Brief update: tentative agreement reached for SMUSD teachers
After the San Marcos Educators Association stormed in at a SMUSD board meeting last month, both SMUSD and the association have decided on a solution.
Photo by ArvinJay Jumalon
Protesters line up and advocate for higher-quality classroom sizes and an efficient and honest contract at the SMUSD board meeting last month.
May 13, 2019
After two years of negotiations, the San Marcos Unified School District and the San Marcos Educators Association (SMEA) reached a tentative agreement on May 6.
In the proposed agreement, teacher salaries would increase based on the time spent in the district. Throughout the course of three years, teachers will receive an 8.5 percent salary increase. The salary increase is redeemable after the three years end.
Furthermore, staffing ratios for high school will be put at an average of 32.5 students to 1 teacher. Staffing ratios will be established district-wide. This is the first time the teacher’s contract has specific language on class size.
The agreement has not been implemented yet; SMEA will vote to ratify it in late May or early June. If the vote succeeds, teachers will have a permanent contract. If the vote fails, both parties will continue to negotiate into the summer.
Diana Diaz • May 29, 2019 at 5:08 pm
About those class “averages”-in case you didn’t know it-those “averages” are putting the burden on the backs of our honor student kids. Admin. makes the honor classes higher-(sometimes 40 kids!) than the ‘average” so the ESL and special education classes can be extra small. I have nothing against those classes, but please make sure there is some MAXIMUM amount per class WRITTEN INTO THE CONTRACTS so our honor kids don’t end up getting the short end of the stick again.