School District, Teachers Union Reach Agreement

Joint announcement from AUSD and AEA--

ALAMEDA, CA - Negotiators for the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) and the Alameda Education Association (AEA) — which represents certificated employees including teachers, counselors, and nurses — reached a tentative agreement (TA) yesterday in their bargaining over salary and other benefits.

The two teams had jointly declared an impasse last Wednesday when they were unable to come to agreement on compensation. The teams agreed to meet one more time in an effort to find a compromise, however.

Under the terms of the TA crafted yesterday, AEA members will receive a 3.7% salary increase for the 2016-17 school year. About 3.1% of that increase is new money; the remaining .59% will be re-allocated from members' dental benefits. The teams will begin negotiating salary again in February, 2017.

"I am heartened knowing that our two negotiating teams reconvened to keep talking and to keep working at finding agreements," said Superintendent Sean McPhetridge. "Hard decisions were made by both teams, and both teams recognize there is a long way to go. But I am hopeful that we are developing a deeper relationship that will help us now and in years going forward, and I am grateful to all stakeholders for their work to come together."

Other Tentative Agreements

In earlier negotiating sessions this spring, the two teams also reached TAs that:

·   Provide prep times to kindergarten teachers as they transition to a full-day program 

·   Reduce class size to 24:1 in transitional kindergarten and kindergarten

·   Increase flexibility for using leave time

·   Create a formal process for class size overages

The district and union also agreed to create three new committees:

·   A Salary Study Committee to research strategies for bringing AUSD teacher salaries closer to the county average

·   A Special Education Task Force to develop guidelines on the best ways to serve students receiving special education services in general education classrooms

·   An Academic Committee that will provide input and evaluations on all curriculum and instructional materials, training, and professional development of teachers

In addition, the existing Budget Committee will begin to examine the district's budget priorities and how those can best be met in coming years.

"These new committee mandates will help AEA and AUSD find ways to bring employee voice into key district decisions that affect our learning and working environments," said Audrey Hyman, president of the AEA. "It is important that we keep the dialogue channels open between the two organizations."

Next Steps

AEA members and AUSD's Board of Education now need to vote on the agreement. Union members will vote from June 9 through June 15, 2016. The Board of Education will vote at its regular meeting on June 28, 2016.

AEA members received a 4% increase in salary in June of 2o15.  If ratified by the AEA, the current TA will bring the total salary increase to AEA to about 12 percent over the last three years.  These increases followed years of steep cuts to state funding for education, which resulted in a lack of raises for AUSD employees between 2008 and 2012 and a salary cut in 2010-11 due to furlough days.

"My fellow board members and I are pleased that a settlement has been reached with the AEA," said Board of Education President Solana Henneberry. "The proposed agreement will allow us to move forward together with the parcel tax renewal and assure the success of all of our students."