Arcadia teachers picketed the open house at Arcadia High School to protest the 1978-79 raise offered by the Arcadia Board of Education. The teachers claim they received a 3.5% salary adjustment (vs. the average San Gabriel Valley increase of 5.5%) while the Board claims a 5% increase retroactive to December 1, 1978.
The Board of Education of the Arcadia Unified School District has approved a one year contract with the teachers union that includes a 5 percent pay raise.
The local chapter of the California School Employees Association has made an initial proposal to the Arcadia Board of Education. The CSEA chapter is requesting a 21.5% raise in salaries.
Teachers are looking for an effective way to show the School Board just how unhappy they are over their failure to support an override election which might have funded a 15.4% pay raise.
A summary of the first full contract between teachers through their union ATA and the Arcadia Unified School District since the Rodda Act became law in 1975.
The preliminary 1978-79 Arcadia School District budget has been approved. Public hearings will be held in September prior to the passage of the final budget.
The Arcadia Teachers' Association and the Arcadia School Board have tentatively agreed to resolve unfair labor practices complaints following an informal hearing at the Los Angeles office of the Public Employees Relations Board.
There will be no summer school in the Arcadia Unified School District due to the passage of Proposition 13 limiting property taxes to 1 percent of the assessed valuation.
The California Teachers Association has filed charges with the Public Employees Relations Board against 16 area schools including Monrovia, Arcadia and Duarte. The charges relate to actions taken as a result of Proposition 13.
The Arcadia Board of Education will ratify a contract with the Arcadia Teachers Association. Still to be settled are contracts with classified employees and with the Arcadia Pupil Support Services Association.
Arcadia police and firefighters have voted to defer a portion of their salaries and health benefits to help close the city's budget shortfall. In total, employee pay and benefit deferments will free up about $300,000. The city is trying to close a $600,000 deficit this fiscal year in its $48 million general fund budget.
Some teachers began picketing in front of the district offices. At issue were charges of stalling on negotiations and the 1% increase offer by the School Board which the teachers called "an insult." Superintendent Ed Ryan said that if the two unions had been able to get together on their demands the problem might have been resolved by now.
A $218 million school bond measure will go to voters in November, 2006. The Arcadia Board of Education voted to approve it for the ballot. The money will go to improvements and new facilities at all Arcadia schools.
Luanne Cayer (photo) retires from Arcadia Unified School District after 34 years. She started as a bus driver in 1967. Her last job was Director of Maintenance, Operations and Transportation.
Arcadia mail-in voters reject proposal for new lighting assessment districts. Under the proposal, the single-family homes on well-lit streets would pay up for $24 a year. Those with "sporadic" lighting would pay up to $10.12 a year, while homes on streets without lights would pay nothing. The current lighting assessment districts expire in 2010. Out of 14,600 ballots sent out, about 1/3 were returned. The proposal failed by 70 votes. 2,457 ballots voted yes and 2,530 voted no.
Local city governments in the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier are realizing the future costs of pensions and retirement benefits for their employees. The costs will be enormous and city governments need to save money for their future obligations. Arcadia's retiree medical cost is $375,062 this year and its unfunded health liabilities for current employees and retirees is $10.3 million. Unfunded health liability is the amount that would be needed to pay for all health obligations to current employees if they were to retire today, and for all retirees. Other cities' obligations are shown in a chart.