Teachers urge board to settle contract, cite lost prep time and recruitment concerns

Several Cloverdale Unified teachers used the public-comment period to press the board to help end protracted contract negotiations and to address how lost prep time harms instruction.

“Not having a settled contract … feels like we aren’t being valued and that we aren’t being respected,” Mary Beth Kelly told trustees, urging them to enable the superintendent to complete a fair agreement before the next school year. Kelly said a settled contract improves recruitment and retention and stabilizes learning conditions for students.

Laura Shago, a sixth-grade teacher, asked the board to reconsider the district’s second set of parent-teacher conference half-days, arguing the additional half days disrupt sequenced instruction and suggested one conference period scheduled later to build relationships before conferences. “A second set of conferences is in my opinion a huge waste of educational time,” Shago said.

Several speakers described prep-time losses tied to IEP and 504 meetings. “Some teachers are pulled during their prep time to go to IEPs … It’s not equitable,” said Leanne Henry, who proposed compensation for teachers who regularly lose prep minutes. Anna Ramirez and Laura Wear added that repeated disruptions to prep time reduce teachers’ ability to plan, grade and sustain continuity—especially in special education—and that staff churn harms students.

Satie Demarda described the concrete impact on CTE and hands-on classes: lost prep minutes make it difficult to gather supplies or set up projects, affecting student learning in vocational courses.

Trustees did not take action during public comment. Several board members acknowledged the concerns and noted negotiations are ongoing; staff and negotiators remain involved in bargaining discussions. The superintendent’s team will continue contract talks and budget planning tied to a projected 2.87% cost-of-living adjustment for state funding.

The board did not set a public timeline for settlement during the meeting; trustees encouraged continued dialogue and noted the topic will recur as part of routine labor negotiations and budget planning.