Labor Negotiations Update 7/7/23
The District met with CSEA for a sixth round of negotiations on Friday, July 7.
The District and CSEA reached a tentative agreement on Article 27- Vacation Leave. The changes are designed to better outline the process of how vacation requests and approvals occur. As of July 7, CSEA and the District have not come to an agreement on Articles 30 & 38 related to Workers’ Compensation. All items agreed to by both sides are pending ratification from CSEA members and approval of the School Board.
SBTA
Additionally, the Board of Trustees ratified the agreements with Santa Barbara Teacher’s Association during the June 27 meeting. Click here to review the agenda and see the ratified articles. You can also find them on this webpage.
Labor Negotiations Update 6/9/23
The District met with CSEA for a fifth round of negotiations on Friday, June 9.
The District and CSEA reached a tentative agreement on Article 15 - Uniform Allowance. This article will cover the cost of uniforms for employees in certain classifications.
Both sides will meet for negotiations again on June 23rd to continue discussing Articles 27- Vacation Leave and Articles 30 & 38 related to Workers’ Compensation.
Next Steps
The District is confident both will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
The next CSEA negotiating session is June 23.
Labor Negotiations Update 6/1/23
We are pleased to announce Santa Barbara Unified and SBTA reached tentative agreements on all articles that have been brought forward. As superintendent, I am so proud of the work of the SBTA and SBUSD negotiations teams, as the final products from the negotiations bring coherence and consistency to our programs and practices. These tentative agreements are the representation of our mutual interest in what is best for our employees.
Tentative agreements are centered around the following articles: special education caseloads, secondary working conditions related to zero and seventh periods, elementary prep time, adjunct duties, and leaves.
The deal is pending ratification from SBTA members and approval of the School Board.
There were no labor negotiations with CSEA this week.
Next Steps
The District is confident in the ability to work with CSEA in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
The next CSEA negotiating session is June 9.
Labor Negotiations Update 5/25/23
The District met with CSEA for a fourth round of negotiations on Thursday, May 25. Both sides discussed Article 27- Vacation Leave, Article 15 - Uniform Allowance, and Workers’ Compensation. Negotiations around these topics will continue at the next meeting.
There were no labor negotiations with SBTA this week.
Next Steps
The District is confident both will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
The next SBTA negotiating session is June 1.
The next CSEA negotiating session is June 9.
Labor Negotiations Update 5/19/23
Santa Barbara Unified met with SBTA today to continue negotiations.
Both sides exchanged proposals on elementary prep time and special education caseloads. They will continue discussions at the next meeting.
There were no labor negotiations with CSEA this week.
Next Steps
The District is confident both will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
The next CSEA negotiating session is May 25th.
The next SBTA negotiating session is June 1.
Labor Negotiations Update 5/12/23
Santa Barbara Unified met with CSEA and SBTA today to continue negotiations. Updates from each bargaining unit are below:
SBTA Negotiations
The District met with SBTA for a seventh round of negotiations on Friday, May 12. We have a tentative agreement on Secondary working conditions related to zero and seventh periods. The District gave a counterproposal on Special Education caseloads. The District and SBTA will continue to negotiate over Elementary teacher preparation time in future meetings.
CSEA Negotiations
The District met with CSEA for a third round of negotiations on Friday, May 12. The District gave a counterproposal on Article 27- Vacation Leave. CSEA also offered a counterproposal on workers’ compensation.
Next Steps
The District is confident both parties will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
The next SBTA negotiating session is May 19.
The next CSEA negotiating session is May 25th.
Labor Negotiations Update 5/5/23
Santa Barbara Unified met with SBTA this week to continue negotiations. Updates from the bargaining unit’s session are below.
SBTA Negotiations
The District met with SBTA on Friday, May 5 to hold a sixth round of negotiations.
SBTA and the District continued negotiations related to special education caseloads and elementary prep time. Both parties exchanged counter proposals on these topics, and SBTA presented an initial proposal addressing back-to-school night schedules at high schools. The District looks forward to continued progress with our negotiations with SBTA.
Next Steps
Negotiations are ongoing, and the District will meet again with SBTA and CSEA on May 12, 2023.
Labor Negotiations Update 4/28/23
Santa Barbara Unified met with CSEA and SBTA this week to continue negotiations. Updates from each bargaining unit’s session are below.
SBTA Negotiations
The District met with SBTA on Friday, April 28 to hold a fifth round of negotiations.
The District agreed to SBTA’s proposal to change language in Article XI related to personal illness and injury leave, increasing this leave benefit from 5 months to 100 school days. That agreement will take effect July 1, 2023.
SBTA and the District also discussed Special Education caseloads, secondary working conditions related to zero and seventh period, and elementary teacher preparation time. The District is evaluating these items and look forward to continuing to negotiate them in future sessions
CSEA Negotiations
SB Unified leaders held a second negotiation session on Thursday, April 27.
Discussions continued around Article 15 - Uniform Allowances and Workers’ Compensation and will continue in future sessions.
