San Lorenzo Unified School District’s approximately 1,000 employees will receive a 20% boost in compensation under newly approved or pending two-year agreements between the district and its professional associations.
The district School Board voted unanimously on March 21 to implement an immediate 15% across-the-board raise for teachers, support staff and administrators, retroactive to July 1, 2022, followed by a 5% increase effective July 1, 2023, or its equivalent.
Both the San Lorenzo Chapter 692 of the California School Employees Association, which represents non-certificated employees in a variety of roles, and the San Lorenzo Management Association, which represents administrators, agreed to 5% for 2023-24. The San Lorenzo Education Association, which represents teachers and other certificated employees, negotiated a 4% raise plus a 1% increase in the district’s contribution to employee benefits beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Negotiators for the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which primarily represents custodial, maintenance and child nutrition employees, tentatively agreed to the 15/5 package, pending ratification by members followed by a board vote on April 4.
For the district’s 465 teachers, the compounded two-year raises will increase salaries — based on years of service and credits of graduate education — from a current overall range of $54,418-107,360 to a new range of $65,084-128,403, plus the increased benefits contribution. For employees represented by the CSEA — using the example of a full-time, mid-level position — pay will increase from a current range of $55,342-67,417 to a new range of $66,825-81,406.
Despite the multimillion-dollar cost of the agreements, no corresponding layoffs are anticipated as the district prepares for the 2023-24 school year.
When contract talks began in September, the stated goal for all parties was to make San Lorenzo school district salaries more competitive with surrounding school districts in order to recruit and retain high-quality employees in a tight labor market for K-12 schools.
Superintendent Daryl Camp, who consulted with the board throughout the six-month process, expressed his appreciation to all involved for their determination to accomplish that.
“I’m proud and thankful that our district has been able to reach agreement with our professional associations,” Camp said. “What we have achieved together puts us in a better position than ever to ensure a supportive learning environment for our students and be able to recruit, attract and retain excellent teachers and other staff to serve our students.”
Karen Rosa, president of SLEA, also expressed satisfaction with the outcome on behalf of her members, who include not only teachers but also such roles as nurses, social workers, speech pathologists and librarians.
“This agreement goes a long way and contributes to reducing the vacancies and making us a district that can compete in the job market for all those various education positions,” Rosa said during the March 21 board meeting.