This agreement will be voted on by the teachers’ union from May 13 to 17 and the result will be announced on May 17. It has also been added to the agenda for the upcoming school board meeting on May 21 to be discussed by the district officials and school board members, where the entire contract is slated to be ratified.

Every year, PAUSD negotiates new terms with PAEA, which represents the certified staff such as teachers, and California School Employees Association Chapter 301, which represents the classified staff such as aides and custodians. Usually in this district, negotiations end in an agreement after early discussions. However, this year, the district and union could not come to a compromise after initial negotiations, setting the precedent for the first impasse between PAUSD and PAEA.

A closer look at the numbers

The original proposal by PAEA included an 8% increase from the 2022-23 teacher’s salary which was responded with 2% counteroffer from PAUSD. PAEA’s best and final offer was 5.5% which is 2% higher than PAUSD’s final offer of 3.5%. The tentative agreement reached on May 6 proposes a 4% increase for this year.

According to PAEA’s website, PAUSD has significantly lower salary growth and maximum salaries than neighboring districts. Going into this year’s negotiations, PAUSD’s salary growth from 2021 to 2024 was 10.2%, compared to the 15.8% increase in the Mountain View and Los Altos district, the 15.8% increase in the Los Gatos and Saratoga districts, and the 19.0% increase in the Santa Clara School District. If the tentative agreement is approved, PAUSD’s salary increase would become 15.2% for this year.

PAUSD’s current maximum salary is $154,366, which is 24.8% lower than Mountain View-Los Altos School District, 9.8% lower than Fremont Union High School District and 7.1% lower than Santa Clara Unified School District. PAEA President Teri Baldwin stressed that this gap plays a significant role in communicating the value of teachers.

“We always want our community to know that we are trying to recruit and retain the best teachers for our students, and we’re falling behind in salary in the area,” Baldwin said. “If we’re the number one district, we should be the number one or at least close to the number one in salary in the area.”

Beginnings of negotiations

In the context of these district negotiations, the impasse was prompted by a disagreement from PAUSD and PAEA’s final offers regarding the teacher’s contract for the 2024-25 school year. As a result, a third-party mediator stepped in to aid both sides to come to an agreement. The mediator assigned to this case was from the California Public Employment Relations Board. According to Superintendent Don Austin and Baldwin, both negotiation teams are separated and the mediator worked with both parties to reach an agreement.

The negotiations cover a variety of topics including class size, working conditions, evaluations, and salary — the subject cultivating the most discourse. The negotiations, which happen every year between PAUSD and PAEA, are not open the public. This year, the union and district called for an impasse, prolonging the negotiations for another six months.A the school board meeting on April 23, PAEA members expressed dissatisfaction during the open forum about the PAUSD salary schedule, and their experiences in the district. CSEA 301 Chapter President Mrigendra Steiner announced CSEA’s alliance with PAEA in hopes for a quick resolution of the negotiations that honors the professionality of the teachers. Retiring Gunn math teacher Kathy Hawes spoke about her 32 years at Gunn and the salary gap between MVLA and PAUSD.

“I’m concerned that people aren’t going to stay (in PAUSD) because (I talked to) my good friend who left for MVLA, and if I was there now I’d be making 37 thousand more a year,” she said in the meeting. “I love my department, I love my collaboration, I love the people I work with, but at some point I have to think about what would that $37,000 do for my retirement? What would that do for my cost of living? Can I afford to keep working in Palo Alto? And if we lose our experienced staff, how are we going to keep our traditions, culture and history?”

Teacher librarian Daljeet Gill also compared his current position to a higher salary at MVLA, but decided to stay at Gunn because of his long term affection for the school. In his opinion, the negotiations are not just about money but about convincing teachers to stay.

“If all we cared about was money, none of us would be in education,” he said. “The people that I see on campus, this staff, is incredible. They do so much for students that go above and beyond. But the more the pay gap increases, (the more that) you don’t necessarily feel like you’re able to do these things (for the students and) support yourself and your family as easily. Maybe there’s a little bit of not feeling as valued, and that maybe you’re more valued somewhere else.”