CSEA also brought forth an initial proposal on Article 27- Vacation Leave. The District is analyzing the proposal and will discuss it in future meetings.
Next Steps
Negotiations are ongoing as we look to find solutions with both bargaining units.
The next SBTA negotiating session is on May 5.
The next CSEA negotiating session is on May 12.
Labor Negotiations Update 4/14/23
SBTA Negotiations
Santa Barbara Unified School District met for a fourth round of negotiations on Friday, April 14th, with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA). The following items were discussed:
The District submitted a counter-proposal to the SBTA request for changes in leaves. SB Unified is waiting for a response.
A counter-proposal was also sent to SBTA for working conditions related to zero and seventh periods in the secondary level.
The two sides discussed elementary adjunct duties and will discuss the use of elementary specials rotation time at a later bargaining session.
CSEA Negotiations
The District conducted its initial negotiations session negotiations with CSEA Friday. CSEA presented an initial proposal for Article 15- Uniform Allowances. The District introduced a model for calculating Workman’s Compensation for future discussions. More details will be shared after future sessions.
Next Steps
The next CSEA negotiating session is on April 27.
The next SBTA negotiating session is on April 28.
Labor Negotiations Update 4/11/23
It has been a few years since the District negotiated a new contract with one of its labor partners, the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA). This is because we were fortunate to reach a 3-year agreement for the 2021-2024 school years, which provided a guaranteed salary increase in an unprecedented time of uncertainty.
Our collective bargaining law requires the District and its labor partners negotiate over a variety of issues (including salaries and benefits) in a good-faith effort to reach an agreement. Part of the three-year mutual agreement was no reopeners on Wages or Benefits. The District and SBTA will negotiate Wages and Benefits anew for the 2024-2025 school year.
The District acknowledges, however, the economic factors at play in our area (and much of California), as external forces beyond our control and our limited revenue resources continue to concern all employees. We also note that successor contract negotiations are approaching. We believe those negotiations are the appropriate forum in which to address these challenges and fiscal limitations.
The District is confident both parties will continue to work together in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The district is also committed to continuing to analyze budgets and looks forward to successor contract negotiations where wages will be discussed.
Labor Negotiations Update 4/4/23
The District values and commits to good faith negotiations with Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA) and also values the contractual commitments we make with our labor partners. During the Tuesday, April 4 negotiation, SBUSD and SBTA came to a tentative side letter agreement on extending the class size reduction for one more year. The class size levels for 2023-2024 will be as follows:
|
Grade Level |
Class Size Ratio |
| K-3 |
20:1 |
| 4-6 | 25:1 |
| Grade Level |
Total Student Caseload |
| Secondary |
90:1 in 4x4 Block 150:1 in a 6-period schedule |
A formal agreement will be made on this extension soon.
SBUSD also presented SBTA with our first counter proposal on Special Education caseload targets. The topic will continue to be discussed at the next meeting.
SBUSD and SBTA will continue negotiating toward more effective use of the elementary specials rotation time.
NEXT STEP
Next bargaining session: April 14
Negotiations Update 3/9/23
Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) met for a second round of negotiations on Thursday, March 9th with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA). SBUSD is providing these timely updates as part of its efforts to be transparent, accurate, and factual about labor negotiations.
Our topics discussed included Special Education, class size, secondary hours and conditions related to zero and seven-period courses, and elementary hours/conditions related to teacher prep time and adjunct duties. SBUSD presented counter offers on class size, adjunct duties, and secondary bell schedules.
NEXT STEPS
Next bargaining sessions: April 4 and April 14
Members of the team are as follows:
SB Unified
Chief Negotiator Dr. John Becchio
Dr. Lynn Sheffield
Dr. Stanley Munro
Ann Peak
Dr. Elise Simmons
Arielle Curry
Kim Hernandez
We look forward to meeting at the next session to continue our efforts to support both employees and, ultimately, students.
Negotiations Update 3/8/23
This is Santa Barbara Unified School District’s (SBUSD) first Negotiations Update for 2023-2024 contract negotiations between the District and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA). The District will distribute the Negotiations Update after meetings with SBTA to inform our community on the progress of negotiations. We value this process and shared goal to ensure our employees are supported while also maintaining a sustainable operating budget.
The District’s commits to the following core values to guide our work through the negotiation process:
Enhance student outcomes
Remain fiscally solvent
Be transparent and adhere to our agreements
Coherence and consistency across District
On Thursday, March 2, the District and SBTA labor negotiations teams met to discuss contract negotiations proposals and our upcoming contract agreements.
We discussed proposals presented by the SBTA negotiation team on Class Size, Hours and Conditions, and Leaves.
NEXT STEPS
Next bargaining session: March 9
Members of the team are as follows:
SB Unified
Chief Negotiator Dr. John Becchio
Dr. Lynn Sheffield
Dr. Stanley Munro
Ann Peak
Dr. Elise Simmons
Arielle Curry
Kim Hernandez
We continue to look forward to a collaborative and beneficial process to support both employees and, ultimately, students.