DUBLIN — Hundreds of teachers in Dublin will hit the picket lines Monday morning to protest budget cuts and layoffs proposed throughout the district.

Most schools during the strike, except Dublin High School and Emerald High School, will operate on adjusted or shortened schedules, according to the Dublin Unified School District website. Schools will not introduce “new content,” the district wrote, but said students would “remain productive using comprehensive grade-level packets and digital resources” while teachers are on the picket lines.

The district will also employ “qualified guest teachers” at all sites using “detailed lesson plans and scripted directions to guide students through their daily assignments,” the district wrote.

The strike follows months of contentious arguments between the Dublin Teachers Association and Dublin Unified School District officials over contract negotiations and dozens of proposed cuts to teacher positions. The union, whose last contract expired in June, announced the strike Thursday evening.

“It’s time for Dublin Unified to reprioritize the budget, support Dublin kids and start putting our students at the center of every financial decision they make,” union President Brad Dobrzenski said in a statement. “If Superintendent (Chris) Funk and the school board won’t commit to the best for Dublin students, DTA will go on strike Monday, March 9, until Dublin Unified provides the resources all Dublin students deserve.”

The union for weeks has demanded the immediate resignation and replacement of Funk, who is expected to retire in June. The district announced Matt Campbell, the district’s current assistant superintendent of educational services, as Funk’s replacement in February.

Funk told this news organization in an interview Friday that the district and union are “not done negotiating” and that he hopes they can reach an agreement to stave off a strike by Monday morning.

“A strike does not benefit anybody. It does not benefit our teachers, it does not benefit our district and it certainly hurts our students and their families,” Funk said. “Our goal is to settle as soon as we can and hopefully avoid a strike. … We feel we are prepared as can be for a strike. All of our schools on Monday will be open.”

Facing a budget deficit of $8.4 million, the district’s board of trustees is deciding whether to trim $5 million by eliminating another 30 full-time teaching and 12 substitute jobs after previously approving $6.8 million in budget cuts and the elimination of several other positions at its Jan. 27 meeting.

Working without a raise for the past two years, union officials are asking for a salary increase for all members, fully covered health care and a reduction in class sizes.

Union officials have raised concerns for months about overcrowded classrooms and overworked teachers while the school board has debated how many teaching positions to cut and how to reduce millions from the district’s budget.

District officials have cited declining enrollment and budget shortfalls for the school system’s financial problems, while union officials have blamed leadership and alleged accounting failures by Funk.

While the district claims there is no wiggle room in the budget to save jobs, the union maintains that there is more money to go around than the district admits.

It is unclear how long the union plans to strike, but Dobrzenski said his members are prepared to avoid a strike if the district presents a more agreeable offer for a new contract that would avoid more cuts and reduce class sizes for teachers.

“I’m hopeful that they’re going to come with serious offers and serious positions,” Dobrzenski told this news organization. “We are committed to our students. If management wants to come to the table this weekend, we are flexible. We would be happy to meet with them if they could provide us with a student-centered settlement.”

Dublin schools are not alone in facing financial troubles in the Tri-Valley. Pleasanton Unified and Livermore Valley Joint Unified school districts are both facing layoffs and budget cuts this upcoming school year.

Livermore schools face $16.3 million in potential cuts through the next two school years. Livermore teachers and families for the past several weeks have rallied against possible school closures to and widespread layoffs.

In Pleasanton, the school board on Jan. 15 approved cuts of 13.5 full-time employees to save $1.437 million. The cuts included about $985,000 in nonmanagement funding and $452,000 in management funding.