Extended and, at times, rocky negotiations between local school district and teachers union leaders came to an end March 29 as the two parties reached a tentative agreement after about a year at the table.
If union members and the Morgan Hill Unified School District board of education approve the deal, teachers will receive a 6 percent raise for the ongoing 2016-17 school year, which will be retroactive back to July 1, 2016, as well as a 3 percent raise on top of that starting July 1, 2017, according to union president Gemma Abels.
Also part of the agreement, each teacher will get a one-time payment of $726 after the first full pay period after ratification.
“The Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers is excited to have reached a settlement with the district,” Abels said. “We are proud that our members were engaged throughout the over-a -year long process. “
MHFT members will vote on ratifying the tentative agreement April 13-14 before the MHUSD’s board of education will vote on the final terms to make it official. Union leaders are encouraging their members to vote in favor of the agreed upon changes. The MHUSD board is scheduled to vote on the agreement at their April 18 meeting.
“We believe it is the best contract we could negotiate with the district at this time,” said Abels, whose negotiating crew was pushing for a 10 percent raise with the district’s original offer coming in at 8 percent.
A first-year MHUSD teacher salary for the current 2016-17 is set to increase to $53,387 upon ratification, while the 2017-18 first-year salary would climb to $54,989.
“We are very pleased to end this year long process with a tentative two-year agreement,” said the district’s statement on the new contract. “This settlement meets the board’s goals in offering the most affordable contract possible to our teachers while maintaining school solvency and quality instructional programs.”
The teachers could receive an additional 1 percent raise next school year if the district’s 2017-18 revenues increase by more than 3 percent the current projections, according to Abels.
