School District Board Approves Teacher Contract But Rift Remains

 By Anna Pier

On January 15 the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) Board of Trustees voted unanimously in Special Session to approve a contract with Valley of the Moon Teachers Association (VMTA). The vote averted a one-day Unfair Practice strike announced by the union for the following day, January 16.

What was approved was a Tentative Agreement (TA) that had been signed by District and union negotiators on October 1, 2024 and ratified that month by the VMTA membership. The union comprises approximately 97 per cent of SVUSD certificated staff, who have been working without a contract since August 2024.  

But that TA was never acted upon by the Trustees in their subsequent three regular meetings. When it did not appear on the Agenda of the fourth regular meeting January 16 –although Board President Landry states she agendized it – VMTA forced the Trustees’ hand by announcing a strike. The Trustees called a Special Session for January 14, with Closed Session with labor negotiators the only Agenda item. But President Catarina Landry reported out “no decision.” At the second Special Session on January 15, that October 1Tentative Agreement was approved by Trustees.

VMTA had filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) and called for PERB to arrange fact-finding, a formal process for the two parties to state their case before an independent professional. The District had countered filing their own Unfair Practices complaint with PERB.

In Public Comment at the start of the regular January 16 Board meeting, Trustees were berated for their criticism of the teachers during the January 15 meeting, following their vote to approve the contract. For over an hour and a half, despite Trustees’ having limited each speaker to two minutes “for the sake of getting to the business of the agenda,” teachers from elementary through high school affirmed their dedication to the students of the District and challenged the Trustees to come see for themselves in the classroom what the work of a teacher entails. They also questioned why the Trustees had not voted on the October 1 Tentative Agreement, pointing out had they done so, they could have rejected it, and the teachers would have returned to the bargaining table. Most comments were in person, although online speakers included former Trustee Helen Marsh who decried the current situation for the District, observing that they will be in negotiations again before the end of 2025, as the contract is only for the school year 2024-25. Marsh concluded, “the Trustees have enabled a weak Superintendent.” The full recordings of both the January 15 and 16 meetings are available online at SonomaTV. 

Superintendent Rodriguez-Chien wrote to SVUSD Families and Community the evening of January 15 via Parent Square to advise them the Board had approved an agreement, averting the strike, and “students and staff” would be welcomed back. In their letter to VMTA membership that evening, Co-Presidents affirmed, “We won tonight. Our students won tonight. For some of us, though, it doesn’t feel like a win after listening to the School Board attack us and our commitment to our students.” It continued, “We will let our Trustees know that their words tonight not only undermined the long overdue vote, but demonstrated their lack of understanding of their employees and our community.” They urged members to “come together with our parents and community outside the district office January 16, to celebrate our victory and share the next steps in our fight to win the schools our students deserve.” 

Throughout the negotiations, the VMTA has maintained that the Trustees needed to vote on the October 1 agreement, yet at one point, the Superintendent told the Sun that “there was no agreement.”  The October 1 TA is what the Trustees voted to approve at their January 15 Special Session. Trustee President Catarina Landry recently described a mediation meeting which she had called on January 6 in an effort to resolve the misunderstandings that were continuing disagreement. She also stated Trustees had in November voted to approve an agreement crafted in mediation on October 12, but VMTA rejected it. 

During this drawn-out negotiation, there have been contradictory expressions of fact and accusations. The final outcome on January 15 was agreed to by both parties. However, disagreement and residual bad feelings remain, suggesting a level of miscommunication and mistrust that will continue to hamper the District.