Teachers’ association signals willingness to accept 3% offer; board adopts bargaining proposal

At the March 14 Cypress School District board meeting, Association of Cypress Teachers leaders briefed trustees on recent negotiations and asked the district to engage on working conditions as well as pay.

Joanne Donskoy, president of the Association of Cypress Teachers, introduced negotiations chair Liz Dunnegan, who told the board the union met several times with the district negotiating team and that, given state budget realities, the association is "willing to work with a 3% offer on the table." Dunnegan added that while salary matters, "there's more to job satisfaction than salary," and asked the board to spend time over the next months discussing workload and other working‑condition concerns.

The board later opened and closed a hearing on a separate bargaining proposal from the California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 325 and voted to adopt that bargaining proposal after no public speakers addressed the hearing.

District staff also noted the budget implications of tentative labor agreements: the second interim financial presentation included an assigned amount (approximately $1.7 million) set aside to support salaries related to a tentative agreement. Trustees and staff emphasized continued dialogue and careful fiscal planning as negotiations proceed.

"We didn't get as much accomplished as the association had hoped, but a few things were really important and were addressed nevertheless," Dunnegan said during her remarks.

The board recorded motions and votes to adopt the bargaining proposal and related budget certifications later in the meeting.