The current impasse between the S.B. Unified School District and the teachers will not end well. Learning will suffer and has already suffered because damage has occurred to its ecosystem.
Teachers are not alone in their struggle to gain traction in a city difficult for most to afford. But when district officials do not make teachers a priority, they communicate that teachers are cards they can shuffle around in a con game perpetrated on the families and students in the Santa Barbara School District.
When power is abused, trust is damaged. The district controls the reins of power. If teachers strike in the fall, it is an action of last resort that will cause tangible harm to students and families. District officials can then position themselves as advocates of education and cast aspersions on striking teachers. But without trust in leadership, leaders lose valuable capital to make improvements.