PAUSD Budget Reserves

A popular solution suggested by the teachers union is to pull from the district’s large reserves to fund a salary increase since PAUSD does not have an upper limit on the reserves, and its size has increased 187% since 2021, currently containing $135 million. According to the district website, PAUSD’s $135 million reserve is 34% of its operating budget, which is two times more than the 17% recommended by experts. PAEA members made the argument that a fraction of these funds can be allocated towards teachers’ salaries. However, according to Austin, drawing money from the reserve is not as simple or advisable as it may seem.

Austin likens the reserve to a savings account, asserting that regularly drawing from it for an ongoing expense is unsustainable because it won’t replenish itself if the district spends at a deficit from relying on the reserve. PAUSD Chief Business Officer Carolyn Chow provided an example for this analogy, explaining that the reserve is used for one-time costs and budgeted purchases.

“In your savings account, you might have to (pay for) a new washer and dryer, tuition for college and a vacation, right?” she said. “Once you spend it, it’s gone, you have to resave again. So in our case, we have a whole list of things that are in the reserves. So for example, we have textbook adoptions that don’t come up every year but we have to set aside money for so in our budget, maybe every five or 10 years we try to save up for it.”

PAEA negotiations team member and Gunn economics teacher Jeff Patrick agrees that it is unwise to use the reserve funds for an indefinite amount of time, but he thinks that the analogy of a savings account isn’t accurate to this situation.

“I think it’s a sort of disingenuous analogy given that the district’s not saving that money for retirement or college expenses, whatever it is that families typically save money for,” he said. “So we further don’t understand, and I would say have not been adequately given an explanation of why the district continues to expand that reserve over time.”

Patrick thinks that regardless of how the reserve is spent, the important next step is to address how much money is being added to it.

“In my personal view, and this is reflected by a lot of people that I’ve talked to about it, (it’s like), ‘Fine, you’ve got the reserve and it is what it is, let’s (just) stop making it bigger,’” he said. “So (going forward) making sure that any surplus money that the district has gets put into compensation or something that’s going to directly affect students rather than to sit in the reserves.”

Public Reception

Throughout the negotiation process, PAEA has aimed to raise visibility by organizing rallies and encouraging teachers to wear their PAEA shirts on Fridays and during events to show their support for the union.

One such example is on the morning of April 30, when teachers at all PAUSD schools assembled by school entrances and held signs such as “honk for teachers” or “supporting PAEA = supporting students.” Baldwin thought this rally was a great success and received a lot of community support.

“I think it’s been great,” she said. “Students have been out here and I’ve seen them out at different sites as well. And parents seemed very receptive. And even if we aren’t asking, they’re honking and showing their support.” PAEA and PAUSD have both been committed to keeping the public informed about this process. All negotiations prior to the impasse, which must legally remain confidential, and the current proposal of the tentative agreement are published on both websites. Each website has summaries of the proposals to make it more digestible for the public, however, due to the complexity of the negotiations Austin emphasized the importance of keeping the discussion contained so that its nuances are not miscommunicated.

“(Students) can have opinions, but really, this is between two negotiating teams that have a total of 10 people (and) that’s where it should stay because it’s impossible to explain every nuance,” he said. “I have concerns about involving students in this negotiation because if the question is ‘do you love your teacher,’ I’m going to hope the answer is always yes. I love our teachers. Everyone should love our teachers.”

School Board President Jesse Ladomirak echoed Austin’s sentiment.

“If your teacher is telling you something, our hope is that you trust your teacher,” she said. “If your teacher is telling you something, we don’t have a lot of interest in trying to get you to think the other way.”

These negotiations have been the subject of many campus conversations and for good reason: PAUSD, which has never been at an impasse for teacher contracts, may be the outlier in district negotiations. According to Chow, the district and union requests were farther apart than normal this year, but mediation is a normal and helpful part of many similar negotiations.

“I’ve been in other districts where they’re at an impasse all the time, every day of the year they’re in there at impasse,” she said. “It’s just what happens when you’re negotiating and you get stuck and need a mediator and come in and help parties (with) out of the box thinking.”

