May 6, 2019

Oakland Unified committed to fixing fiscal problems, but state must also step up

As district recovers after strike, superintendent calls on state to provide more funding.

Kyla Johnson-Trammell

May 6, 2019

School districts must do more to manage costs of health benefits

When districts spend more money on health benefits, there’s less money for other priorities, like teacher salaries, researcher says.

Paul Bruno

May 3, 2019

First on new California state superintendent’s long agenda: getting more men of color in the classroom

Tony Thurmond is creating work groups to focus on critical education issues while building a relationship with Gavin Newsom and building confidence in a state education department that’s been understaffed and underfunded.

John Fensterwald

May 2, 2019

Should California teachers who get seriously ill have to pay for their own subs?

Under the California Education Code, teachers on extended medical leave pay for the substitutes replacing them. The cost is deducted from their paychecks.

Julia McEvoy, KQED

May 1, 2019

Wage gap between teachers and other college graduates exacerbates teacher shortages

Average wages of California teachers lag other college graduates by 16.2 percent.

Louis Freedberg

April 24, 2019

Oakland Unified may need $2 million more in budget cuts to give other employees same raise as teachers

Alameda County Office of Education analysis of district’s budget reveals shortfall if all unions get the same level salary increase as teachers.

Theresa Harrington

April 17, 2019

California lags behind other states in quality and access to state-funded preschool

California was ranked 14th in access to preschool for 4-year-olds, behind Oklahoma, Vermont, Florida, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Georgia and South Carolina, among other states.

Zaidee Stavely

April 15, 2019

More new teachers in pipeline, but California falling short in producing fully qualified ones

About half of new teachers hired in California classrooms are not fully credentialed.

Louis Freedberg

April 11, 2019

How one district achieved a more collaborative labor-management partnership

San Jose Unified and its teachers union offer model for how to move from combat to collaboration, researcher says.

Joel Knudson

March 26, 2019

Kamala Harris's plan to boost teacher pay would cost $315 billion over 10 years

The goal would be to boost salaries of every teacher who is paid less than workers in other professions with comparable credentials and experience in their respective states.

Louis Freedberg

March 25, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris says federal government must step in to close the 'teacher pay gap'

Harris’ proposal would have Washington play a role in an area of school funding where the federal government has historically played almost none.

Louis Freedberg

March 21, 2019

New data detail soaring costs of California school pensions

Districts’ average payments to pension funds CalSTRS and CalPERS doubled to about $1,000 per student in 2017-18. But contributions varied among districts and will continue to rise for at least two more years.

John Fensterwald

March 4, 2019

Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs

Board member Jody London said the district could not give teachers the raises it agreed to in settling the recent strike without making the cuts.

Theresa Harrington

March 4, 2019

California Supreme Court stops short of allowing school districts to modify existing pensions

Supreme Court reaffirms pension reform law's elimination of one benefit but larger challenge to modify pensions of teachers and other public employees will await a future decision.

John Fensterwald

March 3, 2019

Lessons from the Los Angeles and Oakland teachers' strikes

Both strikes yielded gains for teachers, but larger structural issues, such as declining enrollments, unaffordable housing, and pension costs eroding what can be spent on children, were not addressed.

Louis Freedberg