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The Dublin Teachers Association has authorized a strike, barring the settlement of a “student-centered agreement” with Dublin Unified School District negotiators, union representatives announced last week.
Endorsed by over 95% of DTA members, the union’s vote follows on the heels of an unsuccessful state-mandated mediation Jan. 6 amid a months-long impasse in labor negotiations over workday, salary, fringe benefits, grievances, class size, technology, assignment and transfer, leaves and job share assignments.
Meanwhile, DUSD must cut its budget by approximately $6.8 million for the 2026-27 school year, an issue the Board of Trustees unanimously voted Jan. 27 to mitigate with approximately $6.6 million in ongoing budget reductions.
Cuts affecting the unrestricted general fund — the pocket from which expenses must be reduced — include approximately $3.86 million sourced from the district office and $2.773 million from school sites. Of the double-digit cuts to full-time equivalent positions that impact the unrestricted general fund, school sites face a total reduction of 18.5 FTE ($2.296 million) while the district office faces a net reduction of 8 FTE ($1.539 million).
DUSD is also poised to dissolve the district’s continuation campus, Valley High School; reduce spending on professional development, conferences and other non-essentials; adjust deferred maintenance contributions and pause technology refreshes.
According to DTA President Brad Dobrzenski, Dublin educators have suggested budgetary solutions to district leadership for over 18 months to no avail.
“This strike authorization vote shows that our educators are united and serious about demanding that management invest in Dublin students,” Dobrzenski said in a statement.
“We sincerely hope to avoid a strike, which would be disruptive to students and families and cause lasting financial harm to our schools,” DUSD Superintendent Chris Funk responded in a subsequent statement. “The district will continue to engage in the state-mandated impasse process in good faith, with the goal of reaching a fair, responsible, and sustainable agreement that protects classrooms and student learning.”
Spurring the budget cuts are a lower cost-of-living adjustment from the state for 2026–27, a budgeting error of approximately $3.6 million, rising costs of staffing, one-time expenditures to close out the district’s solar project and costs related to placing a parcel tax measure on the June 2026 ballot, Funk wrote in a Jan. 27 meeting memo.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom released his proposed 2026-27 state budget Jan. 9 with a 2.41% COLA forecast — a 0.25 percentage point increase over the value district staff used for its reduction recommendation — the updated value is expected to have “no significant impact to DUSD”, according to a slideshow prepared for the board.
As a result of the budgetary issues, DUSD is facing its third consecutive year of multi-million dollar reductions, meaning DUSD is limited in its ability to take on large increases to its ongoing costs, he said. Nearby districts are experiencing similar issues, he added.
“The parties remain far apart,” according to Funk, who said the union’s proposal has remained unchanged since its initial submission and would increase the district’s ongoing costs by approximately 14%.
“That level of increase is not fiscally possible without even deeper and more damaging cuts to programs and services for students,” Funk added.
According to union officials, district management has failed to reprioritize the budget to address student needs such as smaller class sizes and student supports.
During the Jan. 27 meeting, union leaders proposed methods of addressing the expected budgetary shortfall such as updating the district’s enrollment data and revenue projections, ensuring grants are included in revenue projections, cutting spending on consulting and contractors, implementing management-only furlough days and considering early retirement incentive plans.
Additionally, commenters spelled out grave consequences they expect as a result of the reductions proposed by district officials. They also urged the board to consider the union’s direction.
“It is becoming a pay-to-play school district,” Dublin High School teacher Catie Tombs said during the meeting. “The parents and families that have the financial ability to pay for external classes and supports and tutors and summer learning, they will be advancing, while other low income students and families will be left behind.”
Several teachers during the comment period also attested to the importance of education specialists and Valley High School, as both were on the list of suggested reductions.
“Many of our students arrive disconnected, cynical, with a lack of engagement and sometimes unhealthy coping skills,” said Valley High teacher Deborah Silverberg-Lopez. “What we do at Valley is provide the space and the connection for students to finally begin to reengage in their own lives and make significant changes for their future.”
Following public comment, Board President Kristin Speck defended the majority of the proposed reductions.
“None of us up here want to make these cuts and I recognize that some people believe that we don’t need to, but I believe that we do, unfortunately,” Speck said.
During the board’s discussion, Trustee Gabi Blackman and Vice President Carolina Martinez agreed that Valley High School should be restored first if additional funding becomes available.
Speck later expressed concern and uncertainty on how Valley High students will be affected as well as the district’s upcoming lack of a communications department, but funding was ultimately not restored to either.
As for discontinuing the summer credit recovery program, Speck said the alternative suggestion of offering credit recovery during the regular school year would likely prove unsuccessful.
“For some students that might work, but I believe for a lot of them — if they couldn’t manage the six classes they were in and they failed one of them — to add another the next semester is probably not going to work for them,” Speck explained.
Saving previously associated with axing the summer credit recovery program ($200,000) can be made up without impacting staff, Funk said.
Following the board’s vote to approve the cuts, sans the summer credit recovery program, the board passed resolutions for the reduction of certificated and classified positions.
Notices of potential layoffs are due by March 15. Employees may be recouped ahead of definitive lay-off notices due before May 15.
As for union and district negotiations, the final step in the process is a state-mandated impasse hearing set to be scheduled in the coming weeks, according to DTA officials.
If a settlement is not reached during the process, a panel leader will issue a non-binding recommendation for consideration by the union and district negotiators. Following their considerations, DTA has the legal right to strike.
