The Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a two-year contract agreement with the Tamalpais Federation of Teachers at their meeting on June 25, 2014. The agreement impacts approximately 268 teachers, counselors, and librarians. The chief negotiator for the district was Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel, and the chief negotiator for the teachers' union was President of the Tamalpais Federation of Teachers, Aaron Pribble. Negotiations began in December 2013.
Terms of the contract include:
2014 - 2015
4% raise on the salary schedule
1% of salary in a one-time payment
.04% increase in district paid benefits
2015 - 2016
3% raise on the salary schedule
1% of salary in a one-time payment
Increase in district paid benefits at rate TBD
The total increase for 2014-2015 is 5.04%, or about $5,200 per teacher. The total increase for 2015-2016 is 4%, or about $4,342 per teacher.
The total cost of this settlement to the district is about $2.5 million dollars. The Tamalpais Union High School District is a community-funded district that receives its revenue almost exclusively from local property taxes. The teacher raise is made possible because of recent increases in property tax receipts due to the rapid increase in home sales and prices.
Other key contract provisions include:
- Agreement to maintain the counselor-to-student ratio of 325:1 for at least three years.
- Agreement on a job description and compensation for counselor leaders.
- Stipends for freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior class advisors.
- Compensation for teachers who write letters of recommendation.
- Increases in teacher hourly rate for curriculum development and professional development work.
Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel said, "I am very pleased that we reached an agreement with our teachers in a relatively short period of time because of our shared belief in collective bargaining through collaboration and mutual problem solving. We have addressed several long-standing issues, such as the counselor leader position and the long hours that our teachers spend writing letters of recommendation. In addition, we have provided a generous salary increase to our teachers who have worked over the past few years to create a district curriculum, courses of study, and an assessment system which is aligned to the Common Core Standards."
Board president Bob Walter added, “This agreement is the fruition of on-going, considered, and mutually respectful dialogue between the District’s negotiators and the Tamalpais Federation of Teachers negotiating team. It bespeaks the enormous respect that our governance team, Dr. Kimbrel and the Board of Trustees, has for our teachers. What remains most remarkable for me is how, throughout our negotiations, the often voiced question and shared common concern of everyone at the table was, ‘What's best for our students?’”
Board president Bob Walter added, “This agreement is the fruition of on-going, considered, and mutually respectful dialogue between the District’s negotiators and the Tamalpais Federation of Teachers negotiating team. It bespeaks the enormous respect that our governance team, Dr. Kimbrel and the Board of Trustees, has for our teachers. What remains most remarkable for me is how, throughout our negotiations, the often voiced question and shared common concern of everyone at the table was, ‘What's best for our students?’”
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