Banning teachers to strike third day Friday

Banning Unified School District teachers are on the second day of a three-day strike today to protest extended instructional hours that union officials say come without appropriate compensation for educators after no consultation with the teachers’ union.

School district officials have brought in substitute teachers to staff district campuses through the duration of the strike, which is set to last until 7:15 a.m. Monday.

Schools will remain open and any students kept out of class will be marked absent, according to a statement from Banning Unified Superintendent Robert Guillen.

The strike comes following extensive disagreements over compensation and student resources, punctuated by a one-hour extension of instruction time at Nicolet Middle School that teachers say was not negotiated with the district.

District officials said instructional time was increased because Nicolet students were receiving an hour less instruction time than Banning High School students.

More than 70 percent of Banning Teachers Association members voted in approval of striking earlier this week, according to the union.

Guillen accused the union of disrupting student learning at the onset of the 2018-19 school year. The strike began Wednesday, the first day of school.

“To be clear, this is a conflict that the district and union have been discussing since June of last year, so for the union to wait until the last minute before school begins to declare a strike indicates that they are not interested in finding productive ways to settle disagreements,” Guillen wrote. “It saddens me to think they will hold student learning hostage to make their point.”

Guillen also said that the district is not seeking to increase instructional time at any district elementary or high school campuses.