The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted unanimously today in support of a three-year contract with teachers that provides roughly 10.4 percent in salary increases.
Members of the teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles, are expected to vote on the proposed contract next month. If ratified by the union, the contract will return to the LAUSD board for a final vote.
“LAUSD and UTLA believe this agreement is good for students, educators and the stability of the district moving forward,” according to a joint union- district statement issued late Friday, when the tentative deal was struck.
The agreement also calls for reduced class sizes and increased counseling services and makes changes to the teacher evaluation system and teacher reassignments, according to the district and union.
The tentative agreement came as UTLA engaged in a series of protests they called “escalating actions” aimed at reaching a more lucrative contract for teachers. LAUSD Superintendent had been holding the line on raises, saying offering more money would lead to across-the-board layoffs.
In a report to the Board of Education, Cortines said the proposed contract could leave the district in the red by hundreds of millions of dollars by the 2016-17 school year. He said, however, he was hopeful that Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget would help erase an anticipated 2015-16 deficit of about $140 million.
According to UTLA, the proposed contract includes a 4 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2014, and another 2 percent retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. It also includes another 2 percent raise effective July 1, and another 1 percent effective Jan. 1.
