On April 11, the Santa Barbara community saw its teachers out in force to ask the Santa Barbara Unified School Board to do the right thing for students. Make no mistake: We were out in the street because the district bargaining team and Superintendent Hilda Maldonado are not listening when we ask for reasonable changes that will benefit Santa Barbara students.
When we asked to make our class size limits permanent, the district said no. Ultimately, we agreed to a temporary continuation for 2023-2024 because it was the best we could get for our students, but our students deserve more.
When we asked for hard caps for Special Education caseloads, to ensure that our most vulnerable students get the support they need, the district said no. The district said they need the flexibility to place even more high-needs students in our classrooms when they see fit.