SBUSD & CSEA reach three tentative agreements

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Unified School District's 12th negotiation update with the California School Employee Association brought three tentative agreements Monday.

Below is a press release on the announcement:

Introduction
This is Santa Barbara Unified School District’s (SBUSD) twelfth Negotiations Update for successor contract negotiations between the District and the California School Employee Association (CSEA). The District will distribute the Negotiations Update after meetings with CSEA to inform our community on the progress of negotiations.

3 Tentative Agreements Reached Between SBUSD and CSEA

The District and CSEA agreed to change the makeup of hiring committees. The new language will allow Human Resources to designate a trained employee to conduct hiring panels.

New contract language for Unscheduled Calls to Work adds the option to meet and discuss the potential for Hazard Pay during an officially declared emergency. When one of these proclamations results in a District closure, but some employees are still required to work on-site, CSEA may request a meeting regarding additional pay for impacted workers.

SBUSD and CSEA reached an agreement on the Disciplinary Action Article as well. The new language requires written notification of any disciplinary warning.  The TA also incorporates California Education Code requirements and requires the notification of the employee and Board of Trustees within ten days of a “Skelly Hearing”. 

SBUSD and CSEA Exchange Wage Proposals
CSEA requested 10% salary increase for July 1, 2024, and 5% on July 1, 2025. SBUSD countered with 10% on July 1, 2024, and 3% on July 1, 2025, with an additional 2% on January 1,  2026. The District’s counter-proposal was consistent with the recent Tentative Agreement reached with Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA).

CSEA also requested longevity pay for employees, which is detailed in the chart below:

SBUSD rejected the proposal for longevity. 

CSEA proposed contingency language that calls for an additional salary increase in 2025 in the event that the property tax increase is greater than 5%. CSEA’s wording was slightly different than the Tentative Agreement with SBTA, so SBUSD countered with the exact same language.  

Discussions Continue Around Use of Personal Vehicles, Working out of Class, Maternity Leave, and Bilingual Premium Pay

CSEA brought a counterproposal for the Use of Personal Vehicles at work. CSEA asked the District to provide a vehicle for unit members who transport students. Additionally, they brought a stipend of $150 instead of the IRS mileage reimbursement to eligible members.

Both sides also exchanged counterproposals around working out of classification, including when additional payment may be required and redistribution of workloads.

SBUSD countered the Maternity Leave proposal with language that allows use of the newly agreed to 5 days of Family Illness Leave to be used for parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

CSEA presented a proposal to eliminate the interpreting/translating premium pay from the contract and proposed adding a bilingual premium pay that would not include any interpreting services. The District rejected this proposal and countered minor changes to the titling of current Interpreter/Translator Premium pay language. 

Next Steps:

The next negotiation sessions are July 15 and 19.

SBUSD