School board OKs teacher raises, new collective bargaining agreement

The Pleasanton school board Tuesday night approved a new collective bargaining agreement between PUSD and the Association of Pleasanton Teachers.

The agreement includes a 2% increase to the 2017-18 salary schedule, retroactive to July 1 of this school year. APT members will also receive a one-time bonus equal to 1% of their salary this school year, calculated after the 2% increase is applied.

“I really want to thank both sides for working together to come to a successful close of these negotiations,” school board president Joan Laursen said toward the end of a nearly three-hour meeting Tuesday. “Our ability to be able to offer a raise to our employees is important to the board.”

There were no public comments on the agreement.

Additional highlights of the CBA include a new maximum high school class size of 37 students — with exceptions for classes that are traditionally larger like band and chorus — and dates for the first and last day of school in 2018-19. Classes will start Aug. 13, 2018 and end May 31, 2019, PUSD assistant superintendent of human resources Julio Hernandez said Tuesday.

The compensation increases, estimated at $2.46 million overall this year, will be paid for using funding from the state and the district’s ending fund balance, according to district officials.

Last school year trustees approved one-time increases of 0.85% annual salary for management, APT and California School Employees Association members and select administrators.

In other business

* The board approved a contract not to exceed $1.33 million for an architect for the planned Lydiksen Elementary rebuild.

After presenting the agreement with Aedis Architects for consideration at the Oct. 24 board meeting, administrators indicated the contract would be brought back this month so hourly rates that were mistakenly left off could be included.

The hourly rates for several positions were added and range from $185 an hour for the contract administrator to $250 an hour for the principal in charge.

The contract was also updated to reflect that no decision has been made regarding the project design. It indicates that a pre-engineered building option would cost $1.06 million, the conventional building $1.33 million and a hybrid of the two would not exceed $1.33 million.

The Lydiksen Elementary rebuild is part of the initial $70 million Measure I1 bond issuance authorized by the board in August, with $30 million earmarked for the Lydiksen project.

* In closed session the board unanimously approved a settlement agreement with an employee regarding a Family and Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act entitlement matter. No further details were provided.