Molly Gallagher McNeal, a two-decade-long Dixon Unified School District teacher, tells officials how "sad" she is that she is undervalued at the district.

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Failed labor negotiations leave Dixon Unified School District teachers distraught.

That is the only way to put it after the last regularly-scheduled board meeting on April 18, when Dixon Teachers Association (DTA) Co-Vice President Melanie Sadorra made her statement from the podium.

"Unfortunately, despite DTA's efforts and commitment, there has been no update since the last board meeting," Sadorra said. "We have gotten no response regarding what we proposed on March 27, so it should not be surprising that Dixon is the only school district in Solano County that has not settled (negotiations) for the 2023-24 school year."

Dixon Teachers Association Co-President Melanie Sadorra tells school board officials her disappointment in failed labor negotiations.

Dixon Teachers Association “did their homework and presented labor negotiation proposals,” Sadorra said, that were "fiscally sound and not outrageous."

"State money is intended for students and educators, and it should be spent on teachers for students, not on consultants, services or materials and supplies that have little impact on student achievement," Sadorra said.

After Sadorra's speech brought a room full of applause, Board President Juan Cuevas asked Superintendent Brian Dolan if he wanted to respond, breaking standard protocol to do so. Dolan said that while officials "typically do not do a lot of responding" to Dixon Teachers Association reports, he would. 

Superintendent Brian Dolan explains to the public audience that a special meeting would be held April 24 to work out failed labor negotiations.

"So we did, in fact, cancel negotiations yesterday; we weren't fully prepared," Dolan said, noting they would meet for an executive session on April 22. "That gives us more time."

Before the present teachers spoke at the podium, Cuevas read two public comments via email from two Dixon teachers, beginning with Public Service Academy and Dixon High English teacher Julie Lattig, who wrote she works "more hours and makes less money."

"My students ask me, 'Miss Lattig, will you be here next year?' And while my mouth says that is the plan, my heart aches in my chest because while I want so desperately to stay here, it is getting harder and harder to justify doing so," Lattig wrote.

Jennifer Moody, Dixon High School paraprofessional, says officials are failing students by not settling labor negotiations with teachers who are already underpaid.

Cuevas noted that the next email came from his Dixon High School English teacher, Lisa Krebs, who wrote that while she "never gives up on Dixon, it feels like Dixon is giving up on me."

"It is getting harder and harder to provide for my family on my salary," Krebs wrote. "Even as a 31-year-veteran teacher with a master's, who teaches 120% percent every chance she gets."

Krebs's email became more personal as she opened up about students being like family, whom she trusts to babysit and wash the family car. 

"I have gone to court to help students stay in this country and wrote hundreds of recommendation letters on my own time to help Dixon students get scholarships and jobs," Krebs wrote.

Tremont Elementary School teacher Molly Gallagher McNeal told the audience she would likely get emotional when speaking due to her deep "Dixonite" history, with generations in her family graduating from the district. Gallagher McNeal said she started her teaching career in Vacaville 25 years ago but left because "Dixon was the place to work."

"It was a strong district that made its employees feel valued and respected…When I got the offer, I jumped at it," Gallagher McNeal said, noting that 21 years later, it's not the same. "Tonight, I stand before you sad."

Gallagher McNeal said that, like her peers, she also considers leaving Dixon and returning to work in Vacaville or a neighboring district.  Nick Santini stood at the podium on behalf of his wife, who he said teaches at the district, telling officials, "You have to do better" because "teachers don't feel valued."

After Santini said the financial offer put on the table for the teachers was a "slap in the face," Dixon High School teacher Nick Stidham got up to speak, saying he had not planned to do so until feeling compelled.

As far as the "state of negotiations," Stidham, a 17-year multimedia teacher and the department chair for Visual and Performing Arts told officials that in his nearly two-decade career, he could have left Dixon for better pay but chose to remain with the "incredible" students and his colleagues.

"I do question more and more if teachers like me, who you have heard about, are wondering if it is really worthwhile to be committed long term here if we are not going to be fully supported from a financial standpoint by our district and our community," Stidham said, to even louder applause than his peers.

Jennifer Moody, paraprofessional at Dixon High School, said she can make up to three dollars more an hour "20 minutes of the road," it is not the pay she is most concerned about.

"Our students deserve every opportunity and they deserve every ounce of respect, and where that starts is our teachers and staff, and we can't even do that," Moody said.         

District Official Shawntel McCammon said school representatives met with the Service Employees International Union on April 22, and with Dixon Teachers Association officials on April 24, as Superintendent Dolan promised.

"Negotiations are ongoing, and meetings will continue to be held," McCammon said. "There have been no actions or decisions have been made at this time."

However, Dixon Teachers Association Co-President Sadorra said, "The school year is nearing its end and a new superintendent is coming in, which narrows the timeline to settle.

"Leaving these negotiations unsettled is not in anyone's best interest," Sadorra said.