I hope that you are all doing well. Thank you so very much for all your hard work and flexibility this past year - it has not gone unnoticed and we are all so appreciative of everything you do for students. As many of you begin to prepare for summer break, I wanted to send out an update on negotiations between our District and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) to keep you all in the loop and avoid confusion. 

On January 26th, our District and CSEA teams shared topics we wished to negotiate with the school board in a process known as “sunshining.” Between the January 26th Board meeting and Friday, June 3rd, our District and CSEA teams have met for a total of eight (8) negotiations sessions. 

On March 9th, our District settled with the teacher’s union for a 2.0% increase and on April 27th, our District provided management and confidential employees with a 2.0% overall increase for the 2020-21 school year. 

On June 3rd, the District’s last, best, and final offer to CSEA was for a 2.5% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2020. At the meeting, CSEA rejected this offer and stated they will be filing for impasse.

It is important to note that based on the most recent budget revision that is being presented to the Board on Tuesday, June 8th, the District has over $1.3 million in unrestricted deficit spending, which essentially means the District is spending $1.3 million more than it is receiving in revenues and therefore having to tap into the District “savings” account. This is due, in large part to the State not funding any (zero) COLA for 2020-21. This information is available on Agenda Online.

Our District’s interest continues to be to reach agreement as quickly as possible. 

Have a wonderful start to the summer,

Matthew Harris