Santa Barbara Unified School district announces tentative agreement reached with Teacher union

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - After negotiating for over 18 hours during a Fact Finding session, Santa Barbara Unified School District and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association have reached a tentative agreement.

Once ratified, the three-year contract, which includes two separate salary increases, will become effective July 1, 2024, and end on June 30, 2027.

Agreement details that have been tentatively reached are as follows.

• In 2024-2025 an ongoing salary increase for all educators of 10% 
• There will be increases to the incoming teacher salary with 13 years of service 
• The addition of a new step 23 with an increase of 4% 
• In 2025-2026 a 3% salary increase in July and 2% in January
• An increase to provide 14 years of incoming service credit for a maximum step 15 
• A contingency clause was included for an additional salary increase in case property taxes come in above 5% in 2024-2025

Previously agreed to tentative agreements for health and welfare and class size reductions will also go into effect. 

Additional changes include an increase of two calendar days for Early Education teachers, a change to calendars for school psychologists and speech and language teachers to 195 days while keeping the same salary, and an additional two calendar days for Special Education teachers.

The tentative agreement must now be ratified by a vote of the bargaining members and approved by the District's Board.