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The Association of Pleasanton Teachers announced on Tuesday that it declared an impasse in negotiations with the district after the two sides remain nearly 10% apart on proposed salary increases, among other disputed contract stipulations.
Negotiations between both parties have been at a standstill for some time now, including after negotiation sessions last week and this week.
“APT has worked extremely hard to adjust their student-centered proposals to aid in repurposing PUSD’s budget in order to support students and educators,” APT president Cheryl Atkins told the Weekly on Tuesday.
“Based on district management’s most recent counterproposal, which did not move on salary, APT’s concessions over the past year and a statement made by district management that despite the movement that APT has made, these concessions will not structurally affect the money that district management can put on the table, we declared an impasse,” Atkins added.
PUSD has not responded to requests for comments on the impasse as of Tuesday night.
Though details about the specific process going forward remain unclear, after an impasse is declared the two sides typically would advance to a fact-finding stage of the negotiations.
The last time the APT declared an impasse in negotiations with the district was in September 2021 after two years of negotiations with the district.
At that time, the union was on the verge of potentially going on strike after more than 98% of the collective bargaining unit’s members who cast a ballot voted to authorize a strike to be called. A deal was ultimately reached that November.
In May 2022, both sides approved a new collective bargaining agreement that included a 3.25% salary increase and 2% additional compensation benefits. The contract, which is open for negotiations every three years, covers the next three academic years.
The contract also included a one-year settlement for the 2022-23 portion of the agreement and health benefits for employees in line with CalPERS health benefits — a maximum of $5,000 including all CalPERS-required contributions.
In addition to the salary raise, another 0.25% was added to the increase with the approval of a 2022 Public Agency Retirement Services memorandum of understanding for retirement incentive. This brought the total salary increase to 3.5% in the ratified 2022-23 APT contract.
However, each year the APT and district representatives get the opportunity to open articles — such as salary, calendar and benefits — in the contract to renegotiate, which is what is going on right now.
According to the APT’s website, the union is demanding a 15% salary increase as well as fully paid health benefits, reduced class sizes and changes to the school year work calendar stating that the district must allocate new ongoing money it received from the state toward paying teachers.
Atkins told the school board during the Oct. 12 board meeting — where dozens of PUSD teachers packed the board meeting room and hallway — that the district has no excuse given the new funds and needs to prioritize properly compensating its educators.
Union leadership previously said they were not happy with the district’s offer of a 6.3% pay raise, which is why teachers took a stand and showed up to the last board meeting. They also took to the streets with picket signs in front of each school to raise awareness of why they are asking for better compensation.
According to Atkins, the district had raised their offer up to 6.5% during the last bargaining session on Oct. 17 but during Tuesday’s session, “they did not move at all.”
She added that district negotiators countered with a small increase in master degree stipends from $750 to $1,000 but made “no other movement” on anything else that cost the district money.
“No other movement was made that cost money,” she said. “They did agree to class size for K-3 to be 24, which does not cost money, it only puts the current status quo into the (collective bargaining agreement) language.”
A petition to demand the district prioritize teachers’ salary and health benefits, which was posted on change.org on Monday, has been gaining traction online with nearly 1,900 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
This really doesn’t tell the whole story. The story is that PUSD has received over 15% more funding based on cost of living funding from the state over the last 2 years. Yes, there is not 15% more money due to declining enrollment, but the district management sees no problem in funding themselves with more raises and many more employees and then claiming that the teachers want to bankrupt the district. What the teachers really want is what the district tells the teachers all the time…equity. The PUSD superintendent is making over 44% more in base salary than in 2017. While teachers salary increased under 14% in the same time period (or in other words, the superintendent’s salary is increasing at a rate over 3X that of the teachers). I will say that calculating teacher’s salary increase is a little complicated, but those numbers are coming from the highest paid (most experienced and trained) teachers. Why are we “investing” in huge salary increases for district office employees as well as increases district office staff while enrollment is declining? How many students and parents come back and talked about the impact the superintendent had on their lives. For decades PUSD had the highest paid teachers in the country (and likely the Bay area) and attracted the best teachers. As of today, PUSD is the 4th lowest paid in the country. Taking into account the current PUSD offer, the teachers would be about the 5th best paid teachers in the county and if you calculated “all in” (all stipends, benefits, etc.) would probably be a several spots lower. While the teachers are asking for 15% raise which almost seems ridiculous, last year (summer 2022), PUSD gave the superintendent a 16.5% raise (honestly, I can’t find an explanation of why – if you know, please post). The only thing I can figure out is that it was a reward for keeping teacher’s salary lower than surrounding schools.
I read this story twice. I cannot find what the teachers are asking for. The story says teachers want nearly 10 percent more than what the district is offering, but I do not see specifically what the union is demanding. It also would be helpful to include the salary range of teachers. The median pay would be good to know, too. In other words, critical details would be helpful.
