Friday, August 3, 2012

Tentative Agreement Reached Between SD Unified and Administrators Association Certificated Staff

The San Diego Unified School District and the Administrators Association San Diego (AASD) certificated bargaining unit have reached a tentative agreement on revisions to the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school year contracts that will help the district cope with state budget reductions.

The certificated unit of the Administrators Association, which includes principals and vice principals, have negotiated a tentative agreement that includes restoring last year's furloughs and deferring cost of living raises in the current contract that where planned for the 2012-13 school year. The agreement contains concessions similar to those included in earlier agreements reached with the San Diego Education Association and the San Diego Unified School Police Officers Association. Non-represented management staff will also make similar concessions.

The AASD tentative agreement also includes additional furlough days that would kick in should state tax ballot propositions fail in November. The district estimates that with the contingency furlough, administrators would contribute a proportional share of approximately $4.5 million to help resolve the estimated $40 million of mid-year cuts facing the district should the November ballot measure fail.

The membership of Administrators Association must now ratify the revisions and the Board of Education must also approve the agreement. The Board of Education will schedule the tentative agreement for final approval at a September Board meeting, following the AASD ratification vote to be held in August.

"This agreement with our principals and vice principals once again demonstrates that our district is taking the right actions that will ensure that we maintain a balanced budget for the 2012-13 school year," said Dr. John Lee Evans, Board of Education President. "We thank the members of the Administrators Association for making the same sacrifices that our teaching staff has agreed to so that we can preserve excellent educational opportunities for our students.

"Our principals have had to cope with the devastating effects of shrinking budgets over the last five years that impact their school operations. They are all working harder to keep our schools focus on students even as they, like our teachers, accept two more years of reduced pay. This is another example of how our school leaders in the Administrators Association make a priority of doing what's best for the kids."

The Tentative Agreement, which must now be ratified by the Association membership contains the following elements:
  • Deferral of raises contained in current contract;
  • Agreement to a set number of furlough days for the 2012-13 and 2013-14fiscal years; with additional furlough days to be added based on mid-year cuts (tracking with the SDEA schedule);
  • A 1 percent increase to top salary step if either state tax measure passes in November;
  • No layoffs in 2012-13 only;
  • 13 retirement incentives per year, with any unused from 2012-13 rolling over to 2013-14 and increasing up to a maximum of 18 in 2013-14 if there are positions eliminated that year;
  • Settlement of the priority consideration grievance and agreement to a contractual side letter outlining the process for future implementation as outlined in the most recent Human Resources Department iteration.