MUTA, MJUSD negotiations successful
Tentative agreement reached on cost-of-living increase
After months of negotiations and a heated discussion during a recent board meeting, the Marysville Unified Teachers Association and Marysville Joint Unified School District reached a tentative agreement Tuesday on outstanding issues that had caused a delay in fully approving the 2020/21 school year contract.
Included among the items that have been negotiated was a cost-of-living adjustment for the 2021/22 school year that the Marysville Unified Teachers Association (MUTA) was seeking in order to offset increased expenditures related to inflation and elevated gas prices.
While details still need to be approved by the Marysville Joint Unified School District (MJUSD) board on May 10 and MUTA members on May 24, the tentative agreements should help ease the many concerns brought by members of MUTA during an April 26 MJUSD board meeting in Marysville.
Angela Stegall, a Marysville High School English teacher and president of MUTA, said
a 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment increase was proposed last summer and the district had continually come back with a 2 percent proposal.
“We bargained for months after July,” Stegall said.
She said the district had initially told MUTA that it didn’t have the money to include the 5 percent increase because it would cause the district to go into “deficit spending.”
MJUSD Superintendent Fal Asrani said the district has always supported a strong salary for its staff.
“The District has tentatively agreed to a 5 percent ongoing increase to total compensation for the 2021-2022 school year to align with what the State has identified as a potential COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) increase,” Asrani said in an emailed statement.
Stegall said this costof-living increase was important for MUTA members because the state said the next cost-of-living adjustment could be 5.33 percent or as much as 6.56 percent.
“There is no real date, but the longer this stuff drags on, the more frustrating it becomes because then teachers don’t know how to budget accordingly,” Stegall said prior to Tuesday’s contract negotiation update. “You don’t know what your pay is going to be. As inflation goes up, am I going to get a salary increase to keep up? How do you save? How do you know how much to save?”
During last week’s MJUSD board meeting, several educators pleaded to the board to approve a 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment increase and address salary concerns for those that work for the district.
According to Tami
Straolzini, there is an increased need for MJUSD to attract and retain highquality teachers.
“I was told a story just the other day where a prospective teacher had a choice between our district and a neighboring district. When she closely compared all financial factors, one glaring difference stood out to her: Our monthly healthcare costs are a great deal higher than many districts in the area,” Straolzini said. “Knowing she would lose out on significant monthly pay, choosing our district was no longer one of her options. As a matter of fact, there are several districts surrounding us that have finally realized how important a healthy district benefit cap is to their employees.”
She said other districts, such as Yuba City Unified School District, have benefit caps that average between $12,000-$13,000 annually.
“Our district? $10,580. If we were able to match their healthcare offerings, we may be able to attract new teachers and prevent our current teachers from jumping ship because they cannot afford to live on their current monthly salaries,” Straolzini said. “This district was given an ongoing cost-ofliving adjustment of 5.07 percent, which was not allocated to any specific purpose. We have said from the beginning that a 5 percent ongoing salary increase is both fair and
necessary in order to help our teachers with the cost of everything rising and to help our district bring new educators into our classrooms.”
Asrani said MJUSD, much like other districts in the state, is grappling with how to compete with others when it comes to hiring and retaining teachers and school staff. She said doing so will require “creative solutions” that she said is currently being considered.
“We offer some of the highest rates of pay in the surrounding area, but a lot of applicants don’t necessarily live in the Marysville area,” Asrani said. “With the increase in gas prices, we are finding it difficult to attract employees who are commuters, but we are going to keep sharing the excellent work that is occurring in our schools to attract new employees and retain our valued staff members.”
Kelley Bielski, a firstgrade teacher at Olivehurst Elementary School, said everyone, including district board members, should be well aware of increased costs.
“It’s not a secret that the cost of living is going up,” Bielski said.
She then spoke about the price of gas and how she was “dreading what the
cost will be to fill up” her husband’s diesel truck.
“My grocery bill has gone up as well. I’m sure that all of you have been having similar experiences. The teachers and support staff in this district work hard for our students,” Bielski said. “I know that many of us buy things for our classes out of our own pockets. Whether it’s snacks, prizes, craft supplies for projects and holiday gifts, those all come out of our pockets. Why do we do this? For our kids and to see the pride on their faces when they go running out to their families that they have a Christmas, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift that they have made.”
According to the 2020 Census, the median household income in Yuba County was $59,424.
The average salary for an MJUSD teacher is $79,000, according to Rocco Greco, Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Services.
“That’s the average salary before we have to pay our health benefits,” Stegall said, which can cost a teacher on average $10,000 to $12,000 per year.
Bielski said the last two years have been difficult for school staff, including dealing with increased cases of teacher burnout.
“I’m feeling it and seeing it firsthand and have a
fear that there is going to be a mass exodus from education,” Bielski said. “Teaching is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. But in September of this year, I went home and asked my husband, ‘If I wasn’t teaching, what would I do?’ This is why I’m urging you to show your teachers and support staff that they are important by giving us a 5 percent cost-ofliving increase. The state of California has already increased your funding by 5.07 percent. We are just asking that you pass along the 5 percent to us.”
She said the 2 percent increase that was initially offered by the district was a “slap in the face.” Bielski said if MJUSD hopes to retain teachers, it needs to show that it values them.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, Jim Carpenter said the district had the funds to support the costof-living increase.
“The state gave us a 5.0
percent cost-of-living adjustment across the board. Yes, there are other funding separate areas, but they’re a drop in the bucket,” Carpenter said. “… The district could easily afford to give us that 5.07, they could afford to give us more. It’s hard to believe that you can’t afford to pass along what the state is giving you to your employees, but you can set aside millions of dollars every year to increase what you have in savings. It’s insulting. It is beneath you.”
Carpenter said as a taxpayer, he doesn’t pay taxes to see that money be “put in the bank.” He said the money the district has in reserve needs to be spent to the benefit of students and employees.
Alicia Tindel said the district needs to offer better compensation to keep teachers and staff. She said the “education profession” is undervalued by many in