The Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) and the Mount Diablo Education Association (MDEA) reached a tentative agreement in contract negotiations for the 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 school years, subject to ratification by the MDEA and approval by the MDUSD Board of Education.
While many articles in the existing contract maintained a status quo, both parties agreed to key new provisions in the new agreement:
Key New Provisions of the Tentative Agreement
- A 5.5% overall increase in salary over the period described
+1.5% salary increase for the 2018-19 school year
+2.0% salary increase for the 2019-20 school year
+1.5% salary increase for the 2020-21 school year
+0.5% salary increase effective January of 2021
- Reduced class sizes (student count)
- Increased and more equitable alternative compensation rates, including a dual-language classrooms stipend and School Nurse stipend
- Added preparation time for Special Day Class Teachers in Mild/Moderate settings at the secondary level
- Reduced School Nurse caseload
“This tentative agreement represents the best possible agreement that could be reached given the District’s inadequate funding from the state. We appreciate the time and effort that our members, the Board, Dr. Martinez, and the District’s team dedicated to getting this important work done,” said Anita Johnson, President of the Mount Diablo Education Association.
This tentative agreement marks the closing period of negotiations between MDUSD and the MDEA that had started in the spring season of 2018. MDEA has calendared a ratification vote for January 22 -23, while the MDUSD Board is expected to hold its approval vote of the Tentative Agreement on January 27.
“The work that the teams have done sets a new path forward for both the district administration and the association of teachers to work together in the new year. We look forward to continuing this collaboration across the district in a number of areas,” MDUSD Superintendent Dr. Robert Martinez said.
5.5% over the next 3 years isn’t even covering the cost of living. We need to do better for our teachers!
I agree with you completely. This is sad.
Here, here!
When it says class size reduction, it means 1 less child in most grades.
Those teachers deserve more. The highest increase is less then 2 cents on the dollar per hour. I thank the teachers for what they do and the deserve more
First off, that’s a pretty crappy agreement.
However, you know they’ll be trying to add a new school bond next election claiming they need more funds. Don’t fall for it, There are already 3 Mt. Diablo bond measures outstanding from 2002, 2010 and 2018.
About a 1.6% increase is what I got this year which doesn’t even cover the cost of Mt. Diablo bonds on my property taxes. And, they’re complaining?
Nothing mentioned about the huge increases in benefit costs. Hmmm….
My guess is wage increases are modest because pension and medical costs are sucking the district dry.
Also, expecting another bond measure on the ballot and big pay raises In this contract wouldn’t play to their narrative.
Overall helps a bit to stay afloat with rising costs but the .05% in 2021 is comedy, after taxes that’s about 12 dollars a month extra depending on your step and credits
Cheers to teachers you deserve this holiday break!
Looks like the teachers need to join the BART union.
most teachers make over 120k you only need to make $80k for a
All classification units must conform to District requirements.
Class I: Teachers with an A.B. degree plus up to 44 semester units
Class II: Teachers with an A.B. degree plus 45 semester units
Class III: Teachers with an A.B. degree plus 60 semester units
Class IV: Teachers with an A.B. degree plus 75 semester units
Beginning pay Class I is $53,339
After 25 years Class IV top pay is $98,346
This is the pay schedule before new contract, MDUSD.
@Michael Langley – you are correct as far as salaries go, but this is deceptive since it does not include the very large cost the district is contributing to each teachers heath care and retirement costs. This is real income too, and puts Lisa’s comments much closer to reality.
I totally disagree with that you are saying Lisa. That is a joke!!! My mom is a teacher and has been for 22 years now while raising 4 kids with little help from my father. They deserve so much more, especially since hey have been without a contact for so long. The amount of work teachers put in is insane! They educate your children and don’t even make over $100,000. This is one the most important jobs in my eyes that goes aside with firefighters, police, and emt. Every job should give out good health care and retirement. But their raise in salary should be what they have been asking for, a 4% for each year. They have not gotten a raise in so long and now they get a .5% in 2021, wow, that is sad! I am embarrassed that they can’t find a way to give more to those teachers that work so hard!
120K? Come on! We all know teachers are not paid nearly enough for the value they provide to our children, and our society as a whole.
