San Rafael Federation of Teachers presses district over delayed ‘‘fair share’’ pay process

Morgan Agnew, president of the San Rafael Federation of Teachers, told the San Rafael City Schools Board of Trustees on June 9 that the union and district have not settled compensation for the 2025–26 school year under a preexisting “fair share” process.

The union leader said the fair share method – in which new revenue is split among bargaining units to fund step/column and raises – has worked “in a timely manner and with little acrimony” in prior years, but that this year the district “did not present the salary offer for the upcoming 25, 26 school year, citing financial uncertainty and budgetary deficits.”

Agnew told trustees the union recognizes the district’s fiscal concerns and said SRFT expects the district to honor the fair-share approach. She quoted district messaging that it will “review the district's budgetary budget position after unaudited actuals to determine when there is a fiscally responsible compensation offer within the fair share process.”

Why it matters: The fair-share mechanism both limits bargaining-unit increases to a set share of new revenue and sets expectations about when raises are funded. SRFT told the board that by delaying allocation of its agreed share the district is not adhering to the process both sides agreed to and that the union may prepare alternative actions if an agreement is not reached by October when unaudited actuals are available.

Agnew and other SRFT representatives also pointed to district spending and enrollment concerns they say have worsened the budget picture: missed goals for average daily attendance, small class sections with very low enrollment, and what SRFT described as a large number of senior-level positions and inconsistent prior raises that they say contributed to fiscal strain.

Deputy Superintendent Bob Marcucci and Superintendent Christina Geisel (present at the meeting) acknowledged the district is constrained by revenue and the need to maintain a 3% reserve but said they remain committed to bargaining and to reaching a fiscally responsible settlement. Marcucci has previously briefed the board that unaudited actuals in the fall will be a key point for reviewing compensation capacity.

The board took no formal action on salaries at the meeting. SRFT said it expects the district to follow the fair-share calculation and to return to negotiations, and the union indicated it will press for a resolution by October but also prepare if it cannot be reached.

Trustees and staff said they will continue negotiations and review budgetary figures this summer and after the district’s unaudited actuals are finalized.