School Board, Teachers Agree to 6% Salary Hike

By Jorge Casuso

Thursday, July 1 - After more than four months of deadlocked negotiations, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the local teachers union have tentatively agreed to a six percent salary increase effective Feb. 1.

The increase, which affects most teachers, includes an additional day of work to develop and prepare class curriculum. Adult Education, Children's Center and substitute teachers will not be required to work the additional day and will receive a 5.6 percent increase.

"We're happy that we reached an agreement which serves the best interests of our children, all district staff and the community," said school board president Margaret Quinones. "We have learned a lot from this process, and we are definitely going to grow from this."

"Our negotiators are pleased that we could conclude a tentative agreement at this time," said Beth Muir, president of the Santa Monica Malibu Classroom Teachers Association. "We want to focus on building positive relationships with the Board of Education and the community."

The tentative agreement -- which is subject to ratification by teachers and the board - took more than eight hours to hammer out Monday, with the two sides still deadlocked over the salary increases.

The six percent raise was the last proposal the teachers had put on the table before a news blackout went into effect, according to sources close to the negotiations. Board officials say that extra funding for staff development recently announced by the state will allow them to grant the six percent hike for most teachers.

Kindergarten hours - which was the other major sticking point - had long been resolved, with teachers agreeing to 240 minutes a week, sources said. The board had proposed increasing the hours from a current 215 minutes to 275 minutes.

The kindergarten hours will be revisited next year, Quinones said.

"We'll study the hours with parent and teacher input and more planning," she said. "It's going to be a lengthier process."

Muir and teacher negotiations chair Jim Jaffe signed the tentative agreement for the teachers, while Quinones and Superintendent Neil Schmidt signed it for the board.