I love it when people try to add health care coverage to the total compensation and make it sound like that’s their take home pay! Yes it’s a benefit. But most jobs that require a college education provide health care. and most people don’t count that into their living expenses. It’s only when the employee is a government worker that people post comparisons like this! I bet many of you working in the private sector make far and above that if you count in your health and retirement benefits. You have to if you live in Claycord.
They shouldn’t be penalized because they made the choice to teach our children rather than go into business and sell widgets.
The fact is that anyone can be a teacher. It is not hard to receive the education for it. Given that, the pay reflects the education and work it takes.
Can anyone become a teacher? Sure. As long as you earn a college degree and complete a teacher credential program. So if you want to become a teacher, you know how to do it. Only about 1/3 of the population 25 an over has the requisite education to become a teacher, so maybe it’s not as easy as you imply.
Most anyone can become a teacher “on paper”. Yet many can’t teach. Just like there are incompetent people in all professions. Then the unions protect them….
Teacher’s shouldn’t be allowed to strike. They should be happy they have a job and suck it up.
agreed
TraumaRx – well the same could be said for medical professionals as well. You are a complete jerk.
@ TraumaRX
They should be happy they have a job? What a crappy comment! We should be happy that anyone wants to be a Teacher anymore. Have you stepped inside a school lately and the crap the Teachers and Administration have to deal with. I have a student at CHS and the day to day crap is unreal.
People, People, People, Trauma is a troll. Given his/her comments over the years, he/she has never been in health care or any other service related profession. They just troll posts and make comments that incite anger! Don’t feed the fire and don’t play into the game.
And neither should Kaiser employees be “allowed to strike” – or any other union employees. “They should be happy they have a job and suck it up.”
Your words, traumarx – your words.
Pitiful.
Hear tell the union is claiming a grand victory. Also hear they mostly conceded and did not get 15 or so things to improve student learning.
Here’s the reality. Other countries take education far more seriously than so many places in the United States.
If we want American kids (outside of wealthy school districts) to be competitive in jobs that require a solid education we’ll simply have to invest more.
And, many Americans will simply find themselves with decreasing quality of life as they adjust to a globally competitive workforce who will work for less money and fewer benefits.
You are s correct Rob. The US educated system is ranked 17th compared to other industrialized countries. Pretty pathetic
Other countries are further ahead because they are not as “diverse.” We could put as much money into this sinking ship as we want, but the outcome will be the same. Did you also know that per student, we spend more than just about every other country on education? Money is not the problem. Crappy parents and entitled students are.
Happy to have a job?
Seriously?
Teachers have solid educations and often advanced degrees.
They are doing us all a favor by teaching for much lower pay than they could find in the private sector.
I know very few people with the same education that in California would settle for anything under $100k after a few years of experience.
not a favor… an expectation… a profession they chose…
Rob – once again you have hit the nail on the head.
Truth. Teachers make enormous sacrifices. Teaching in the US is a real labor of love.
@ S
First off……Anyone that agrees with Trauma’s rants shows exactly what kind of person they are!
” a profession they chose”
And thankfully they did! Yes, they decided to do something valuable with their lives and make a difference. They could have decided to sell widgets for significantely more. But that’s typically not their make up.
You obviously don’t have much regard for the profession. I, on the other hand, think their contribution to society is emense! I wouldn’t even dream of sitting in a classroom trying to control the entitled and/or out of control brats that are growing up these days! Couldn’t pay me enough!
What a joke .. teachers and our students deserve better.
We have School nurses and a librarian that are part time and not on campus every day .
School nurses have to go to several schools in one day and
special ed services/classes are severely understaffed
The cost of living needs to be LOWERED. California residents are getting taxed out of their homes, literally. Penalizing those without health”care” will seal the deal. Recall Newsom!
Couldn’t agree more
To the people making points about healthcare and pensions, there is nothing in the tentative agreement about raising the District’s contribution to health and retirement. If you believe this is a paltry raise in teacher salaries (as I do), the District’s responsibility in H&R contributions is kept low as well.
Remember that California Public K – 12 teachers will receive NO Social Security benefits payments per an antiquated agreement made by CALSTRS generations ago. My spouse who came to public school teaching as a second career will ALSO see SSA benefits payments accrued from private sector work REDUCED because of this.
