Gilroy school district and teachers union reach tentative deal

The Gilroy Teachers Association and Gilroy Unified School District have announced a tentative agreement over a new contract.

If approved, the deal will mark the end to over a year of negotiations and months of impasse.

“The Gilroy Unified School District is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with the Gilroy Teachers Association,” said Superintendent Anisha Munshi in a news release. “We value the work of our staff members and we look forward to improved outcomes for all students as a result of this agreement.”

Negotiations between the two parties began in September 2022. Gilroy Teachers Association asked for higher pay and smaller class sizes in elementary schools. In addition, the group voiced concerns that high school academic advisers were being asked to supervise students, a task that the association argued was inappropriate for the role.

After early discussions failed to produce a deal, the teachers union called for an impasse, which resulted in mediated talks. The most recent stage of negotiations led to a hearing Wednesday where the two parties presented evidence to an independent panel, generating the current tentative agreement. Had the hearing not resulted in an agreement, the union would have been legally authorized for a strike.

Gilroy Unified School District has not yet released the details of the contract. However, according to a news release by the teachers union, the deal provides a 13% salary increase, reduced class sizes in first through third grade and reduced supervision duties for advisors.

“We feel very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with the district and that we were able to agree on items that we feel will really positively impact Gilroy classrooms, Gilroy educators, and Gilroy students,” said Caitlin Madolora, president of the Gilroy Teachers Association. “We are optimistic that moving forward, we can really work together to address some of the issues that we're seeing in the classroom and to make a greater investment in our Gilroy students and educators.”

The teachers association will vote on the agreement beginning Wednesday. If the agreement is approved, the board of education plans to ratify the new contract at an upcoming November meeting.