Dublin Unified School District teachers hit the picket lines on Monday morning after last-minute contract negotiations fell through over the weekend. The strike comes after teachers voted overwhelmingly in February to authorize job action, following state-mandated mediation that happened in January.

Here’s the deal: Teachers are asking for a 3.5% salary increase, better health benefits, and significant class-size reductions. They want a hard cap of 20 students in Transitional Kindergarten classes, no more than 150 students per College Prep teacher (down from 165), and a reduction of high school PE class sizes from 250 students to 200 per teacher. These demands make sense when you think about the actual work teachers do every day, managing dozens of kids simultaneously while trying to give them individualized attention is basically impossible.

The district’s counter-offer? A one-time payment of 1% of current base salary plus a 2.1% ongoing pay increase starting July 1, 2025. They also offered to bump up health care contributions and “convene a committee” to look into funding sources for class-size reductions. According to Assistant Superintendent Matt Campbell, implementing these recommendations would cost about $11.6 million over three years.

But here’s where things get interesting. The union’s proposal would cost roughly $32 million over that same period. The district claims this would push them into insolvency and force massive cuts to student programs and staffing. The Dublin Teachers Association fired back with some valid points: the district unnecessarily spends millions on outside consultants, admitted to a $3.6 million budgeting error, and maintains high executive salaries while claiming poverty.

DTA President Brad Dobrzenski said in February that “Dublin educators have been putting forward clear, responsible solutions that prioritize students and protect classrooms”. He emphasized that teachers have been serious about this for over 18 months and that district leadership has failed to implement meaningful solutions. The strike authorization vote showed that educators are united and serious about demanding real investment in Dublin students.

The district says they’ve faced three consecutive years of multi-million-dollar budget cuts due to stagnant state funding, declining enrollment, and rising pension and healthcare costs. Schools remained open Monday on an adjusted schedule, though no additional negotiating sessions were scheduled as of that morning.

Both sides have websites with more information: the district at dublinusd.org/strike and the union at dublinteachersassociation.com. This situation highlights the ongoing tension between what educators need to do their jobs effectively and what districts say their budgets can actually support.