On May 12, 2026, a town hall meeting was held at Buena High School to discuss how the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) is attempting to put a hard cap of $19,000 on the financial support of all staff members’ health care as it becomes increasingly more expensive throughout the United States. This is a common issue that has sparked concern among California educator unions, such as the Ventura Unified Educators Association (VUEA), Ventura Education Support Professionals Association (VESPA) and the California Teachers Association (CTA).
As American health care costs continue to increase each year, bargaining between VUSD and VUEA and VESPA began in January 2026, to keep both the district and the unions from being priced out. Throughout the following months, union leaders and district members met in an attempt to find a compromise on the health care cost problem.
As of May 2026, VUSD and the unions called an impasse and will spend the following months working with a mediator to attempt to reach a fair settlement. VUSD has offered a 2% pay raise to the VUEA and VESPA in an effort to compensate for the cost of a health care cap. However, CTA member Andrew Staiano has stated that this “comes nowhere near compensating [staff members] for out-of-pocket [health insurance costs].”
Hundreds of educators, parents, students, community members and staff wore red shirts and fierce expressions on their faces as they listened to Staiano explain the process of impasse, meaning the legal process of bargaining between workers’ unions and district board members. With over 80% of staff participants reporting they are willing to strike, the unions want district leaders to know that the community takes this matter very seriously with the interest of protecting VUSD staff members and families.
As the years pass, insurance and housing costs continue to increase, causing financial difficulty for Ventura educators staffers and their families, and with lessening the flexibility of the district’s budget, a problematic situation has risen for generations of Ventura residents and school staff. Joel Levin, Buena’s teacher librarian and a VUEA negotiations member, describes the union’s efforts as a “representative democracy in action.”
“It’s impossible to ignore the fact that as the costs of health care rise, the district will have to pay significantly more,” Levin said. “At some point something is going to reach a breaking point, and one party or another is going to feel the financial brunt of that. Ultimately, [the VUEA negotiations team] are not speaking for just ourselves, we’re speaking on behalf of all of the teachers and staff members.”
Tension has grown between the district and the staff for years, with COVID-19 hitting the district’s budget very hard in 2020, adding pressure to cover the income of staff across every school despite declining enrollment. There are several propositions on the table to reach a compromise that aids the recovery and prevents financial strain or even lay-offs of staff members. This includes a proportional cap that grows with health insurance costs, keeping things the same until future solutions are reached or potentially closing a school in an attempt to reallocate students into one larger, concentrated population.
VUSD Public Information Officer Marieanne Quiroz commented that the district “believes [their] employees deserve compensation that allows them to live in the community where they work” and that the Board is “committed to moving in that direction.”
However, VUEA President, Sarah McLaughlin, knows that with the exception of “upper management,” teachers and other staff members will inevitably be priced out. With 26 years of involvement with district-wide affairs, McLaughlin wants the assurance of insurance for all staff, not just “upper management.”
With the possibility of a strike looming, McLaughlin wants to ensure within the community that the students are being prioritized no matter what. In the case of a strike, school would still be in session with substitutes and potentially teachers who want to stay in the classroom; however, education would be impacted. Alternative class options would be available with provided help from the CTA. Outdoor classes would potentially be arranged along with staff hand-preparing food.
“[VUSD staff] doesn’t owen the district anything,” Staiano said. “I know it’s hard because we care about [the students], and we show up every day for our love for the kids, but ultimately it’s the district’s responsibility that our needs are met.”
