photo credit: Courtesy Old Adobe Union School District

More than 110 teachers, counselors and support staff at Petaluma's Old Adobe Union School District say they are ready to strike.

Contract talks, on-going since March, have been unable to find common ground, said Diane Wolmuth a teacher at the district and president of the Old Adobe Teacher's Association.

"We just have failed to reach an agreement on the salary and benefits piece," Wolmuth said.

In June, negotiations reached an impasse, triggering state mediation, which likewise failed to reach a compromise. The dispute has since moved on to the next step, 'fact finding.'

"It should be happening sometime within the next month and if we don't reach an agreement at that point, then we will let the district know the date we will go on strike," Wolmuth added.

In addition to securing a better deal for health insurance, the dispute is centered around pay.

"We're trying to get people's salary increased, so they can afford to live in the area in which they work, we have people who are at the top of the salary schedule that are really struggling to make ends meet. We're not asking for anything great, we're just asking to be average," Wolmuth said.

Wolmuth said average salaries at the district are $10,000-a-year less than the statewide average and $20,000 less than neighboring districts in Napa County and Novato. And that's using two-year-old figures, before a recent spate of inflation.

"Gas is more, food is more, I mean I've had teachers tell me 'I don't buy a car because I can't afford it, I just lease a car,' and that's just not acceptable," Wolmuth relayed.

Wolmuth maintains the district's financial standing allows for more equity.

"We're the frontline workers for education, and it just appears that in every school district, not just Old Adobe, that your highest paid people get the most perks and your daily workers seem to have to fight really hard just to get a living wage," Wolmuth said.

KRCB News has reached out to the district with no response.