Bargaining Update - January 15

At our eleventh bargaining session yesterday, we submitted counterproposals on wages, Special Education staffing, and a variety of articles related to stability. We adjusted many proposals to align with the conversations at the bargaining table, but in some cases we re-proposed the same language we previously shared if it was language that the District simply brushed aside without analysis. We can’t accept a summary rejection of our educator-created solutions, and we’ll keep pushing for the schools our students deserve.

We proposed a 7% raise for all unit members, across two school years: 3.5% for this 2025-26 school year and 3.5% next 2026-27 school year. We couldn’t accept the insulting 0% that the District brought to the table last session, and this week we’ve also seen that the Governor’s proposed 2026-27 budget includes projected increases in education funding. Read all of SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 7: Wages: 2025-2026 & 2026-2027, and see the Salary Schedule & Rules in Appendices A-G to see the relevant changes for your specific position.

At our last session, the District finally responded to our package of Special Education solutions to reject just about all of them. Yesterday, we tried again to share a package of solutions to address the ongoing Special Education staffing crisis. See all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 29: Special Education:

• We re-proposed a pay structure for all caseload overages, codifying caseload overage remedies since the District has been unable to follow our caseload limits and then been unwilling to agree to fair grievance settlements for years. (With this change, members would get paid automatically every time they went over caseload, and could file a grievance if they didn’t get that payment.)
• We re-proposed reimbursement for SPED credentials for employees seeking to get SpEd credentials in order to fill vacant SpEd positions.
• We re-proposed language to codify pay for initial assessments, whether or not staff is full time.
• We re-proposed caps on 504s for counselors.
• We re-proposed  ECSE instructional model contract language which would codify current practice in addition to prohibiting ECSE teachers from conducting ECSE assessments that the District has centralized educators currently doing this work
• We re-proposed new ways to improve proportional SLP caseloads and School Psych ratios

We accepted the District’s proposed ESN stipend, and re-proposed stipends for all SpEd teachers.

Yesterday we shared a variety of proposals that would make schools more safe and stable for students, educators, and communities.

• We reaffirmed that safe classrooms include clean, cool air: We proposed new language that would ensure classrooms without working HVAC systems would get air filters, and that loft-style classrooms could also receive air filters by request. We proposed protecting an existing District Board Policy regarding HVAC by adding it to our contract. (While Board policies can be changed unilaterally, our contract can’t be changed without bargaining with us!) We also proposed a more realistic process for requesting safety or environmental repairs, to streamline requests so the District can prioritize the most urgent requests.  Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 11: Safety Conditions of Employment.

• We reaffirmed our commitment to equity: Last session, the District rejected our entire proposal of a new Equity article, citing fears of retaliation by the Federal government. Yesterday we re-proposed the entire article. Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 35: Equity and Support for our Students and Communities

• Very close on Community Schools

• We proposed fairer standards for discipline: The District has already agreed with us that language about personnel files, complaints, and derogatory material belongs in our Discipline article and not in Evaluations, since evaluations should be about supporting educators, not punishing them. We are still trying to improve language to make our discipline process more fair, make it harder for administrators to unfairly discipline members without any evidence, and that prevents unsubstantiated complaints from ending up in personnel files.  Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 33: Discipline 

• We’re close to agreement on an updated evaluations process. As a reminder, we have a current agreement about improved evaluations for this year and next year, and what we’re discussing currently is how that language should look in our new contract, while leaving space for future tweaks if needed based on what we learn from testing out our improvements. Read all SDEA’s proposed changes to Article 14: Performance Evaluation Procedures and Article 18 Peer Review & Enrichment Program (PREP).

Stay Informed:

Our next bargaining sessions are scheduled for January 29, February 12, and February 26. Mark your calendar and wear red in solidarity on bargaining days! See our bargaining proposal tracker to keep track of ongoing negotiations, and all past bargaining updates:

In Solidarity,

SDEA’s Bargaining Team

Kyle Weinberg, SDEA President, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, English and History Teacher; Laurie Bailon, Restorative Justice Teacher, Bell MS; Carly Bresee, Ed. Specialist: Moderate/Severe, Lafayette ES, Sarah Darr, SDEA Secretary, WCW Campaign Organizer & SLP; Christina Gallegos, ECSE Teacher, Rodriguez ES; Candace Gyure, School Nurse; Stacy Hernandez, SDEA Bargaining Chair & 2nd Grade Teacher, Dailard El.; Andrew Melia, School Psychologist, Riley School; Elizabeth Miller, Ed. Specialist: Mild/Moderate, Lewis MS; Eri Nall, Head Counselor; Kiki Ochoa, History and Ethnic Studies Lead Teacher, Lincoln HS; Lori Schmersal, PE Teacher & Coach, Clairemont HS; plus SDEA staff Anthony Saavedra, Executive Director,  Sara Holerud, Organizer, and Rafal Dobrowolski, Contract Specialist

by Sara Kennedy