Public Comment

Three crucial measures on the March 3 Primary ballot—E, G and H—will maintain Berkeley’s high quality education. But the measure that will do most to change conditions in Berkeley Schools is Measure E. For the past decade, since the financial crisis—because Berkeley does not receive as much revenue from the state as neighboring districts—teachers have received only minimal raises that have not kept pace with neighboring districts. With these districts passing parcel taxes that can be used to raise teachers’ salaries, Berkeley’s compensation has slipped to near the bottom compared to other Alameda County schools. In a competitive market for highly qualified educators, Berkeley’s relatively low salaries are making it difficult to recruit and retain their talented teachers, destabilizing schools and hurting students. 

If passed, Measure E would not only maintain Berkeley’s student achievement at high levels, it would represent a step forward for equal pay for women. At Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) women make up the overwhelming majority of teaching staff as they do in public schools across the nation. According to the National Center for educational statistics, the percentage of female public school teachers increased from 75 percent in 1999–2000 to 77 percent in 2015–16. At the elementary level, where pay was still lower, even higher percentages were female. 

The fastest way to achieve equal pay is to raise wages in female-dominated workforce sectors. In the United States, public school teachers are part of an undervalued, underpaid workforce that is predominantly female. Other professions dominated by women include domestic workers, homecare workers, nannies and nurses. These sectors define an indispensable “Can’t Without Us” (No Se Puede Sin Nosotras) movement, since strikes by any of these sectors can shut down significant portions of the society. 

Studies by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) demonstrate that jobs predominantly held by women pay less on average than jobs predominantly held by men. In Alameda County where Berkeley is situated, women make on average 78 cents to every dollar their male counterparts earn, slightly lower than the nationwide average of 79 cents to the dollar in 2019 (NBC.) EdBuild determined that the average cost-adjusted starting teacher salary was at best $10,000 lower than the average starting salary for college graduates that include men. Measure E will boost educator pay 7% after years of little or no raises. Combined with the nationwide movement to bring dignity to the profession in Districts like Oakland, Los Angeles, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Washington, Denver and West Virginia, Measure E would contribute to improving working conditions and reducing the gender equity gap. In this way, one can think of Measure E as the measure for Equal pay for Equal work for women.  

If Berkeley’s Measures E doesn’t pass by the two thirds required of new taxes, teachers will have to sit back down at the negotiating table. Today, a starting salary teacher can only afford to spend $1246 a month on housing. This is a few dollars short of what is needed to rent in Modesto, California. The most optimistic commute from Modesto to Berkeley is 90 miles. It is common for teachers to commute to BUSD from Vallejo, Pinole and Hayward. And at least one elementary education teacher will be commuting from Sacramento by train next year to reduce her rent. Long commutes force teachers to leave much earlier to avoid traffic instead of interfacing with the community. They also can’t participate in special school activities, vital committees and meetings. 

It’s not surprising that BUSD saw significant attrition of teachers at the end of the 2018-19 school year and was not able to staff all of its positions this year and last year according to school officials. One Spanish immersion teacher is considering an early retirement to join family in Mexico where her dollars will stretch farther. Other teachers have left to teach in neighboring districts with higher pay. Unfortunately, lower pay has impacted the substitute pool as well, with middle and high school staff having to fill short-term emergency assignments themselves by taking on extra students or periods. At the elementary level, unfilled substitute jobs routinely compel principals to divide students among three or four unlucky teachers.  

Besides the fact that Measure E only taxes home owners and provides an exemption for very low income owners, the benefits of similar parcel tax measures in Berkeley have outweighed taxpayer cost. These include less crime and lower insurance premiums. An unintended benefit of school parcel taxes like E has been soaring property values.  

“One of the reasons the city of Berkeley has such high values relative to Oakland is because of the perceived quality and reputation of the schools,” says Teresa Clarke, Berkeley Zoning Commissioner.  

Property values for similar houses just blocks from one another, separated only by the Oakland-Berkeley border demonstrate this phenomenon quite vividly. According to Zillow, a four bedroom three bathroom house with 2,812 square feet at 3057 Hillegass in Berkeley is worth $2,800,000 A larger (3200 square feet,) more desirable four bedroom, four bathroom house just around the corner, in a quieter part of the same block at 6468 Benvenue is worth $2,240,758 or $559,000 less because it is situated in Oakland. The median list price per square foot in Berkeley is $724, which is higher than the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Metro average of $500. That’s $224 dollars more per square foot. That’s quite a return indeed on just the 12.4 cent per square foot measure E will cost. Ironically, the Berkeley educators partially responsible for this bonanza have been punished financially by such growth, rather than rewarded. Passing Measure E will make it more likely that they can live nearer to the schools where they teach. A “No” vote might decrease property values by devaluing schools in the long, run but not nearly enough for teachers to return.  

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this Women’s Day, March 8—5 days after the primary—Berkeley educators were able to celebrate a huge step toward gender pay equity, knowing they are valued by their community? Regarding voting “yes” on all the three measures, Rosa Parks PTA volunteer Stacey Lewis puts it plainly: “Berkeley just can’t afford not to.”