Although this impasse is a rare and complex topic, both the union members and district officials are committed to maintaining professionalism and respect in the midst of this negotiation.

“If (people) take anything away (from this), it’s not a fight, it’s a negotiation process which happens every year,” Austin said. “This year, we’re bringing in somebody to help us work through the tension. And it’s all going to be fine.”

A correction regarding the percentage of the reserves has been updated from the print edition.

Board President Jesse Ladomirak opened the meeting by making a statement about the student death at Gunn on Feb. 20. Gunn School Board Representative Chris Lee (who is also a managing editor on The Oracle) also spoke about the death. 

“There are difficult, necessary conversations we must have in our community about how to better support and protect our young people,” Ladomirak said in her statement. “We can’t avoid these conversations.”

Lee discussed the measures Gunn staff and students have taken since the student death to support students. He noted that the Gunn wellness team is working to improve and make their program more visible and accessible to students, and that The Oracle has shared resources with the student body via Instagram.

The meeting continued with El Carmelo Elementary School Principal Leonel Argumedo’s equity update concerning the PAUSD Promise. As a result of the decline in literacy performance at El Carmelo, specifically from third-grade Latino and Hispanic students, El Carmelo launched the Every Student Reads Initiative, which consists of three key components: professional development, small-group instruction and data-driven discussions. According to Argumedo, in the span of one year, Latino and Hispanic students’ scores increased by 17.1 points in the English Language Arts portion of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress — almost closing the gap from standard by half.

“We still have work to do, but I am excited about the growth and progress students are making, and I am proud of the dedication and effort from our teachers,” he said.

Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Guillermo Lopez followed with the district-wide mid-year LCAP update. The LCAP is a three-year plan for local educational agencies to create goals, plan actions and leverage resources and has three main areas of focus: high-quality teaching and learning, equity and excellence, and wellness and safety.

“One of our goals was to provide an update for 11th-grade CAASPP participation rates,” Lopez said. “This is a great improvement for us. In 2023, the rate was 95% for Paly students and 96% for Gunn students.”

After the Staff Reports, two speakers expressed concerns to the Board during Open Forum, speaking on funding for Special Education programs and SELF integration at Gunn.

Director of Facilities and Construction Eric Holm ended the meeting with a Strong School Bond Program Update. Holm shared that PAUSD elementary school classrooms will hit 25 years old, their “death” age, by 2029, meaning most buildings will need to be either replaced or updated.

The Board elected current Vice President Jesse Ladomirak as Board president and current Board member Shana Segal as vice president for next year, as per the Board’s rotating-leadership system. In this system, the vice president becomes president the following year, and the member elected to the Board earliest becomes the new vice president. If two candidates were elected in the same year, the candidate with the larger share of the vote when elected becomes vice president. The Board president’s job is to create the meeting agendas with the Superintendent and the vice president, look over Board-approved committee assignments and talk to attorneys and the media. 

Following the election, Addison Elementary School Principal Jeffrey Downing presented an update on its PAUSD Promise equity goals, including developing better student-centered supports. In order to create an environment that better meets each student’s needs, Addison plans to conduct reading and math interventions and develop monthly life skills and Zones of Regulation, among other measures. 

“Zones of Regulation helps students develop language to describe feelings that they may have,” Downing said. “Naming these feelings and having strategies about how to deal with them helps students learn to self-regulate and minimize behavioral outburst.” 

These life skills will be featured on posters in every classroom and discussed in school assemblies, according to Downing. December’s life skill was generosity. 

The Board also approved two new high school courses for next year: Asian American Literature, proposed by Gunn English teacher Diane Ichikawa, and Advanced Placement Physics 2, proposed by Gunn Science Instructional Lead Laurie Pennington. With the addition of AP Physics 2, Gunn students will now have access to all available AP Physics courses. 

During the discussion, Board President Jesse Ladomirak noted that a lack of advanced humanities classes could compel students to take STEM courses that they don’t enjoy. 

