The more than 300 members of Rohnert Park Cotati Educators Association (RPCEA) will be on strike tomorrow morning, absent a last-minute agreement that invests in the recruitment and retention of the quality teachers that their students deserve.

Months of negotiations didn’t convince Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified Schools District (CRPUSD) management and school board to invest in their students and the educators who support and nurture them, nor has a March 3 state-appointed fact-finder’s report that sided with RPCEA. The independent fact-finder recommended a three-year contract with an approximately 14.6-percent on-schedule pay increase.

Despite the neutral party’s recommendation, CRPUSD continues to propose off-schedule “bonuses,” shortchanging educators at the expense of Cotati-Rohnert Park students and families.

“Our elected school board trustees and the superintendent have created a crisis in our schools with unacceptable wages that prevent us from recruiting and retaining the best educators for our students,” RPCEA President Denise Tranfaglia said on Monday.

Cotati-Rohnert Park educators are paid about 20 percent less than the state average.

The Cotati-Rohnert Park community is rallying around its educators, with parents and students joining RPCEA rallies for the schools they deserve.

“What they’re asking for isn’t unreasonable,” parent Renee Olsen told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “They deserve a fair, living wage.”

Stay current on the situation by following RPCEA on Facebook and Instagram. Updates and information, including the fact-finding report, are also available at RPCEA’s Linktree. A GoFundMe has also been set up to help support striking Rohnert Park Cotati educators.

Click here to donate to a GoFundMe set up to help striking Rohnert Park Cotati educators.