Lucia Mar Unified School District (LMUSD) teachers gathered on March 17 at 5:15 p.m. outside of the district office to rally for a fair contract that the district is currently opposing.
According to the Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association (LMUTA), President Cody King, a Nipomo High School physical education teacher, teachers in the district have been working without a contract since the beginning of July 2025. While the union has proposed a 6% increase, which LMUTA believes is reasonable given the district’s budget, teachers have stopped meeting with the district. They entered mediation in January after the district continued to propose a 1.35% increase.
While the district claims to be deficit spending, King says that the $5 million surplus each year in the district’s budget has caused the
reserves to reach $45 million– money King says the district should be investing in teachers and classrooms.
Jason Stoddard, a teacher at Central Coast New Tech High who attended the rally, said that teachers deserve to live in the area in which they work, and that the district has failed to meet a fair wage that would make that possible.
“Hopefully, [the district] can see that they have some of the best teachers in the area,” Stoddard said. “We just want a fair contract.”
During public comment on closed-session agenda items, three LMUSD teachers spoke in favor of a fair contract and criticized certain proposals or actions by the district.
Grover Heights Elementary Teacher Elaine Bozanich called out the district’s proposed reduction of preparation time for TK-through-third-grade teachers.
“It is time for the district to recognize the burden of our workload and the value of our contributions,” Bozanich said.
Judkins Middle School Math Teacher Christine Pierce criticized the difference between the budget numbers used by the district and the actual budget.
“Our district keeps getting further and further from accurate,” Pierce said.
Nipomo High School English Teacher Jon McConnell acknowledged that the district should keep money in its reserves, but that too much is dangerous to retaining teachers.
Board Member Mike Fuller said that board members were advised not to speak on pending matters, which could be met with litigation.
“[The board] is not really supposed to comment on [negotiations],” Fuller said.