“The reality is all of our students, not just the ones who thrive in STEM, are under an enormous amount of pressure to pack their high school transcripts with AP and honors courses in order to look good on college applications,” she said. “An unintended impact of that imbalance is that many students who enjoy and feel more confident in humanities classes can feel like they have no option but to forgo those classes and instead take more math and science because that’s where the AP and the honors courses are.”

Finally, during Open Forum, Jewish students and parents expressed concerns about antisemitism and exclusion or misrepresentation of Jewish experiences in the soon-to-be-required ethnic studies course. Two PAUSD students, including Paly sophomore Ella Segev, shared their personal experiences.  

“It was only three weeks after Oct. 7,” she said. “I was walking out of my class and some kid came up to me and said to my face ‘F the Jews, free Palestine.’ For the rest of that day, I was in utter shock that an incident like the ones I’ve seen on the news had personally happened to me. I have faced firsthand antisemitism for the first time in my life here at Paly.” 

Parents suggested adapting the ethnic studies course to include more Jewish-American history and urged the Board to give them a more active role in shaping the curriculum. PAUSD parent Linor Levav hopes to work with the Board to find a solution. 

“Along with others in our community, we are committed to working with the Board and administration to ensure the Jews are represented accurately and respected in our classrooms,” she said during the meeting.

The next school-board meeting will be on Jan. 16, 2024.

During Open Forum, in which student and parent speakers were each allocated one minute to make a statement, 19 students in a “speaker chain” and two others shared their opinions regarding multivariable calculus and lane acceleration. Comments centered on the district’s handling of multivariable calculus offerings at the high school level. The conversation expanded, however, into scrutiny of the district’s inclusion of student voices in curriculum debates.

Students advocated greater data transparency within the district, more lenient and less opaque lane-acceleration policies, increased student voice and visibility, and greater administrator willingness to work with students on future math-related issues.

During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dr. Guillermo Lopez reaffirmed that Advanced Placement Calculus BC is, and will remain, the highest-level math class taught by PAUSD teachers on high school campuses.

According to senior Ezra Furtado-Tiwari, the student advocates’ goal was to improve student-district relations to lay the groundwork for more concrete changes to the course next year. “Students are genuinely interested in having a multivariable calculus class and having opportunities to accelerate, (which) the Board hasn’t been addressing effectively,” he said. “(We’re looking for) at least a concerted attempt (from the district) to see if multivariable calculus could be offered as a class through Gunn or Paly (next year).”

Students continued to discuss multivariable calculus and acceleration policies during the public-comment portion of the Reimagining Middle School Mathematics update. This resumption prompted Board President Jennifer DiBrienza to redirect the comments toward middle school math. “That series of comments was not about middle school math, and I should have cut it off,” she said during the school-board meeting.

The discussion item itself referred to the 2019 district decision to “delane” middle school math, making Algebra I the standard course for eighth-grade students and Geometry the standard for ninth-grade students. Board members discussed data from the first Reimagining Math cohort, which has just entered ninth grade. Rather than determining whether Reimagining Math would continue to be the math standard, board members aimed to analyze the cohort’s performance for the first time, according to Fletcher Middle School Math Instructional Lead Becky Rea. “I think it’s too early to declare it an actual success or failure, but it’s good to look back on what we’re doing,” she said. “I do think we’re going to have to make the decision to look at it repeatedly as kids move through high school.”

During the comment portion of this discussion item, a parent brought up concerns about the lane reductions in the middle schools as a result of the Reimagining Mathematics program. “My eighth-grader now could use a slower math and is really struggling,” she said. “And there isn’t enough support for him. Also, (he) hears so many comments in class of kids going, ‘Oh, this is so easy’ … (This) really affects him, and there’s really just no other options at this school.”

Overall trends for the Class of 2027 from school board records show increased enrollment in Geometry or higher-level courses for Hispanic/Latino students, Black students and students with disabilities in ninth grade. Board Vice President Jesse Ladomirak, however, cautioned against using enrollment rates as the sole barometer for success. “No one in this room, and certainly not in this Board, thinks that just getting kids into Geometry is sufficient,” she said. “We obviously have to make sure that they succeed when they’re there, … (but) we don’t have enough data to know that right now. We can’t solve that problem tonight — we can’t even identify if we have a problem to solve right now.”

