MJUSD board OKs teacher pay bump
May 25—In contrast to previous board meetings about the issue, the Marysville Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a cost-of-living adjustment for teachers in the district without much controversy or discussion during its regular meeting Tuesday night in Marysville.
After months of negotiations and a heated discussion during a previous board meeting, the Marysville Unified Teachers Association (MUTA) and Marysville Joint Unified School District (MJUSD) reached a tentative agreement on May 3 on unresolved salary issues that had caused a delay in fully approving the 2020/21 school year contract.
Included in that agreement was a cost-of-living adjustment for the 2021/22 school year that MUTA was seeking in order to offset increased expenditures related to inflation and elevated gas prices, the Appeal previously reported.
Angela Stegall, a Marysville High School English teacher and president of MUTA, said a 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase was proposed last summer and the district had continually come back with a 2 percent proposal.
"We bargained for months after July," Stegall previously said.
She said the district had initially told MUTA that it didn't have the money to include the 5 percent increase because it would cause the district to go into "deficit spending."
MJUSD Superintendent Fal Asrani previously said the district has always supported a strong salary for its staff.
"The District has tentatively agreed to a 5 percent ongoing increase to total compensation for the 2021-2022 school year to align with what the State has identified as a potential COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) increase," Asrani previously said in an emailed statement.
On Tuesday, the MJUSD Board of Trustees approved that increase in a unanimous vote.
"On May 10, 2022, representatives for the District and MUTA signed (a) tentative agreement. The agreement calls for a five percent (5%) improvement on MUTA wage/salary schedule retroactive to July 1, 2021 for the 2021-22 school year," according to the board's agenda.
Also approved for COLA increases on Tuesday was the Supervisors Unit.
"On May 12, 2022, representatives for the District and Supervisors signed an addendum to the TA (tentative agreement) reached on June 28, 2021. This addendum is as a result of a 'Me, too' clause that is part of the TA," the board's agenda said. "The addendum calls for an additional three percent (3%) improvement on Supervisor's wage/salary schedule retroactive to July 1, 2021 for the 2021-22 school year. This addendum is intended to settle all proposals between the parties for the 2021-22 school year."
Similar actions were taken for Operating Engineers Local #3 and the Association of Management and Confidential Employees.
Stegall previously said this cost-of-living increase was important for MUTA members because the state said the next cost-of-living adjustment could be 5.33 percent or as much as 6.56 percent.
"There is no real date, but the longer this stuff drags on, the more frustrating it becomes because then teachers don't know how to budget accordingly," Stegall said prior to a May 3 contract negotiation update. "You don't know what your pay is going to be. As inflation goes up, am I going to get a salary increase to keep up? How do you save? How do you know how much to save?"
Asrani previously said MJUSD, much like other districts in the state, has been grappling with how to compete with others when it comes to hiring and retaining teachers and school staff. She said doing so will require "creative solutions" that she said are currently being considered.
"We offer some of the highest rates of pay in the surrounding area, but a lot of applicants don't necessarily live in the Marysville area," Asrani previously said. "With the increase in gas prices, we are finding it difficult to attract employees who are commuters, but we are going to keep sharing the excellent work that is occurring in our schools to attract new employees and retain our valued staff members."
