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Dublin teachers union and school district negotiators came to terms on a tentative agreement late Thursday night to end the four-day strike – with compensation, class size and case load figures all the key parts of the deal.
Educators and other members of the Dublin Teachers Association are set to return to their regular posts on Monday, with Friday previously scheduled as a “no school day” across the Dublin Unified School District. The new collective bargaining agreement must still be ratified by majorities of DTA membership and DUSD Board of Trustees.
“By forcing DUSD to invest in our students by decreasing class sizes and increasing compensation and healthcare to retain and recruit the best educators for our students, we’ve made important steps towards the schools our students deserve,” DTA President Brad Dobrzenski said in a statement just after 11 p.m.
“Our fight is not over. This student-centered agreement is a start to a larger conversation about the need to fully invest in students by reprioritizing Dublin Unified’s budget,” Dobrzenski added.
DUSD leaders also confirmed the deal in a separate statement issued after the two sides met behind closed doors for nearly 12 hours Thursday.
“We are relieved to have reached a point of agreement that recognizes the hard work and dedication of our educators. I want to thank the DTA negotiations team for their professionalism, collaboration, and commitment,” said Matt Campbell, the district’s superintendent-in-waiting.
“Reaching this agreement required the District and the DTA to make difficult choices and move from our original positions to find common ground,” Campbell said. “While neither side achieved everything it hoped for, the agreement reflects a balanced path forward that supports our educators while protecting the long-term stability of our schools and the students we serve.”
Key terms of the deal include a 2.3% ongoing salary raise for DTA members, retroactive to July 1; increased health benefits toward a path of fully paid coverage for Kaiser Premium single premium by January 2028; reduced class sizes for elementary school classes; smaller case loads for special education teachers; a new certificated librarian at Emerald High School; and a commitment to fund counselors at every elementary school through 2027-28.
According to the district, the new deal will cost about $12.9 million over the life of the proposed three-year contract. DUSD typically offers compensation and other tangibles to other employee groups.
What that bill will translate to, in terms of budget reductions, remains unclear for a district that just two months ago approved more than $6.6 million in ongoing cuts in response to fiscal concerns already on the books.
DTA membership will vote on the tentative agreement soon, although the exact date of the election has not been confirmed. If endorsed by a union majority, the matter would then head to the school board, most likely during the April 14 regular meeting, according to DUSD spokesperson Chip Dehnert.
In the meantime, Dublin teachers have agreed to return to their classrooms starting next Monday (March 16) to end what was the first strike in the history of the modern Dublin Unified School District, founded in 1988.
The two sides had been locked in tense contract negotiations for much of the 2025-26 school year before impasse was declared in November. State-mandated mediation in January failed to yield a deal and the matter was referred in February to a fact-finding panel in February led by chair Gina M. Roccanova.
The heat ratcheted up when Roccanova’s report was released and the district agreed to fully back her recommendation on March 5.
The fact-finder’s proposal called for a 2.1% raise retroactive to July 1, a one-time bonus of 1% and charting a path to the district fully covering Kaiser single premium by 2028. Roccanova declined to act on specific class-size ratios but said the two sides should form a committee by June 1 to try to resolve the matter.
The union held firm in opposition to the neutral proposal newly pitched by the district, declaring on the night of March 5 that teachers would go on strike the following Monday if an acceptable agreement wasn’t achieved.
The bargaining teams met each day through last Friday through Sunday (March 6-8), but could not reach an agreement to avert a strike.
Trading barbs last Sunday, leaders expressed disappointment at the lack of a deal and placed the blame in the other’s court.
“Dublin educators have had enough” was the union’s sentiment. “We call on management to agree to our student-centered proposals, which include smaller class sizes to ensure every student gets the individual attention they deserve, retaining and recruiting the best educators, and keeping a full-time counselor at every elementary school.”
“We were willing to compromise. We have compromised. We came to the negotiating table today ready to sign,” Campbell said that night. “The District’s current proposal reflects an effort to move toward resolution while still acknowledging the financial realities we face.”
By Monday morning, teachers and all other 700-plus members of DTA were off the job and on strike – many picketing outside of their schools – while each campus remained open with administrators, substitute teachers and retirees filling roles in the classrooms.
Superintendent Chris Funk, who taught a fourth/fifth grade class that first day, lamented that the union walked out and made students be “treated as pawns” in the labor dispute.
Funk, who is retiring at the end of the school year, has been a subject of consistent criticism from the union throughout negotiations, as have school board members. The trustees ultimately shifted Campbell, the assistant superintendent of educational services, to take over as the face of DUSD’s bargaining team last month after picking him to succeed Funk as superintendent effective in the summer.
“I’m very disappointed that they chose to go on strike because a strike does not benefit anyone,” Funk told the Pleasanton Weekly on Monday.
The union, with support from the California Teachers Association, held a large rally in Kolb Park on the first afternoon of the strike. Prominent speakers included CTA President David Goldberg and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Dublin High School alumnus who is now running for governor of California.