Moving forward, the future of Reimagining Math will depend on conclusions drawn from review of student data. Aiming to be proactive on this front, board member Shounak Dharap proposed forming an ad hoc committee in January after the release of first-semester data for the ninth-graders, a proposal supported by board member Todd Collins. “(We would plan) to talk about the data, to dig into it, to really see, ‘Is this working? Is it not working? What are the tweaks?’” Dharap said. “And have check-ins, … making sure we are always being true to the purpose, which was keeping high expectations for all of our students.”

The decision comes as a preventative measure after the Palo Alto city council’s Oct. 16 meeting, at which several “Zoom bombers” made antisemitic comments. The board hopes to use the time gained by the three meetings’ suspension to have an ad hoc committee generate safeguards for preventing occurrences of disruptive speech.

This approach has triggered debate over free speech and democratic participation. At the meeting, Gunn School Board Representative Chris Lee (who is also a managing editor of The Oracle) noted that removing Zoom commenting for upcoming meetings may hamper student accessibility at a crucial time. The next few meetings have issues especially relevant to students, including the math curriculum (a highly contentious topic since this spring), sustainability at middle schools and ethnic studies on their agendas. “I understand that my situation is very unique, and that not everybody has a chance to participate in person, both for our usual Tuesday meetings, and especially these special ones,” Lee said. “I’m concerned that this action may hinder student voice.”

School-board member Shana Segal, who voted against the resolution, noted that the suspension of Zoom commenting would set a dangerous precedent. “I’m concerned that eliminating Zoom comments may pose a slippery slope in that it may be perceived as having a chilling effect on the same freedom of speech,” she said. “Are we giving the Zoom bombers yet greater power by taking away our community members’ ability to participate in school-board meetings remotely?”

The board also discussed alternate solutions sent in an email by California Sen. Josh Becker, including adopting a resolution condemning hate speech and opening and closing public comment with a statement of values. Board member Shaunak Dharap and Board President Jennifer DiBrienza said the suggestions will not necessarily prevent events like those on Oct. 16, in which several of the comments containing hate speech either began through addressing agendized items and veered into antisemitism or were overtly made with intent to harm.

Board members also noted that addressing the hate speech as it happens is particularly difficult, as much of what the speakers on Oct. 16 said was permitted under the First Amendment since it did not constitute a threat or incitement of violence. If comments such as these are made in Open Forum, during which anyone can discuss any issue, board members would be unable to stop them. 

In light of that protection, Dharap emphasized the board’s power to minimize disruption, not necessarily curb specific types of speech. “This cannot be about limiting the type of speech,” he said. “This has to be about maintaining order and the ability for us to do the business of the district without disruptions and the ability of us to permit relevant public comment.”

Although Dharap and Board Vice President Jesse Ladomirak voted in favor of the resolution, they said that come December, they are unlikely to vote to continue the suspension. 

Several nearby cities, including Redwood City, Union City and Milpitas, have also adopted similar policies following recent Zoom bombings, according to Palo Alto Online.

Students hoping to share their perspectives at upcoming meetings can come in person, send an email to the board ahead of time or contact Lee with their thoughts. The next school-board meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Decisions taken directly affect the school environments—for example, construction on campus. “We approve construction projects [in the district] to update buildings and [provide] a facility that is conducive to student learning,” DiBrienza said. Board member Jesse Ladomirak explained more about the board’s role in overseeing construction projects. “We approve [the district office staff] going out for bids for construction projects,” she said. ‘Then, we approve the award of contract for projects, so we review the design agreement with architects and authorize staff to proceed with soliciting bids for remodeling. Months later, it’ll come back to us, and [the district staff] will recommend awarding a contract to a firm.” Currently, the board is working on the renovation of A, B and K buildings at Gunn.

