FRESNO, CA (KMJ) — A tentative agreement is reached between the Fresno Unified School District and the Fresno Teachers Association.
It’s been 18 months of bargaining by both sides, but F.U.S.D. and the FTA worked though the night, and Superintendent Bob Nelson told media gathered at Leavenworth Elementary for the press conference, that they finalized the contract at 4:50 a.m. Wednesday morning, just one day before a fact finding report was to be released.
The district says the report will not be released now that they have a deal set to be voted upon.
The agreement promises an 8.5 % salary increase, smaller class sizes, no TK-6 combo classes, $18,000 in health benefits, and improved classroom safety.
SALARY
- 3.5% pay increase retroactive back to July 1st, 2016
- 2% pay increase effective July 1st, 2017
- 1% (min) pay increase to 3% increase (max) based on a contingency formula for the 2018-19 funding under LCFF.
HEALTHCARE
- $18,000 per-employee per-year for health care
- 90/10 co-insurance benefit with (max) out of pocket single payer $2,500 & (max) out of pocket for family $5,000.
CLASS SIZES
- All grades TK-12 will have class sized reductions district-wide effective 2018-2019 school year
- TK-3 1:24 ratio
- 4-6 1:29 ratio
- 7-12 1:29 ratio (core classes only, includes foreign language)
- TK-6 Eliminate all combo classes
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ALSO INCLUDES:
Hours: Professional Learning/Accountable Communities reduced 9 hours per year.
Nurses: Increased registered nursing staff to 63 full-time (3 more than originally planned)
Adult Education: reduce duty day by five, then an additional five by July 1, 2019 with no change in salary.
Working Conditions: Fresno Unified & FTA also agreed to create a School climate and Safety Committee to address safety concerns.
Special Education: In February 2018, FTA & District will establish a collaborative committee aimed at addressing shared for improvement.
FTA President Tish Rice says she will be meeting with key leaders on Thursday, January 18th to present the agreement and go over the terms. Rice seemed confident the response by teachers would be positive and gave a timeline of just a few weeks for the FTA vote to be conducted.
Once the FTA has approved the contract, the District Board of Education will then vote to ratify it.
[Photo: FTA]Mayor Lee Brand released the following statement on the news that the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) and the Fresno Teachers Association (FTA) have reached a tentative contract agreement and have avoided a possible strike:
“I am extremely happy that Fresno Unified officials and the Fresno Teachers Association have resolved their differences without a strike. This tentative contract is a sensible compromise that honors the district’s fiscal responsibility while also respecting the hard work and dedication of Fresno’s teachers. This is good news for our kids, good news for our families, and good news for our community.”
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
