BURLINGAME – The following statement is issued by E. Toby Boyd, kindergarten teacher and California Teachers Association (CTA) president, who is on the picket line in Rohnert Park Cotati along with the CTA Board of Directors representing members from all over California:

“On behalf of the 310,000-member California Teachers Association, we are proud to walk the picket line in solidarity with the more than 300 educators of Rohnert Park Cotati. It is not an easy decision to go on strike, and when educators do it’s because they know their students deserve better than what the school district is willing to do. For four days now since the strike began, parents and students are out here in support of the Rohnert Park-Cotati Educators Association (RPCEA) who believe their students deserve to have teachers who live in the community they teach. Most of the educators here cannot afford to live in this area in large part because they are some of the lowest paid in the area. It’s so unfortunate that the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District (CRPUSD) management and school board continues to ignore the state-appointed fact-finder’s report, which prioritizes the current teaching and learning conditions of Cotati-Rohnert Park students. Educators would rather be in the classroom teaching their students, and together we are calling for CRPUSD to do right by their students and settle with RPCEA now so educators can go back to their students.”

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The 310,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3 million-member National Education Association.