Besides construction, the board also shapes the curriculum taught in PAUSD schools, like that of the Social, Emotional, Learning, Functionality (SELF) courses taught in secondary schools. “SELF was something that we approved to happen again this year,” DiBrienza said. “We also formed an ad hoc committee, which means it’s a temporary committee this year, on SELF.” Students, teachers and administrators meet once a month to discuss improvements to the SELF curriculum and recommend changes to the Board of Education. Additionally, according to Ladomirak, the board has taken actions to improve mental health on the campus by hiring therapists and counselors. “In the way mental health is provided, we may be the first in the nation to do it this way in terms of having licensed therapists on staff as opposed to contracted,” she said. Board of Education decisions play an important role in the Palo Alto community and those eligible are encouraged to vote. Board of Education candidates have different issue priorities, so it is important for voters to vote for individuals who they believe will improve the PAUSD school system. “Make sure you’re electing somebody whose values have the same vision of what school should be and what should matter,” Ladomirak said. “There are a lot of ways a board member can impact the vision, direction and strategy of the district…[so voters should direct] that focus in ways that [they] think are most beneficial.”

Superintendent Don Austin’s reopening plan was first introduced at the Feb. 9 PAUSD board meeting, but is contingent on Santa Clara County being in the red tier of California’s COVID-19 tracking system for at least five days. If carried out, the plan would allow students to choose whether they would like to return on campus two days a week.

According to Assistant Principal Michalis Gordon, the opt-in and opt-out system will offer students with last names beginning with A through K the option of attending school in-person on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while the remainder of students will be able to choose to attend school in-person on Thursdays and Fridays. During the day, students will move between classrooms; however, classes will still be held on Zoom. 

Principal Wendy Stratton emphasized that in-person attendance is voluntary, but whether a student’s decision must be made for the entire week or just the day is still undecided. Ladomirak, too, highlighted the voluntary aspect of the plan. “I cannot stress enough that this is a personal choice for every student,” Ladomirak said. “Every student has different needs.” 

While the master schedule will not change, students are required to stay on campus during the school day. Stratton confirmed that students leaving campus for the day would not be able to return except for sports practices and other after-school activities. 

Students that have a prep during the day (periods 2, 3 or 6) are required to remain in a designated space on campus during their prep; students with preps at the beginning or end of the day (periods 1, 4, 5 and 7) are allowed to arrive at the start of their first class or leave early. Gunn Together and SELF will alternate between Wednesdays and Fridays each week so that students will have an opportunity to attend SELF in-person if they choose to. In between classes, students will be asked to walk in designated directions and maintain all social distancing protocols. 

According to Assistant Principal Leonel Argumedo, PAUSD has implemented a variety of safety precautions for both students and staff during this reopening. “There’s been a lot done to ensure everyone’s safety on campus,” Argumedo said. 

Each morning, students, teachers and staff will be required to fill out a health screening questionnaire to ensure that they have not been experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with people that have been. In addition, desks with plexiglass dividers will be assigned and be spaced six feet apart. Each class will also have upgraded HVAC systems or air purifiers, hand sanitizer and a variety of masks. Furthermore, starting on Feb. 28, teachers who live or work in Santa Clara County can make an appointment to get vaccinated for COVID-19. 

In the event that a student or staff member contracts COVID-19, PAUSD has a 3-scenario plan. If a student or staff member presents symptoms of COVID-19 or answers “yes” to any of the questions in the daily health screener, they will be sent home and asked to be tested. Classroom instruction will continue for the remainder of students. If someone (like a family member) in close contact with a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the student or staff member will be sent home and asked to be tested. Even if they test negative, they will still be required to quarantine at home for 14 days or until the infected person completes their quarantine to prevent any future infection. If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they will be sent home and asked to quarantine for 14 days or seven days after symptoms have disappeared. Any school-based close contacts will be notified, instructed to get tested and asked to quarantine. Both the school administration and the public health department will be notified.

To enforce these protocols, there will be at least three supervisors and teachers on campus during breaks to monitor student behavior; however, Gordon stressed the ultimate responsibility fell to the students to adhere to guidelines. “We are going to rely on you, the student body, to enforce these protocols you know and for you to set the example for those who might forget to wear [their] mask when we quickly step out of the classroom,” Gordon said.