The San Lorenzo Unified School District School Board on June 4 unanimously approved a two-year agreement with teachers for a combined 9% pay raise, bringing to 32% the district's net pay increase for 2022-2026 and supporting the hiring and retention of high-quality employees.
Members of the San Lorenzo Education Association (SLEA), which represents teachers and other certificated employees, voted to ratify the contract with 94% support on May 31.
Because pay increases are typically implemented across all job categories, the district’s approximately 1,000 employees will each receive a 6.25% pay increase effective July 1, 2024, and an additional 2.75% increase effective July 1, 2025. That builds on a 15% pay raise negotiated for the 2022-23 fiscal year followed by a 5% increase for 2023-24.
Starting pay for first-year teachers at the lowest point on the scale will go from $65,084 now to $69,152 in 2024-25 and $71,054 in 2025-26, while the highest-earning teachers with a bachelor's degree will see their salaries jump from $128,403 now to $136,428 in the first year and $140,179 in the second year.
On top of those increases, which will accrue to employees’ base pay for future years, the agreement provides a 1% bonus for each of the next two years, as well as a $500 increase in the district’s annual contribution to health benefits. The contract also includes a class-size limit of 26 students in grades K-3 and 31 in grade 6, as well as increased stipends for temporary additional paid assignments.
SLZUSD School Board President Samuel Medina thanked SLEA and district negotiators for their hard work and ability to find common ground during talks that began in December.
“We were really looking for our teams to set a new standard and a new norm for what negotiations can be and what collaboration looks like in negotiations,” Medina said before the board voted to approve the contract, “and I think everyone really lived up to that vision.”
SLEA President Karen Rosa also thanked her negotiating team for their hard work over the course of 13 bargaining sessions since December. Julie Glenn-Juuko, president of San Lorenzo Chapter 692 of the California School Employees Association, offered her thanks to SLEA and to Rosa for her leadership.