KTLA News: "Financial crisis and teachers strike in Compton Unified School District" (1973)

[Unidentified man in audience talking] ...what I consider tremendous job. So as you negotiate.... [Superintendent Curtis Kennedy] ...clearly and we ask for that union vote. [Kennedy] Representative to speak... [Thomas Brown, CTA Union Representative] ...meeting be held at a neutral place. Number two... that the representatives of the board be able to talk money. We understand that's now been met. That they have the report and will have in hand. Number three... has not yet been met and that is that we want to know that before our negotiators go to the table that whoever the board sends to the table, which is the board's business, that that person have the authority to represent the board. [Kennedy] The official representative for the Board of Education has been appointed. The responsibility of Mr. Bob Boy. [Silence]. [Room noise]. [Kennedy] Uhm...Is there...uh...did they respond...uh... [Unidentified woman at podium talking]. It's... no. I, I...they are concerned...the seniors are concerned if they get their diploma for going along with the administrators will they be able to go to college if they don't have classes? [Room noise]. [Kennedy] One of our top priorities...one of out top priorities... is that the senior students will be given the proper courses. [Room noise]. [Delores Lara] My name is Mrs. Lara. I live at 22...three years. Now I have children on four schools- Dominguez, Roosevelt, Kennedy and Emerson. And I want to know why do you still have those schools open and those...uh...cafeteria workers working in there making all that food for nothing, going down the drain with our money... ...and my boards up there. Some classes have no heating in there. Tony has to be reading and writing in that class with our coats on and you have got no money? Now I live in a frame house and my house is it must be frame and coming down but I still have food for my children and clothing and I want to know about the school's. I'm paying for those schools too, you know. [Audience clapping]. [Kennedy] That is very true. [Audience clapping]. [Kennedy] The first responsibility... [Audience clapping]. [Kennedy] ...of the Board of Education is to have the opportunity and the accessibility available for children in this district to be educated. That is our first responsibility. That is keeping the school doors open. You have as a parent the responsibility or trying to get your child into the classroom. [Lara] No! I will not send my children to school. Not for baby sitting there. I could...they could do that themselves. [Audience clapping and cheering]. [Kennedy] Okay. [Audience clapping and cheering]. [Kennedy] Let's... [Room noise]. [Kennedy] Uh...state your name again, please? [Lara] Delores Lara. [Kennedy] Mrs. Lara...hopefully that the very question that you have raised as soon as we can get to the negotiating table that all of this will be passe. Gone(?) over. And this is why we are here now. So as long as that we going through a dialogue the majority of the children are being denied the educated process. So let me thank you and let us move on with business. Please. [Lara] Thank you. [Kennedy] ...and goes along normally. No problems. No anything beyond the regular discourse of business...then that's what we would have. [Room noise]. [Kennedy] ...on that very fact. [Room noise]. [School Board Member #2] Meanwhile we uh... [Kennedy] One o'clock today. The longer that we ask questions the harder it's going to be to start negotiating but I want to hear what you have to say. [Crowd noise]. [School Board Member #2] Thank you. I take my minute. [Kennedy] Thank you, Reverend Grey (?). The one lady who was standing in line, hopefully that will be the end of the questions, and we want to hear you. State your name and address, please. [Shirley Wilkin] I just have one question. My name is Shirley Wilkin. I live at 16336 Visalia. My question is...my question is since we don't come to supposedly from your statements without the funds what about state funds? [Kennedy] Ms. Walton, to answer your question quickly is this: is that the state has already has appropriated the money, which is a part of the budget, and which is reflected in the $900,000. So school monies is uh...based upon what the tax...local people pay plus what the state gives, gives you your total budget. And once the budget has been adopted there's no option(?) that we can do. Now, the only way that we would need to go to the state is that we would get wiped out of the $900,000 that's left and we would then become a bankrupt school district. Then it would be incumbent... [People in the audience talking over Kennedy]. ...then it would be incumbent upon on the board then to go to the Board of Supervisors and make a formal request to the state to borrow additional money. But, you know, that when you borrow money you also face the obligation of paying it back. So this is where we are. [Room noise]. [Mr. Smith] I want to impress upon this board that we have classified employees in this district too. [Audience clapping]. That are doing...unbalanced (?)... You're keeping the schools open but I can assure you that some of the services that's performed by the classified employees, some of these sophisticated people in this district would not perform these duties. So let's keep it in a proper perspective. Thank you. [Kennedy] Uh...Mr. Smith you are absolutely correct and we are most appreciative of those persons classified as well as others that are have stayed on the job. [Kennedy] You're out of order! [Audience yelling]. [Gavel banging on table]. [Kennedy] I ask you once and the last time...your out of order and will you please be seated. [Thomas Brown, CTA Union Representative] I will be seated in one second. [Audience yelling]. [Brown] I do not want... the teachers have asked me to make certain that the negotiations are not sandbagged. [Kennedy] The board has said that the negotiations have now...the speakers have now... [Audience yelling]. [Brown] The teachers... [Audience yelling]. [Kennedy talking over audience] We will not allow any decision... ...by this board this morning. This is a community and that's it. [Brown] I've waited until every community person spoke. I've waited until every community person spoke. [Kennedy] Will you please... [Brown] And I'm asking for special privilege. [Audience yelling]. [Brown] I know it. [Audience yelling]. [Gavel banging on table]. [Kennedy] Let me have order. [Audience yelling]. [Kennedy] We will either have order or we will adjourn the meeting. [Audience yelling]. [Kennedy] Will you sit down please and be orderly? [Kennedy talking over gavel banging on table]. Please. [Room noise]. [Kennedy] We will have ...we'll have, we'll have...we hear from Mr. Borat (?), an administrator. [Audience yelling]. [Kennedy] Will you please... [Audience yelling]. [Mr. Borat (?) and Brown talking to one another, audience yelling] [Mr. Borat (?)]...otherwise I'm afraid there may not be negotiations. Better be clear about that. [Woman approaching podium] I am a teacher. I am a teacher. You represent us. [Mr. Borat (?)] Ladies and gentlemen.... [Room noise]. [Brown] Yes, sir. My name is Thomas Brown. I'm from the California Teachers Association. I am here at the request of one of our chapters- The Compton Education Association. The California Teachers Association will remain assisting the teachers in Compton as long as it takes. The staff from the National Education Association will remain as long as it takes. The reason I asked to speak, and if you recall, I waited until every citizen and every person here had already gotten ahead. I do not want to take a chance of stopping anyone else from being able to speak but I also do not want to take a chance of letting negotiations this afternoon get sandbagged as they were Monday afternoon. [Audience clapping]. The board knows very well that before negotiations may start there must be three conditions and those are not conditions that are some acquiesced at the table, they're essential to get to the table. Number one...and we understand that we have agreement on this that there has been no equivocation on this one. We do not want to go... [Kennedy] Requisite that you have pronounced has been met. Negotiator on behalf of the board. He has this authority.