School board OKs tentative agreement with teachers union

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The San Ramon Valley school board approved a tentative agreement this week that calls for members of the teachers union to receive a salary increase plus a one-time monetary payment this year.

The board’s support for the deal was unanimous, with members praising the collaborative negotiating process but also acknowledging they’d rather be in a position to offer higher raises to teachers and other employees.

“I hope that you all know, as all the board members have said, what we can pay you is not a statement of value,” board president Denise Jennison said to the group of teachers at the meeting Tuesday night in Danville. “It’s disheartening to me, frankly. All of us wish that we could do more, but we’re certainly glad that this is movement in the right direction.”

The tentative agreement gives San Ramon Valley Education Association (SRVEA) members an ongoing 2% salary increase, retroactive to July 1, in addition to a one-time payment worth 2.38% of members’ annual salary — at a combined estimated cost of almost $5.61 million.

SRVEA overwhelmingly endorsed the deal, with 97.2% of the members who voted doing so in favor of ratification, according to association president Ann Katzburg.

“Our educators feel valued by the district’s offer,” Katzburg told the school board Tuesday. “Our district’s wonderful reputation is based on our students’ performance, and we are pleased that the board acknowledges the hard work that we are doing.”

SRVEA represents approximately 1,725 teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists, librarians and speech pathologists in the school district. Approximately 69% of union members participated in the ratification vote, Katzburg said.

The tentative agreement also lays out a plan to increase teacher staffing by an estimated 23 full-time equivalent positions next school year to reduce class sizes in secondary schools, but that proposal would only be implemented if the $144 parcel tax renewal measure passes in the May 5 mail-only election.

Measure A, which asks voters to continue the district’s existing $144 parcel tax for nine more years, would need approval from more than two-thirds of the ballots cast. Set to expire in June 2016 if not renewed, the local education tax generates roughly $6.8 million per year, according to district officials.

The class-size reduction proposal, estimated to cost $1.75 million, would aim to decrease average student-to-teacher ratios from 28:1 to 27:1 in high schools and 29:1 to 28:1 in middle schools next school year.

Other provisions of the district-union agreement include a task force to address special education class sizes and other aspects of the program as well as a new subcommittee to reach consensus on increasing stipends for athletics coaches, music and theater directors, and other competitive team managers.

According to Katzburg, the extra-services stipends have not seen an increase since the 1970s.

CJ Cammack, the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources, called the tentative agreement, “a shining representation of what happens when we come around the table together to do work together which has a direct benefit on the teaching environment of the students in our district.”

More than 50 teachers — most of whom donned blue, the color symbolizing education — attended the school board meeting in support of the deal.

Union members felt the district’s bargaining offer was a sign of recognition, according to Jana Johnson, one of seven teachers to speak to the board Tuesday night.

“We put in many hours, beyond our contracted hours, and you all know that … and our saying ‘no’ to friends and ‘no’ family and ‘no’ to television and ‘no’ to hobbies so that we can provide these awesome, awesome (Common Core) lessons to our students so that they really, truly will be those high-caliber students that we expect here in this district,” she said.

“And now we know we’ve been recognized. It means a lot; it really does,” added Johnson, a second-grade teacher at San Ramon’s Coyote Creek Elementary.

Kimberley Gilles, English teacher at Monte Vista High in Danville, lauded both sides for the proposal to address student-to-teacher ratios.

“The class-size, I want to say that that absolutely affects rigor and relevance and most importantly, relationships,” she said, later adding, “And that class-size, absolutely at the center of my ability to be who (students) need me to be in their lives.”

Katzburg reiterated SRVEA’s support for the parcel tax renewal earlier in the board meeting, presenting to Jennison a $2,625 check from the union to the “Yes on Measure A” committee. Jennison said she accepted the check as a citizen volunteer of the committee.

The tentative bargaining agreement’s impact on young teachers was another talking point during the school board’s discussion Tuesday.

“We have a lot of young teachers that come into our district, many of whom cannot afford to live here, myself included,” Dougherty Valley High teacher librarian Kerri Pike said.

“What we’ve negotiated at the table is a step in the right direction of trying to keep these people here … We’ve got work to do, but it’s a step in the right direction so thank you for that,” added Pike, a member of the union’s bargaining team.

Board member Mark Jewett later in the discussion responded to Pike’s point, saying he thought it’s “an absolute disgrace” that many young teachers can’t afford to live within the district. “I wish we could do more for you and about that.”

“When we talk about salaries, we’re not talking about value. We’re talking about ability to pay. We’re talking about balancing fiscal constraints,” Jewett said. “And to me, it’s shameful that there’s such a disconnect between the value of the teaching profession and our ability to pay them commensurate with their value.”

“I don’t think there’s any board member here that wouldn’t want to give you a heck of a lot more than this agreement calls for,” board vice president Greg Marvel said, later adding, “This is a small gesture on our part for the great work that you do.”

The school district remains in the process of negotiating with its other employee bargaining units, according to spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich.