By Mikaela STONE

Over 300 members of the Glendale Teachers Association gathered in front of the Glendale Unified School District office on Sept. 10 to demand wages that progress at the same rate as the cost of living. The 2024 U.S. News and World Report ranks the GUSD above average in academic success, with 20 elementary schools ranking best in the range between 111 and 1717 out of 5534 ranked Californian schools, four middle schools ranked between 148 and 667 out of 2319, and four high schools ranked 45, 92, 591 and 934 out of 1,652. The teacher’s union argued that competitive wages is the only way to attract quality teachers to the Glendale Unified School District.

According to the GUSD and LAUSD websites, a GUSD teacher with a bachelor’s degree must have 11 years of teaching experience to make the same amount as the lowest entry level salary of a LAUSD teacher. A GUSD teacher with a master’s degree must work for six years to surpass LAUSD’s entry level wage.

With the GUSD first level monthly teacher’s salary at $4845.85 and the rent for a one bedroom apartment in Glendale averaging $2113, as reported by Zillow, the district may face issues attracting talent as veteran teachers retire.

Even experienced teachers feel the strain of expenses. Over 10 years of teaching experience and a higher education degree have netted Crescenta Valley High School’s Susan Smith a higher salary than some of her peers, but she is still paying off the student loans that helped her get this far – while celebrating a graduated child of her own.

Beth Akiyama is a third generation GUSD teacher, inspired as much by her parents’ teaching careers as the teachers she looked up to while attending schools within the district. Like many middle school teachers, Akiyama teaches what is known as 6/5ths, in which she takes on an extra period for 20% extra pay. With this extra period, she teaches math to 196 seventh graders: a task she admits is “more than 20% more work.” She often stays late to complete all the necessary work, resulting in decreased time to answer parent emails and grade assignments. For her students to succeed, she hopes GUSD will “support teachers through pay and health insurance so teachers can pour as much as they can into students without burning out.” Akiyama noted that the teachers at the rally were not only there for themselves, but for new teachers without tenure who may fear retaliation.

Middle school English and drama teacher Janet Welsh also teaches 6/5ths – even though she is one year away from retirement. During her years teaching, she sent her own children through the GUSD school district. Welsh hopes for respect for teachers during the coming negotiations. She remembers a time when such discussions were not always so fraught.

“When the district and union worked together … there was an understanding that everyone has to live,” she said.

As special education elementary school teachers, James Godwin and Heather Hickman-Tcheng put extra effort into customizing curriculum for individual learning needs. They pointed out that the current GUSD salary had forced some of their peers to take a second job, leading to struggles with balancing time and energy.

Hickman-Tcheng said, “When [teachers] can take care of ourselves, we can take care of our kids.”