Low salaries and low benefits coupled with a high cost of living and limited classroom support, no wonder we have a hard time finding and retaining good teachers.
Don;t worry. None of use will see social security by the time we retried anyways. The dems will have taken it all and promised any remaining to the those who refuse to work and illegals.
I’ve never received anything of value from a School Nurse. They just listen to your complaint & say OK, get back to class.
DVC Student, be grateful you have such good health and don’t NEED the school nurse. They used to be on campus every day of school, but as time has passed, they have been cut to the bone. My son has epilepsy, and the school nurse ensures everyone knows what to do if he has a seizure, and to be there if he does. The school nurses ensure students that take medicine during school receive the right medicine timely. They also set up all the medical and safety policies for the schools, triage little kids (who can get sick quickly, and sometimes seriously), and keep the equipment and supplies replenished.
To dismiss someone because they didn’t help YOU is self-centered and immature.
Just one of the things school nurses do, everyday, is make sure that the diabetic students on campus are checking their glucose level and provide support for insulin injections. Clearly you did not have an immediate medical need, or they would have administered needed care.
After this horrible settlement (if you can call it that), I no longer feel bad for withdrawing from pay union dues to the union. Were health benefits even addressed? Were more teacher rights in the classroom to protect them addressed? This districts spends so much on travel, conferences, absenteeism, food for meetings, they have many ways to stop spending money and put it were it belongs, in the classroom.
To those who condemn teacher pensions: Mine is $2,100 a month and I pay the medical coverage that Medicare doesn’t cover, along with Medicare payments themselves. The district does not pay health care after retirement. I cannot collect the Social Security I paid into at a former job (because I have a teacher pension) and if my husband dies before I do, I cannot collect widow’s benefits (also because of the teacher pension). The same law (Reagan Windfall Act) also applies to police officers and firefighters. In all three cases, those who work in the office at administrative positions still are able to collect Social Security benefits. Nobody goes into teaching/police work/firefighting to get rich, and there is a lot of ignorance about how the pay works.
My husband makes close to 200k a year as a police officer and the medical benefit is amazing, as is the pension (90% of pay). I have never heard anything about him not being able to collect social security. I think you are making that one up!
Dear oh please, only with some CalPERS & STRS formulas it is true that social security is forfeited. Sounds like Ur hubby is in the 3@50 (90%) Public Safety PERS. If he does not also pay into Social Security, he will not collect from that job. look at the paystub, it will tell you. other PERS & STRS systems will reduce ur benefit by the SS amount when it kicks in. Go to the PERS retirment workshops and they will tell U exactly what boat ur in. Hope this helps U…
@ S
“other PERS & STRS systems will reduce ur benefit by the SS amount when it kicks in.”
What part of your own statement do you not understand? If you’re given SS and then that amount is reduced from your overall pension………YOU’RE NOT GETTING THE MONEY!
Aside from that, teachers should not be lumped in with police and firefighters. There is no comparison between how they are compensated!
How many school board members take full health care benefits for themselves? Remember when Linda Mayo infamously took health care benefits for herself and husband when she was denying employees
I think she is still taking the full health care benefts
Schools get thousands of dollars per student, you would think some of the money would go toward the teachers and classroom supplies. Nope most of it go to off campus administrators.; it’s a scam. The administrators and superintendent need to be abolished. All a school needs to run is the principle they know what their school needs to run well not bureaucrats
I love all the people bashing the teachers and saying benefits should be included in the amount of pay. This is why we have poorly rated schools here! You get what you pay for.
Benefits are always included when calculating total compensation. They are part of the package and sometimes employers will include extensive benefits in lieu of bonuses, raises, paid holidays, etc., to make the job more attractive.
No. We never get what we pay for in liberal CA. We spend the most per student, but our scores are the worst.
If motivated, a child really doesn’t need a teacher.
can’t say I agree with that, but… Teachers come in many forms….
Some children need the guidance and someone to motivate them. Some others do not.
30% of teachers leave the profession within five years. Of the three main reasons for leaving, income isn’t one of them. If one third of them are leaving within five years, too many teachers are entering the profession that don’t belong there. One third within five years is a very high turnover rate for any profession.