Little Lake superintendent moves up departure amid teachers' strike

The superintendent of Little Lake City School District moved his departure date to Monday as a teachers' strike over healthcare costs, class sizes and special education entered its 10th day, the teachers union announced Friday.

The walkout, which began April 16 after 94% of union members voted to authorize it, underscores deepening tensions over proposed midyear healthcare changes that could cost some employees as much as $1,400 a month — with no new talks scheduled and the union pushing to recall all five school board members.

The Little Lake Education Association announced Friday that Superintendent Jonathan Vasquez will leave the position Monday, April 28 — weeks ahead of the summer departure he had previously planned, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The strike began April 16 after 94% of union members voted to authorize it. The Little Lake Education Association contends that proposed midyear changes to the district's healthcare plans amount to a pay cut, with some employees potentially facing monthly costs of up to $1,400.

On Thursday, the district presented a written proposal containing six healthcare options and offered to cover between 85% and 90% of costs depending on the plan selected. "Even with the class size increases listed in some of the plans, class sizes would still be smaller than most neighboring school districts," the district said in a Thursday update, according to ABC7.

District officials also warned that continued overspending could invite state intervention. "If we overspend the state can take over and that would mean losing local control over your children's education," the district said in the same update.

Talks Thursday began at 10 a.m. The union submitted a counteroffer at 7:42 p.m. and walked out at 9:41 p.m., with no further sessions scheduled. In addition to the contract fight, the union is seeking to recall all five members of the district's Board of Education.

The Little Lake City School District serves students in portions of Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and Downey, all in Los Angeles County. As of Friday, no date had been set for the two sides to return to the negotiating table.