By Mary O’KEEFE

At the July 9 Glendale Unified School District’s school board meeting it was announced that the board had decided to call an impasse with the Glendale Teacher’s Association (GTA) regarding contract negotiations.

“I was shocked that the district called an impasse,” said Taline Arsenian, GTA president.

GUSD had a bargaining date set in June which, according to Arsenian, was unusual to have since school, and teachers, was on summer break.

Teachers who are part of the negotiation team made arrangements to be at the negotiation table, she added.

The district entered negotiations at the June 3 meeting and told the GTA negotiators that this was its “last, best and final” offer. There was still a gap in what the association wanted and what the district was offering; however, Arsenian stated she was under the impression that there was still room to talk.

The latest offer was sent to the GTA members for a vote, however not all voted because of the summer break. Of those who voted 70% did not want to accept the offer and to keep negotiating.

Arsenian said GTA members were in communications with the GUSD negotiation team after the vote and was told by GUSD’s lead negotiator “Let’s touch base the week of July 8.” She assumed this meant both sides would return to the table. Then came the July 9 GUSD school board meeting and the impasse announcement.

“We hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss this and calling an impasses in the summer is a low blow,” she added.

GUSD has a different opinion on the impasse notification.

“The District bargaining team made it very clear to GTA’s bargaining team at their last negotiations session on June 3 that the current wage proposal is a last, best, and final offer. The offer will necessitate substantial budgetary reductions of both personnel and non-personnel expenditures districtwide to maintain financial solvency. In their message to members on June 3, GTA stated, ‘Proposing a ‘last, best, and final’ offer is a prerequisite for GUSD declaring impasse,’ and that a vote to continue negotiations would make an impasse likely,” stated a GUSD spokesperson.

Because an impasse was announced, an outside source, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), will now have to work with both parties to come to a final decision – or not, depending on how each entity receives the offer.

PERB has agreed to the impasse and will move forward with the mediation process, according to GUSD.

But moving forward is not that easy as both sides must agree to a PERB mediator. A PERB agent has already contacted GTA and GUSD.

“PERB will take over the negotiations. There is a list of mediators, [mostly] retired superintendents,” Arsenian said. “It is a process of elimination. The mediator will be flown down here and [housed].”

The costs of that flight and housing will be split between the district and GTA.

It is a process of discussion, mediation and hopefully finding a result that both sides can agree upon. However, if GTA members do not vote to accept the offer, they can organize to strike.

“The Board of Education’s priority is to swiftly come to an agreement so our educators can receive their much-deserved wage increase. The Board hopes that a mediator’s transparent review of the wage proposal will bring our negotiations to a timely and positive resolution,” said a GUSD spokesperson.

The last, best and final offer included a total compensation increase of 4% and GTA’s counter of an increase of 9%.