Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1480924
" S A N T A C R U Z is my home. It's empow- ering to make a difference for kids in this community," says Ann Wilson, fourth- grade teacher and bargaining chair for the 110-member Soquel Education Asso- ciation (SEA). " We want to stay in this community for these students. We orga- nize for our students." Educators in school districts across Santa Cruz County took notice in early Au g u st w h e n SE A e du c a t o r s ra ti f i e d a c ontra ct th at rai se s t ea ch er p ay in Soquel Union Elementary School District by more than 15 per- cent on-schedule along with a combined 7 percent in bonuses for 2021-2023. Their inspiring victor y only tells part of the story though: Soquel teachers were previously the lowest paid in the county, where there is a lengthy histor y of woefully underpaying educators. Compounding matters is the extremely high cost of hous- ing in Santa Cruz, with a USA Today study in 2019 ranking the Northern California beach city and surrounding area as the least affordable place for educators in the United States. e study found that expe- rienced Santa Cruz teachers made about $62,620 before taxes and that two-thirds of their salary went to rent. In 2021, a UC Santa Cruz report called Santa Cruz "the least affordable small city in the nation." "A lot of educators in this county really have a hard tim e making end s m eet," says Gordon Barratt, a middle school special education teacher and past pres- ident of SEA. These conditions are causing high turnover at schools throughout the area, as educators choose commuting through the mountains to higher-paying districts in Silicon Valley over working near home and struggling — more than 650 CTA mem- bers live in Santa Cruz County but work in neighboring Santa Clara County. In Soquel, 28 percent of teachers left the district in 2020-21 and 15 percent the year before, as the educators who stay sadly bid farewell to longtime friends and work to soften the impact to students as best they can. Solidarity Santa Cruz locals collaborate to improve conditions for educators and students — and build a movement By Julian Peeples Monterey Bay Santa Cruz County Soquel Scotts Valley Santa Cruz Bonny Doon Unity by the Sea! Pictured are educators from Soquel Education Association, Mountain Teachers Association, Scotts Valley Education Association, United PCS, San Lorenzo Valley Teachers Association, Live Oak Elementary Teachers Association and the Greater Santa Cruz Federation of Teachers. 27 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 Feature