Dublin teachers and district feeling optimistic on Day 3 of strike

DUBLIN, Calif. - As the Dublin teachers strike entered Day 3 on Wednesday, both the union and the district say they are feeling far more optimistic about reaching a deal after an unexpected bargaining session that lasted into the early morning hours.

But the breakthrough came after a school board meeting Tuesday night, where parents and community members urged the Dublin Unified School Board to make a deal with the union and end the strike. 

At 11:30 p.m., the district unexpectedly invited the union back to the bargaining table. Both sides negotiated until 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. They are returning to the table later Wednesday morning. 

Dublin Teachers Association President Brad Dobrzenski says the community showing up is what shifted the momentum.

"It's the first time the district has given us a proposal," Dobrzenski said. "It's entirely because our communities stood up and invested in our students."

The district's latest proposal includes a 2.1 percent raise, 100 percent health care coverage for educators by 2028, and some movement on the issue of class sizes. 

But Dobrzenski says class size remains the central sticking point.

"The focus is entirely on class size," he said. "Investment needs to be for our students."

The union is pushing to cap elementary school class sizes at 24 students. 

Superintendent Chris Funk says the district has little room left to cut.

"We've cut as much as we can from outside the classrooms," Funk said. "Next year will be a real challenge to avoid that. We're talking about teachers outside the classroom — that could be intervention teachers, that could be counselors, coaches, teachers on special assignments."

The union disputes that, arguing there is money the district can still cut from consultants and other administrative costs.

It is worth noting that other Bay Area school districts that recently settled teacher strikes — West Contra Costa Unified and San Francisco Unified — did secure the raises their teachers bargained for. 

But in the days and months that followed, both superintendents said job cuts, layoffs and school closures were on the table to balance their budgets.