WOODLAND HILLS (CNS) - Teachers at El Camino Real Charter High School are meeting at noon Monday to vote on a contract offer made by the school's board of directors in an effort to end a week-long strike.

Negotiators for the teachers and the school's board of directors met Sunday as the sides looked to pound out an elusive new labor agreement.

There were two sessions Saturday, United Teachers Los Angeles spokeswoman Scarlett Ying told City News Service. The first meeting was scheduled at 8 a.m., but quickly broke down. The two sides agreed to meet later in the day. It was a more productive session and both sides decided to meet again Sunday.

Teachers at the prestigious Woodland Hills school went on strike at 8 a.m. Feb. 10. According to a UTLA representative, teachers have been working without a contract since July, and two mediation sessions have failed to produce a new deal.

Union leaders say the school is not abiding by an agreement between the school and the teachers that has been in place since 2011, guaranteeing that teachers disconnect from the Los Angeles Unified School District in exchange for salaries 6% above the district pay.

School officials have offered the teachers a 15% raise.

"No other school in the United States has offered a 15% raise, which by the way is 5.5% more than the second-largest school district here in the United States, which is the Los Angeles Unified School District," said Brad Wright, chair of the school's board of directors.

"The problem we have is that they would like to have 21%, and if we did that -- which I would love to be able to give it to them, the board would love to be able to give this to them -- if we did that, we're an independent charter, which means that we would go in the red and we would be revoked, which means the charter would then fall back to the hands of the Los Angeles Unified School District," he added.

It was revealed at a board of directors meeting in December that school administrators received a 15% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2024. That was followed by a vote of 5-1 in January to cut 44 credentialed positions, including five counselors, five English teachers, one school psychologist and nine SPED teacher, according to the union.

The cuts were made because of declining enrollment, according to the board of directors for the school. Enrollment dropped to 2,937 students in 2024- 25, down from 3,171 in the 2023-24 school year.

"A strong contract isn't just for educators; it's a commitment to students and their futures," UTLA chapter chair Carlos Monroy said. "The administration and board promised to prioritize their success, yet after months of inaction, they've failed to follow through. Instead of investing in the educators who make learning possible, they've let our community down and pushed our school to the brink."

"If my colleagues and I want to have a sustainable future in education, we have no choice but to fight for the contract we deserve, regardless of the threats made against our positions at El Camino," science teacher Daniel Zatarain, vice chair of the UTLA ECR bargaining team, said in a statement. "We show up every day to ensure our students get the education they need. It's disgraceful that ECR's administration is driving contract negotiations to a breaking point, instead of valuing the educators who make this school run."

On Feb. 10, the school released a statement calling the proposed 15% salary increase for the 2024-25 academic year "unprecedented."

"This salary adjustment, among the highest in California and potentially the nation, reflects our unwavering support for our teachers and their invaluable contributions to student success," the school's statement said.

The school added, "With this substantial 15% salary increase, credentialed teachers at El Camino Real Charter High School will now earn between $73,067 and $126,965 annually. These figures surpass the salaries offered by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and neighboring charter schools, including Birmingham Community Charter High School, Palisades Charter High School, and Ivy Academia. In addition to competitive salaries, El Camino Real continues to offer comprehensive health benefits covering employees and their entire families at no cost, along with full benefits for retirees and their spouses/domestic partners' `Lifetime Benefits,' a benefit many other institutions have scaled back or eliminated."

Because of the strike, some classes have had no teachers or substitutes. Some students who attended school this week were marked present for the day and some spent the day in the school's auditorium.

The previous teachers contract expired on July 1, 2024.

El Camino Real Charter High School has won 10 National Academic Decathlon championships and 14 state championships, the most in the United States.

Bill Handel