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Board approves tentative agreements with teachers and staff; district discloses AB 1200 impacts
Summary
The Rescue Union Elementary School District board approved tentative agreements with the teachers'union (REFT) and disclosed AB 1200 items for unrepresented groups, including a roughly 1% base salary increase plus added steps that produce just under a 2% net increase for certificated staff and use of reserves over three years to fund the changes.
The Rescue Union Elementary School District Board of Trustees on June 10 approved tentative collective bargaining agreements that include a 1% salary increase for the 2025—26 school year and added salary steps that together amount to just under a 2% average increase for certificated staff.
The agreements included AB 1200 public disclosures describing the fiscal impact and the district's plan to use reserves over the next three years while retaining the board's 10% reserve policy. Lisa Donaldson, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, told trustees the district will demonstrate maintaining the 10% reserve at the end of the three-year period while financing the salary changes in the near term.
Why it matters: the agreements affect staffing costs and the district's multi-year forecast. The board heard that the tentative agreement opens retiree-notice incentives, a reduced workload program, clarifies collaboration-day counting, and revises the teacher-evaluation tool to align with updated professional standards.
The tentative agreement with REFT, the district's certificated teachers'union, was described to the board as the product of routine bargaining (the entire contract is opened every three years). Jenny Bazer, president of REFT, addressed the board during public comment: "This support not only allows teachers and therefore, students to succeed in the classroom, but also at home. Our TA was approved with a 94% approval by our members ... It is a result of many hours of hard work by both sides of the negotiations table." The board voted to approve the tentative agreement and the AB 1200 disclosure documents; trustees indicated unanimous support during the meeting.
The board also approved similar compensation adjustments and AB 1200 disclosures for unrepresented groups, including confidential, classified management, and certificated administrative employees. Those changes mirror the certificated agreement in providing a 1% increase for 2025—26 and add steps to administrative and classified schedules; the district said those step changes are intended to make management and confidential pay more competitive and to shorten the time to reach top step (for example, a confidential schedule was reduced from a 21-step progression to 15 steps).
Fiscal details and funding: Donaldson told the board that the combined effect for certificated staff of the step additions plus the 1% base increase is just under 2% in 2025—26, and that the district will fund the changes from reserves for the next three years while demonstrating compliance with the board's 10% minimum reserve policy. The AB 1200 disclosure documents are part of the public packet and show the salary schedules and the district's reserve projections.
What the board directed: trustees approved the agreements and disclosures and had no additional action beyond the approvals on the night of the meeting. The board packet and AB 1200 disclosures will be available as part of the district's public records.
Ending: With the tentative agreements approved, the district said it will proceed to finalize the contract documents and continue to brief the board on multi-year fiscal projections as future negotiations and state budget changes are resolved.