Thank you , Lance, for your excellent commentary. We should all be deeply concerned with the treatment of our teachers since this superintendent arrived. He has systematically eroded our district . He shares the responsibility for our current state with the school board that supports him. It’s impossible not to see how bloated the D.O. staff has become, while those with institutional wisdom of how we became a “destination district” have been jumping ship . We’ve witnessed increasing numbers of our most experienced teachers fleeing to nearby districts. They leave with heavy hearts because the board has been deaf to their deep unhappiness. Is it any surprise that we are here at the brink of a strike? Pleasanton teachers, I support you.
Please help us to sign this petition! https://www.change.org/p/demand-pleasanton-unified-school-district-to-prioritize-teacher-salary-and-health-benefits
Here is the link to the salary schedule: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1658393641/pleasantonusdnet/vu0kcreww4bidviax0qw/PUSD-Certificated-Salary-Schedule-2022-23.pdf
The most difficult part of all this is DO staff wringing their hands about a raise, yet Haglund and others get the same percentage added to their salaries when they settle. So if the teachers get 3, 5, or whatever, Haglund gets it too.
PUSD was certainly a destination district for me when I started my teaching career: making an impact where I live, seeing the kids grow up, giving back to the community. I was so proud to be hired! I worked hard to become a better teacher, and the district supported me with robust trainings and mentoring. Now I’m almost embarrassed to claim this history because the district is not these things anymore. There is little support for teachers at any level (except for the excellent new teachers induction program) and even less support for the students. And we’re not even addressing the increased cost of living over the past decade v comparable salary adjustments. If something is shiny and new, management adopts it, regardless of programs and people already in place. All the new positions and staff at the district office? How many were promoted from within? Almost none. (And how many were women? Even fewer). How is there funding for this and not for classroom support? This management is out of touch with the art of teaching and their self-promotion and aggrandizing is exhausting, all at the expense of our children (and future leaders). Support the teachers! They are not asking for much, especially in comparison to what management has managed to secure for themselves. This “destination” is a dead end for experienced professionals who can earn more in neighboring towns. Shame on you.
Most of you all voted for this, the board, the bond, etc.
That is not all of it!
Have you opened your property tax bill envelope yet?
Haglund’s benefit package – which is over $75,000 a year – is that only while he is employed by PUSD or forever? Secondly the language about Haglund and “others” that receive whatever raise the teachers get…… where does that come from? Not asking for “who” specifically but who (in general) would be responsible for that? Can that somehow get changed? Do other districts have the same type of agreement regarding raises? I get contracts and all but at what point is enough enough with Haglund’s raises. It’s not like he is not paid well. Sad to see Pleasanton teachers going through this once again.
The additional raises given to cabinet and non union staff is part of a “me too” agreement. And yes, other districts do it too. For those with contracts, I think it’s wrong to negotiate a raise you will get.
The current proposal from APT is:
1) 14.25% increase to the salary schedule. This is based on (but less than) COLA over the past two years minus the 3.5% already negotiated in the last contract.
2) Full SINGLE Kaiser health care coverage including premium increases (management gets full FAMILY coverage INCLUDING premium increases FOR LIFE after 5 years employment – which most of the cabinet have).
3) Class size reductions and caseload caps for specialists to better support students.
4) A variety of stipend increases to attract and retain specialists.
Management’s proposals:
1) 6.5% increase to the salary schedule. This is less than this year’s COLA of 8.22% and doesn’t account for the shortfall from last year after the district received $20M in EXTRA funding after a contract agreement was reached. When they refused to reopen the contract to negotiate how that funding would be spent, they assured the community that money would still be there for this negotiation – now they say they don’t have it.
2) Full single Kaiser health care coverage NOT tied to premiums. They expect teachers to shoulder the burden of rising healthcare costs. These costs increased 12% this year alone. The current $5000 they provide to teachers didn’t even cover the $7000 premium increase in family Kaiser from 2022 to 2023.
3) No class size reductions except for K-3, which has been mandated (and funded) by the state for over 10 years, so it costs them nothing to put that current number in the contract.
4) Some, but not all, of the stipend increases teachers asked for. Those that they have agreed to were in areas where parents have flooded the board with complaints (dual immersion, special ed, outdoor ed). While they did offer an increase in stipends for masters and doctorates from $750 to $1000, they refuse to tie the stipend to a cell on the salary schedule (so it would increase with increases in salary) while Dr. Haglund’s stipends for HIS doctorate and masters are higher and tied to a cell.
Dr. Haglund’s contract:
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1679694359/pleasantonusdnet/klsjswc7wexixus5rst5/DHaglundPUSDSuperintendentContract62521andAmendment72822Final.pdf
Pleasanton is not the fine City it was! This is directly related to the people that have been voted into office. Voice your concerns at the ballot box!
Teachers are well paid for the actual hours worked and before you say they work a lot off the clock, most of the salaried ppl I know do also. Alot of us have the “unlimited time off” feature of “tech work” which is laughable at best. Teachers I love ya and hate ya.. go cry me a river.
If you compare the salary that teachers and similar professionals earn with postgraduate degrees teachers earn far less. Yes, even prorated for time off during summer breaks. Then again why pay some of our most important citizens well? Why would we not try to attract bright dedicated people to the teaching profession with high salaries and good benefits? The lack of respect that teachers experience with comments like the one from Jo are all too common.