San Ramon Valley Education Association members are voting to ratify a tentative agreement that provides student resources, including caps on class sizes and caseloads. Talks had broken down on the issue of class size.  It took months of negotiations and an impasse that threatened a strike before SRVEA reached a tentative agreement with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.  

SRVEA President Ann Katzburg credited SRVEA members and parents for the TA. “Without their collective action and willingness to strike to improve student learning conditions, we wouldn’t be where we are,” she said. “We saw how much this community values and supports its educators. This means the world to us and strengthens our resolve to make San Ramon Valley an even better school district as we move forward.” SRVEA utilized several social media tools and the #ForOurStudents hashtag to inform the public of their interest in achieving a student-centered agreement.

Highlights of the Tentative Agreement include:

• 4% ongoing base salary increase
• .18% increase to the Retired Employees Health Benefit Plan and Trust
• Extended work year and revised salary schedule for school nurses
• Lower student to staff ratios for counselors, nurses and teacher librarians
• Extended work year and new salary schedule for Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs)
• Increased stipends for teachers who support new teachers (SRVTIP)
• Extended preparation time for elementary teachers
• New contract language for reduced 4th and 5th grade elementary staffing ratios and secondary daily student contacts
• Caps on class sizes and caseloads, including special day classes and secondary caseloads

Ratification voting will end tomorrow, March 14 and the SRVUSD Board is slated to ratify the agreement March 26. Once ratified, SRVEA members will receive their retroactive salaries for 2018-2019 in an upcoming payroll.