Teachers, parents and community members came together at the May 24 Hollister School District Board Meeting to express their discontent with recent negotiations between the teachers’ union and the district.
Teacher Angela Robledo, who was the first to speak during public comment period, said she was displeased with the lack of teacher recognition from the board. She said her husband, former teacher and current San Benito High School board of trustees member Juan Robledo, has received various accolades from his years of teaching at the high school. She said “It’s embarrassing to have to go to the street and have to show our signs” of protest.
On May 23, protesters of all ages gathered at the intersection of Tres Pinos Road and Highway 25 to show their dissatisfaction with the lack of progress with district negotiations.
Juan Robledo also spoke. He said, “My wife has been teaching here for 30 years, 31 if you count substituting… As you make these decisions about these negotiations you need to try to respect the teachers.”
“‘Im here to support my wife, daughter, grandchildren and friends,” he said.
Barbra Penny, a teacher at Marguerite Maze Middle School, said that while there are options for her to get better pay at other schools in other counties she would rather stay in Hollister. “This is my home,” she said.
In other council news, Gary McIntire presented the Positive Discipline Committee report. The committee, which began this year, looked at the district’s suspension and expulsion data. “We decided that we wanted to have a focus group to think about how we could really address the manner in which we support teachers to manage these situations,” he said.
The committee focused on practices that support emotional behaviors of students. They developed and administered a survey for all grades to see what areas they should focus on. From there, they developed the “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” training program which they plan to take district wide.
“This is our first goal,” he said. “We have our training program in place and our funding identified.”