390,000 students. An L.A. Unified strike was dramatically averted <\/a>with hours to spare on April 14 in a conflict that commanded local and national attention for weeks<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But this district \u2014 with seven elementary and two middle schools \u2014 is enduring a crippling strike, affecting about 3,400 students drawn from Santa Fe Springs and parts of Norwalk and Downey. <\/p>\n

In terms of lost instructional days Little Lake ranks high. Earlier this school year, teachers went out for 12 days in the sizable Twin Rivers<\/a> Unified School District in north Sacramento County. Teachers in New Haven Unified in Union City in Alameda County struck for 14 days<\/a> in 2019. And an Oakland teachers strike in 1996 lasted about a month.<\/p>\n

Teacher demands statewide<\/p>\n

Numerous shorter walkouts and near strikes have unfolded throughout the state this year, part of a loosely coordinated effort by the California Teachers Assn. to align unions\u2019 contract expiration dates and benefit from collective force. The union dubbed the effort as \u201cWe Can\u2019t Wait.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

The issues surfacing in Little Lake echo the dynamic in L.A. Unified and elsewhere. <\/p>\n

\u201cUp and down the state, educators have won life-changing healthcare benefits and support for special education and have forced districts to create the safe and stable classrooms our students deserve,\u201d said Gabriella Landeros, a spokesperson for the California Teachers Assn. <\/p>\n

In the broad picture, district budgets throughout the state are likely to be a little larger, level or somewhat smaller \u2014 and schools could yet receive a big boost by the time the state\u2019s budget is adopted in June.<\/p>\n

\"Students <\/p>\n

Martin Gonzalez,13, left, a seventh-grade student at Lake Center Middle School, and Sebastian Escobedo, 11, a sixth-grade student at Lake Center Middle School, join striking Little Lake teachers at Lakeland Elementary School on Wednesday in Norwalk.<\/p>\n

(Gary Coronado\/For The Times)<\/p>\n

But cost pressures have escalated quickly in many regions. In Little Lake, as in L.A. Unified, the cost of services for students with disabilities and percentage of students identified as having disabilities has risen sharply. Healthcare costs also have gone up fast.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, enrollment is declining, offsetting the benefit of state increases in spending per pupil. Inflation hit hard in recent years, while prompting employee groups, especially in urban areas, to fight for wage boosts to keep pace. This comes as one-time pandemic relief aid has expired.<\/p>\n

Thousands more for healthcare<\/p>\n

In Little Lake, strike supporters say they are fighting over issues that justify the sacrifice. Starting in January, the monthly premiums for the health plan used by many teachers rose from zero to $1,400 a month paid over 10 months each year \u2014 an enormous reduction in take-home pay. <\/p>\n

To back off from that charge, district officials proposed raising average class sizes in kindergarten through fourth grade from 24-to-1 to 28-to-1, according to the district. Union negotiators want to keep class sizes where they are. <\/p>\n

District officials acknowledge their proposals are painful, but said they face an unsustainable financial situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are at a point fiscally where the district can no longer support 100%,\u201d of healthcare premiums, said Acting Supt. Monica Martinez-Johnson, a career district employee who started as a teacher. <\/p>\n

A fact-finding report endorsed that account, but also noted that the district suddenly ended health subsidies on January 1, when a previous agreement expired. Employees were immediately forced to pay about 40% of the cost of their monthly premiums.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision … has soured the relationship and [affects] all aspects of this reopened negotiations,\u201d said Donald S. Raczka, who prepared a fact-finding report, issued April 12, as chair of a panel that included district and union representatives. <\/p>\n

\"Striking <\/p>\n

Jennifer Conforti, center, a teacher at Lake Center Elementary, pickets at Lake Center Middle School in Santa Fe Springs on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

(Gary Coronado\/For The Times)<\/p>\n

Dollars and sensitivities<\/p>\n

The financial implications of the strike are difficult to calculate at this juncture, but the district doesn\u2019t necessarily lose money. Subs are making $500 a day, but there are fewer subs than teachers and striking teachers forfeit pay. <\/p>\n

In-person student attendance has ranged from 18% to 31%, which will mean lost funding linked to student attendance. The annual operating budget of the district is $73 million, of which salaries and benefits are $53 million, according to the district.<\/p>\n

Many parents and students have joined teachers on picket lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve stuck it out this long, we wouldn\u2019t want them to fold on an agreement that doesn\u2019t benefit them,\u201d said Melissa Maggard, who has two daughters at Lakeland Elementary.<\/p>\n

Therapist Sherry Gonzalez has kept her fourth-grade son at home, rescheduling work hours, hiring babysitters. Her son receives special services for a disability at Lake Center Elementary, and home routines are harder without this support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel comfortable taking him in during a strike with subs who do not know my son\u2019s needs,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cAs a parent it\u2019s just been hard. It\u2019s been so frustrating. We feel worn down, tired, and we feel like we\u2019re being ignored and unheard.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see this drive a wedge between the community, it feels hurtful,\u201d she added. When asked how she\u2019s been trying to cope, she responded: \u201cCrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

The turmoil has included the sudden resignation of then-Supt. Jonathan Vasquez a week into the strike. After a 10-hour negotiating session on Monday, an altercation or a feared altercation \u2014 accounts vary \u2014 resulted in the district calling police.<\/p>\n

A potential deal in the works includes employees paying zero to $630 a month in healthcare premiums \u2014 depending on their choice of health plan. Class size would not rise. Budget cuts would be necessary. On the chopping block are six intervention teachers serving students who need intensive academic help. <\/p>\n

The union this week was pushing for a one-time $4,000 bonus for its members, but not a permanent increase. The pay scale for teachers ranges from $58,752 to $118,363.<\/p>\n

Negotiations resumed Wednesday afternoon at a location considered more secure than district headquarters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The small Little Lake school district, which serves mainly low-income families in southeast Los Angeles County has become…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,90325,124615,217,5615,4579,124614,3906,103420,225,86,4574,10384,2328,430,72],"class_list":["post-292445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-class-size","tag-cost-pressure","tag-day","tag-disability","tag-district","tag-little-lake","tag-month","tag-significant-issue","tag-state","tag-strike","tag-student","tag-teacher","tag-union","tag-week","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}