Farmersville Teachers Association votes to strike if demands not met by district

FARMERSVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- In a vote on Tuesday, the Farmersville Teachers Association decided it will strike if Farmersville Unified School District doesn't meet requests for increased wages and better working conditions.

During a meeting on Tuesday, 80% of their members showed up and 99% voted yes on a strike.

"I want to make it really clear. We don't want to strike, we don't want a work stoppage. But at this time we feel the district is dragging their feet and at this point we have kinda been forced into this situation," says President for the Farmersville Teachers Association, Richard Dybas.

The Farmersville Teachers Association says they are ready to go on strike.

The FTA and the Farmersville Unified School District have been negotiating a new contract since September.

Teacher's are asking for better working conditions and better wages to help retain their staff.

"This is bigger for us than just money, it's about our students, our teachers, we love our students. We love our community and we just feel like if we just were competitive people would choose to stay in Farmersville," expresses Richard.

Richard says on average starting pay in Farmersville is about 9% less than comparable schools- that's about $6,000.

He believes this is why in the last seven years 117 teachers have left the district.

That's more than 70% of teachers they have in Farmersville.

"When our teachers are leaving that is impacting our students directly and so this isn't just a salary things it's not just a working conditions things its a community thing and i feel like if we don't stand up if we don't make things right our students are gonna be the ones who get hurt in the end," explains Richard.

Action news reached out to the school board, but they did not want to comment until the last phase of negotiations on Monday.

In a statement Farmersville Unified School District says they have encountered fiscal challenges because pandemic funding is running out.

They have also seen a decline in enrollment and say the state budget shortfall is making it difficult to help meet financial needs.

FUSD and FTA do agree that it's all about their students.

Both sides say they don't want to strike but they have to be prepared regardless.

If any community member would like their voices heard, they can give a public comment at the upcoming board meeting.

That is next Tuesday at the Farmersville Unified District Office.

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