With finals buzzing and summer around the corner, we as students have our own problems to worry about, but take a look around. Have you noticed many teachers wearing blue on certain days?  Well, that’s not a coincidence. Blue is the color of the Corona-Norco Teachers Association, and your teachers’ choice to wear blue symbolizes solidarity.  The association is advocating for a raise for CNUSD teachers, and negotiations are still ongoing. Teachers often wear blue as a visible sign of support for their union’s bargaining efforts while continuing their normal duties on campus.

Now, for clarification, the CNTA represents CNUSD-certified staff, including teachers, counselors, librarians, and other certified employees. The union’s purpose is to negotiate contracts with the district on behalf of employees, including salaries, health benefits, class sizes, workload issues, working conditions, leave policies, and other terms. CNTA serves as the legally recognized bargaining representative for certificated employees in CNUSD. 

Shifting gears to this year, CNUSD and CNTA have been engaged in ongoing contract negotiations throughout the 2025-26 school year, and although they started last year, they’re more advanced this year. Teachers and the district have publicly disagreed over salary increases, healthcare costs, and long-term District finances. Teachers pointed to their low raises as a concern. Many teachers point to recent compensation increases, including a year with no ongoing salary increase and another year with a 0.87% salary increase, arguing that these increases did not keep pace with inflation. 

The Corona-Norco Teachers Association (CNTA) has publicly proposed a 6.5% salary increase along with fully paid benefits. According to district communications, CNUSD estimates that the proposal would increase total compensation costs by more than 9%. The district has argued that such an increase would not be financially sustainable under its current long-term budget projections. Teachers who support the proposal argue that healthcare costs have risen significantly and that compensation has fallen behind neighboring districts. Many teachers argue that CNUSD was once among the highest-paying districts in the region but has fallen behind neighboring districts in compensation growth.

The district has proposed a different approach. The district is proposing a 2.15% ongoing salary increase and a 0.85% increase in benefits, totaling a 3% compensation package, compared to the 9% the Teachers Association requested. The district’s proposal also included lower class sizes for preschool and elementary classes, along with compensation tied to standards-based report cards for elementary teachers. The district has stated that larger increases could put future financial stability at risk, leaving room for legal trouble over noncompliant budgets in the years to come and increasing the risk that spending will outpace revenue growth.

Some teachers point to publicly available financial reports showing that district reserves have remained high and that year-end fund balances have sometimes exceeded earlier projections. They argue that these reports suggest the district has greater financial capacity than it acknowledges during negotiations. For example, district financial reports show that certificated salaries were approximately $12 million under budget in 2023-24 and approximately $6.5 million under budget in 2024-25. Teachers cite these figures when arguing for larger compensation increases. 

Because CNTA and CNUSD were unable to reach an agreement through regular bargaining sessions, CNUSD declared an impasse. On April 27, CNUSD requested mediation through PERB (Public Employment Relations Board), the state agency that oversees public-sector labor relations. On May 4, PERB informed both parties that negotiations had reached an impasse and assigned a neutral mediator. As mediation continues, both CNUSD and CNTA have publicly stated that they hope to reach an agreement that supports students, educators, and the district’s long-term future.

To gain a better insight into how teachers felt about the negotiations, teachers were asked two questions:

1 . Why do negotiations matter?

• A teacher who wishes to remain anonymous: Negotiations matter in terms of Union representation because when employers offer raises, the union negotiates on teachers’ behalf for even higher wages because the union exists to advocate for teachers who otherwise can’t advocate for themselves. Negotiations are essential to secure the best possible working environment for teachers teachers’ union grew significantly post World War II to advocate for Equal Pay, including pay between men and women; that’s why salary schedules were created. However, salary schedules don’t always reflect the disproportionate level of work teachers are expected to do. 
• Ms. Konunchuk (an AP History teacher): Negotiations matter because teachers are humans and people too, as a lot of families are feeling it, so our teachers, in terms of the economy, are getting together; the cost of living has risen quite a bit. We feel that we have a right to have Equitable pay and Equitable benefits; if you dive deep into things, you’ll see that administrators have much more favorable benefit packages. I don’t know the specifics, but I’ve had the number shared with me as well as District Personnel. The reality is that everyone should have equal pay and equal benefits if they’re on the CNUSD payroll; negotiations matter, any kind of Civic action matters. It’s asking to vote you vote for those who will represent you. In this case, we’re hoping that our Union leadership negotiates according to what their constituents mean; it’s also a good example to students that when you want to make a change and see improvement, you have to fight for it; you can’t just sit back and hope it happens in this case.
• Ms. Krueger (AP US History): Negotiations matter because we believe we should have a fair share of what the district is giving us in terms of pay; we believe it reflects the amount of time and effort we put into our profession. 
• A teacher who wishes to remain anonymous: Negotiations matter because teachers need to consider that, to maintain compensation that keeps pace with the cost of living, we need to make sure we’re getting cost-of-living increases, enough to live in the community where we teach. 

2. Why are teachers participating in negotiations?

• A teacher who wishes to remain anonymous: Teachers are participating because workloads are extremely high and the district’s proposal does not accommodate the cost-of-living increases people are experiencing nationwide, especially in California. 
• Ms. Konunchuk: We’re hoping that our Union leadership negotiates according to what their constituents need. 
• Ms. Krueger (AP US History): Teachers are participating because we believe we should have a fair share of what the district is giving us in terms of pay; we believe it reflects the amount of time and effort we put into our passion. 
• A teacher who wishes to remain anonymous: Teachers are participating because CNUSD has always been a destination district. Teachers come here because of the high pay and what the district represents. If pay is not competitive, the district won’t retain the best teachers. Property values are important to the community, and schools need to remain strong to support them. 

Overall, the teachers’ views seem to align with the CNTA’s, expressing the same concerns and beliefs. Although both sides disagree with financial decisions, it is still clear that both sides want what’s best for their students,  as teachers want a better environment to support their students and themselves, and the district wants what they consider reasonable terms; negotiations are still in progress, and a conclusion is yet to be reached.