Parents are wondering if the District has come up with more money to fund the 13.5% raise they keep claiming to have offered, here is a clarification:

For 2014-15 school year: 3% raise effective mid year (1/1/15) not contingent on revenue

For 2015-16 school year: 3.5% raise effective mid year (1/1/16) AND a 4% raise effective at 11:59pm on the final day of the school year, one minute prior to the end of the contract year (6/30/16). both of these raises are contingent on revenue (so in other words, not guaranteed)

For 2016-17 school year: the parties will begin negotiations anew for this one… Nothing promised, nothing guaranteed.

This adds up to 10.5% over two years (after having had a 3.25% raise in the last ten years). The remaining three percent that the district claims to be offering is not really a raise, but compensation for longer working hours (1.5%) and cost savings created by having all teachers use only Kaiser for Healthcare (1.5%) or pay the difference on their own to keep the plan that they currently have.

A 10.5% (or even 13.5%) raise will leave our teachers well below other Districts, widening the gap between our wages and other districts and further exacerbating the teacher retention crisis that we are facing. 70% of OUSD teachers will leave within 5 years!

Please email, call, fax your Board Members and the District Office and let them know that you do not think that they are doing enough to attract or retain excellent teachers, and you expect them to do better!