Another Sonoma County Teachers' Union Authorizes Strike
SEBASTOPOL (CBS SF/BCN) – As teachers in Cotati-Rohnert Park strike over wages, another group of teachers could be heading for a strike, after the union members in Sebastopol's Gravenstein Union School District voted to authorize one Tuesday.
Negotiations were headed to a state-appointed fact finder, union officials said Tuesday, after mediation failed to find a resolution Feb. 23.
In nearby Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, teachers enter day five of a strike Wednesday.
In Sebastopol, nearly 98% of teachers in the union approved the strike vote, according to a news release Tuesday from Gravenstein Union Teachers Association.
Union officials said the district -- located in one of the state's most expensive counties -- has the reserves to provide raises to bring average teachers salaries and benefits up to the state average.
"The district's behavior is baffling and so unnecessary and disrespectful after two years of huge sacrifices and flexibility from our educators and a catastrophe facing the teaching profession," said Linda Helton, Hillcrest Middle School Teacher and union president.
The district has about 750 students in grades K-8 in two schools, one elementary and one middle school.
In an update Monday on the district website, officials claimed that the district's offer would put it in the position of offering the highest teacher salaries in the county.
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