Bargaining teams from the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) and the Alameda Education Association (AEA) signed a Tentative Agreement (TA) this week for a three-year salary increase.

The district and the AEA (which represents teachers, nurses, counselors and speech and language pathologists) have been negotiating various articles in their contract since March 2019. Under the terms of the three-year agreement, AEA members will receive a four percent raise for 2019-20.

If Alameda voters approve a parcel tax dedicated solely to employee salaries in March 2020, AEA members will receive an additional one percent raise retroactive to January 2020 (bringing the total this year to five percent) and an eight percent increase for 2020-21.

“This agreement is the result of creative and principled efforts on both sides of the table,” said Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “We value our teachers, we know their pay has long ranked among the lowest in the county and this agreement allows us to collaboratively pursue an innovative solution for providing the salaries our employees so clearly deserve, while also allowing the district to remain responsible stewards of the public’s resources.”

The two teams will return to the table to negotiate salary in the third year.

AUSD salaries have lagged behind those of other Alameda County school districts for many years. This is due to a number of factors, including low class sizes, small neighborhood schools and high special-education costs. The parcel tax is expected to bring AUSD salaries up to the county average for the first time in nearly two decades.

Now that the TA has been signed, AEA members and AUSD’s Board of Education will vote on whether to ratify the new contract. If the AEA ratifies the TA, the Board will vote on the TA at a board meeting this month.

“I am glad we were able to come to a tentative agreement on teacher salary,” said AEA President Judith Klinger. “This settlement, if the parcel tax passes, will bring our teachers from the bottom of Alameda County to the county average. Competitive compensation will not only attract the best teachers to our classrooms, it will retain them too, stopping the 20 percent annual teacher turnover rate. Who wins? Our students.”