“I saw your strike lines today — that is a beautiful thing to see,” Goldberg told the crowd of teachers, parents and students. “At a time when people are being pitted against each other and our students are under attack, you’re standing up for our students and saying you’re willing to fight for them.”
Dublin public schools remained open to students each of the first three days of the strike, albeit on adjusted schedules. Breakfast and lunch were served, and extracurricular activities continued for kids who attended that day.
Dehnert said attendance data was confirmed for Monday, with 37% of students in class that day, but statistics for Tuesday and Wednesday were still being finalized. “Although I don’t have data for the following 2 days, attendance was lower than what we saw on the first day,” he added.
Bargaining sessions occurred each day of the strike, including before and after Tuesday evening’s school board meeting which saw a large DTA turnout outside the district headquarters and inside the boardroom.
The two sides went until 2:35 a.m. Wednesday in the hours after the school board meeting, and then met for a full day later Wednesday, but to no avail. Students were not scheduled to be on campus for the rest of the week, with a staff development day originally set Thursday and a no-school day scheduled for Friday.
Another marathon bargaining session followed Thursday, and the teams emerged at the end of the 12 hours with a tentative agreement in hand.
Under the proposed contract, which would cover 2025-26 through 2027-28, DTA members would receive an ongoing 2.3% salary increase retroactive to the beginning of the academic year. DTA frames the raise as a cost-of-living adjustment.
It also would also chart a path to the district fully covering the Kaiser Permanente single premium for DTA members by 2028 – 85% covered by July 1, 90% by Jan. 1, 2027 and 100% by Jan. 1, 2028.
How the deal translates to the salary table for teachers remains unclear publicly. During negotiations, the district said data showed Dublin teachers are among the most well-paid in the region, ranking second in total compensation at $95,289 in salary and health-and-welfare benefits for beginners, first for mid-career teachers at $137,517 and second for near-retirement educators at $159,387.
Class-size changes include reduced ratios at elementary schools of 24 students per teacher to 23 for kindergarten, 25 down to 24 for first grade, 26 down to 24 for second and third grades, and 28 down to 26 for fourth and fifth grades. Secondary school class ratios would switch from daily total student contact county to a class-based contact count for overage payments.
Speech and language pathologist caseloads would go down to 50 from 55, educational specialist loads would be 23 (down from 28) in secondary schools and high school physical education would have a maximum of 45 students per class.
Every elementary school – defined as a transitional kindergarten through fifth grade campus – would have a counselor funded through 2027-28, and a certificated librarian would be added to Emerald High, under the deal.
“These tremendous gains will make a significant impact on class sizes and the individual attention Dublin students deserve,” DTA officials stated in their press release. “DTA educators and the community remained united and made management and the board finally understand what educators have been saying all along – we must invest in our students.”
In the district press release, Board of Trustees President Kristin Speck thanked the community “for their patience and support throughout this challenging time”, acknowledging the fiery negotiations “have been frustrating and uncertain for many”.
“While no negotiated agreement fully reflects everything either party hoped to achieve, we believe the tentative agreement reached represents the compromise necessary to move forward together,” she said. “Our shared focus remains on our students and on restoring the stability, collaboration, and continuity that make our schools and community so strong.”
For his part, Campbell said, “Reaching this agreement required the District and the DTA to make difficult choices and move from our original positions to find common ground. While neither side achieved everything it hoped for, the agreement reflects a balanced path forward that supports our educators while protecting the long-term stability of our schools and the students we serve.”
Looking ahead to next week and beyond, he added, “After a difficult period for our community, I am personally committed to doing the work necessary to rebuild relationships, restore trust, and move toward a renewed sense of unity as we focus together on serving our students.”
The two sides are set to meet with California School Employees Association bargainers on March 23 to discuss the 2026-27 district calendar, which remains unresolved. “If no agreement is reached by March 27, the District’s proposed calendar will take effect, aligning spring break with neighboring districts and adding a minimum day before the break,” DUSD stated.
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Another Weekly story without essential facts. How much will this settlement cost the district (taxpayers) annually? What was the previous pay range, and what will the new pay range be? These basic facts need to be in every story. It would also be nice to know how their pay compares to other districts in the Bay Area.
I’m glad there’s a settlement. I’d like to hear from the district how they plan to pay for the new contract Smaller class sizes and additional staff don’t come free.
Appreciate the commentary. We hope readers recognize that an initial story on a major breaking news event written before 8 a.m. does not represent the final story on an evolving piece of news.
Those of course are key questions we currently have pending before district officials. But we have an obligation to report the crux of breaking news as soon as possible to our readers – here, the two sides reached a deal to end the strike.
What happens as a result of this tentative agreement is among the key questions going forward. Hope you follow our ongoing reporting on this matter – from the only Bay Area news organization that consistently covers Dublin Unified and all four TK-12 public districts in the Tri-Valley.