Sacramento City Unified reaches deal with teachers on pay hikes
Published: Friday, Sep. 12, 2014 - 1:20 pm
Negotiators for Sacramento City Unified and the Sacramento City Teachers Association have signaled an end to a long stretch of discord by agreeing to two years of pay hikes and smallerclass sizes for the youngest students at high poverty schools, the district announced today.
The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by the teachers association and approved this fall by district trustees, calls for a 2 percent salary boost this year for teachers and another 1 percent increase next year, the first since 2008-09.
It calls also for collaboration between teachers and the district on developing teacher evaluation tools, the district said, addressing a pivotal conflict between teachers and former Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, who resigned last October.
Over the next two years, the maximum student-teacher ratio will be lowered to 29-to-1 for kindergarten and 28-to-1 for grades 1-3. The district will focus first on schools where 75 percent or more students qualify for a free or reduced price lunch, the federal poverty threshold. The district announced it will add schools in other neighborhoods as state funding allows.
“Smaller class sizes allow teachers to focus more time and attention on individual student needs,” Superintendent Jose Banda said in a prepared statement. “This is especially important in schools where there are high concentrations of students who live in poverty or are struggling to learn English.”
The tentative pact marks a sharp departure from the contentious relationship that grew for much of the four years Raymond led the district. He resigned last October.
The relationship between teachers association and the superintendent was fractured by multiple differences, including Raymond’s “Priority Schools” plan, which allowed principals to replace teachers at struggling campuses with no regard for tenure, and his plan to link student test scoresSacramento City Unified reaches deal with teachers on pay hikes - Education - The Sacramento Bee: