Talks are on hold for the moment, and there is still no agreement between the Culver City Unified School District and the Teachers and Classified Employees Unions over the proposed calendars for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 school years.
The calendar negotiations typically include the length of the school year, what holidays will be taken, and the amount of time must be dedicated to required professional development. Currently, CCUSD offers professional development days in August and January in addition to ten Wednesday afternoons through the school year. That the district is looking to add three “pupil free” professional development days to each school year calendar, increasing the work year for staff from 184 to 187 days, is a chafing point for the unions.
The Culver City Federation of Teachers posted on social media on April 13, 2023, that “We are disappointed to report that certificated and classified employees are at an impasse on the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 calendars.”
The CCFT states that “The district would not even offer staff their normal pay rate for these days, instead offering the lowest level of compensation possible…Adding three pupil free days to the calendar also puts a strain on staff and community members to find child care on those days.” In addition, the CCFT notes the results of a recent internal survey, saying that “… a majority of employees felt that their workloads were already untenable and that the current professional development offered by CCUSD is ineffective and not relevant.”