San Francisco teachers were basking in a deal reached Friday with the school district that will give them raises and fully funded healthcare. But before they pop Champagne, they may want to glance across the bay to see what can be lost after a big win.
A strikingly similar scene played out in December in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. The teachers there, who serve 25,000 students in Richmond and surrounding towns, walked away with raises after a four-day strike. Sound familiar?
But this week, just two months after that victory, the West Contra Costa district’s board voted unanimously for a sweeping fiscal solvency package that slashes roughly $60 million from the budget — raising questions about whether the gains educators fought for on the picket line can survive the financial reckoning…