Teachers get a 12 percent pay raise — with a catch

BERKELEY — Teachers will get a pay raise that could total as much as 12 percent over two years under a tentative agreement worked out with the Berkeley Unified School District, but part of that increase will be up to voters.

The deal calls for members of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers to get an ongoing salary increase of 2.5 percent in 2019-20, which would be retroactive to the beginning of this school year, and again in 2020-21, for a total increase of 5 percent over two years.

The contract also provides for an additional 7 percent raise beginning July 1, 2020 — if Berkeley voters pass a school parcel tax that likely will be on the March 2020 ballot.

The tax would be at a rate of 12 per cents per square foot of a building and would generate an estimated $10 million annually for the district.

An owner of a 960-square-foot house, which according to Zillow.com listings can sell for up to $749,000 in Berkeley, would expect to pay about $115 each year. The tax would need a two-thirds majority to pass.

“We are very happy to have reached a tentative agreement with BUSD that will have a significant positive impact on our ability to keep great teachers in Berkeley and to have a stable and committed workforce in Berkeley schools,” union President Matt Meyer said in a release.

The school board and the union’s rank-and file are expected to vote on ratifying the agreement sometime before December.

On Monday, hundreds of teachers at Berkeley High School staged a “sick out” as part of putting pressure on the district — their second such action — without union authorization. Many students joined them in walking out.

Key provisions in the tentative agreement, which was announced Wednesday, include limiting the caseload for special education teachers and providing pay for voluntary additional assessment work.

“This tentative agreement demonstrates the district’s commitment to address both compensation and funding gaps that have become realities for most California public school districts and teachers,” Superintendent Brent Stephens said in a statement. “We’re happy to have a tentative agreement in place that honors the hard work and passion for excellence our Berkeley teachers embody on a daily basis and allows us to return our full and collective focus back to the students we serve.”

The average public school teacher salary in Berkeley was $67,956 as of September, according to Salary.com, which provides jobs and compensation data.

The Berkeley Federation of Teachers is made up of 800 teachers, as well as counselors, substitutes, school psychologists, PE teachers, librarians and speech pathologists.