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Many members of the Livermore Education Association will see a retroactive salary bump and a one-time increase to their benefits, following unanimous approval of a collective bargaining agreement by the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District Board of Education.
The agreement, which was greenlit during the board’s April 15 meeting, also included contract articles regarding staffing ratios, special education services as well as the LVJUSD working and learning environment.
Also on the table were memorandum of understanding regarding use of personal phones during emergencies, administrator designees as well as the 2025-26 school year calendar and its impact on elementary science specialists.
The tentative agreements and MOUs before the board were reached by LEA and district negotiating teams, according to the agenda item.
Those impacted by the decision include LEA teachers, nurses, counselors, psychologists, speech pathologists, social workers and teachers on special assignment.
Approval of the tentative agreements would “improve the working conditions for our members and ultimately the learning conditions for our students”, LEA President Amy Thompson said at the meeting.
Prior to the board’s decision, 86% of LEA members voted to ratify the tentative agreements and MOUs, according to Thompson.
This approval rating is a very positive sign, Board President Emily Prusso and Trustee Deena Kaplanis said at the meeting
“I am just really appreciative for both teams making an effort to get a little bit uncomfortable on both sides,” Prusso added.
As part of the decision, the board authorized removing the lowest tier from the LEA salary schedule. The majority members will see a wage increase — ongoing and retroactive to Jan. 1 — due to the restructuring.Â
Under the new agreement, a fully credentialed, first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree will earn $71,241 annually, instead of $69,429. This represents a raise of approximately 2.5%.
If that teacher was instead in their fifth year of teaching, they would earn $79,323 annually rather than $69,449, equal to an approximately 14% raise.
Those not receiving raises have a select combination of experience and education, such as teachers who are not fully credentialed and have one year of experience with 30 semester units of education above a bachelor’s degree.
As for benefits, LEA members will receive $11,600 in district-contributed health benefits, up from $10,900 for the 2024-25 school year, according to the executive summary of agreement changes. The extra $700 will be ongoing if state-funded TK add-on is $5,700 per ADA or above, according to the summary.
Within special education, moderate as well as adult transition teachers are now included in the current 13:1 class size and caseload limit for special day class teachers, according to the summary.
Regarding staffing, the agreement establishes a 1:600 ratio for comprehensive high school counselors to students. Also, if there is a 15% increase in the student to nurse ratio from the 2024-25 level, then additional nurses will be hired.
“These ratios create stable jobs for our members, which will allow us to attract and retain qualified and consistent staff for our students,” Thompson said.
On the subject of health and safety conditions, the agreement details temperature guidelines, ventilation, illumination, noise level as well as the process for submitting work orders for related issues, according to the summary. There is also a new requirement that staff is notified of violent incidents on campus if they are in contact with the student.
“(We) believe that this agreement reflects the value and the goals of our district,” said Amy Robbins, assistant superintendent of human resources.
Following approval, the revised contract articles were set for incorporation into the current LEA collective bargaining agreement. MOUs were set for implementation.
