Negotiators for the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) and the Alameda Education Association (AEA) reached a tentative agreement on Oct. 6 in their contract negotiations for the 2022-23 through 2024-2025 school years.

The agreement applies to all members of the AEA, which represents teachers, nurses, speech and language pathologists, school psychologists, and counselors.

According to an AUSD report, the new deal includes:
• A 6% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2022
• An increased hourly rate for extra hours worked by AEA members.
• An increased stipend for possession of a doctorate or National Board Certification
• A new pay rate for teachers who give up their prep periods to help substitute for absent teachers
• An increased medical benefit contribution by the district
• Language to establish weekly site professional collaboration sessions
• A shortened posting period for jobs, which will help AUSD hire people faster
• Caseload caps for both Speech Language Pathologists and psychologists

The District and the AEA have been negotiating this contract since last February. Now that the leadership of both sides agreed to the tentative agreement, AEA members and then AUSD’s Board of Education will vote on whether to ratify the tentative agreement. The financial terms must also be approved by the Alameda County Office of Education.

“Negotiating a three-year contract is serious and challenging work especially when so many conditions in education are so difficult,” said AUSD Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi in a press release. “I’m grateful to both negotiating teams for their persistence, resilience, expertise, and willingness to collaborate.”

Added AUSD Board President Jennifer Williams, “The Board of Education thanks both negotiating teams. Our educators are the heart of our district, and we are so grateful for the way the two teams met, negotiated, and came to an agreement.”

The school district and teachers’ union last reached an impasse on contract talks in 2018 (“District, Teachers Reach Deadlock,” Nov. 1, 2018; https://alamedasun.com/news/district-teachers-reach-deadlock). According to the school district, the “two bargaining teams are largely in agreement on a 5 percent salary increase for 2018-19. Where they disagree is on the salary increases for 2019-20 and 2020-21. AEA leadership asked for guaranteed salary increases in those years.”

The deadlock ended the next month with a tentative one-year agreement between the two sides (“Teachers, District Reach Tentative Agreement,” Dec. 27, 2018; https://alamedasun.com/news/teachers-district-reach-tentative-agreement). Negotiators for AUSD and AEA reached a tentative agreement on Dec. 20 in negotiations over salary and other contract considerations.

AUSD serves about 8,400 students in Alameda. For more information, visit www.alamedaunified.org.