Vallejo school district, educator union reach pay agreement after impasse

VALLEJO – Following about five months of bargaining and two days negotiating with the help of a state appointed mediator, Vallejo’s teachers union ratified an agreement with the city’s school district this week.

The agreement between the Vallejo Education Association (VEA) and the Vallejo City Unified School District gives 470 teachers and other certificated school staff like nurses and counselors a 5.5% salary increase, bonuses, and increased contributions to medical health plans and stipends for union members.

VEA members approved the agreement in an election this week where 98.3% voted yes to accepting the deal and 75% of the union's membership voted. 

VEA President Kevin Steele said he was pleased with the deal.

 “We believe this is a strong agreement given the challenges the district is facing and the economic outlook for 2024-25,” he said. “We would not have been able to achieve this without the mobilization of our members over the last few weeks.”

Earlier this month, VEA members rallied at a Board of Education meeting and spoke out about how low district pay in comparison to neighboring districts.

Superintendent William Spalding said in a statement that he was happy to have reached a deal and called it a reward for veteran teachers and a “great incentive to attract new talent to the district.”

“This two year agreement is beneficial in moving forward in refocusing our attention on elevating academic outcomes and student achievement in the Vallejo City Unified School District,” Spalding said. “We would like to express our appreciation to our district bargaining team and our labor partners in the VEA in developing a mutually beneficial agreement.”

The agreement covers the present school year and next year. VEA members will receive retroactive salary increase payments for the days they have already worked this school year. The deal also includes a $6,000 bonus to be paid at the end of May. Additionally, VEA members still employed next school year are scheduled to receive a $5,000 bonus at the end of September.

Vallejo City Unified and VEA also agreed to an increase to the district’s healthcare contribution for members, which will start in July. The increase of a $1,350 increase for single employee plans and a $1,800 increase for partner and family plans will raise the district’s contributions to $12,350 for single plans, $14,800 for partner plans, and $17,550 for family plans.

Increases to two different stipends are also included in the deal. The stipend for classroom materials, currently set at $135 per school year, is scheduled to almost double to $250. Stipends only available for teachers with advanced degrees, second credentials, or bilingual certification are scheduled to increase about $850, totaling $2,000 a year.

After the 5.5% salary increase, Vallejo teachers are scheduled to make between about $59,800 and $113,300, depending on their years of experience and education, placing them in the middle of the pack when compared to the five other K-12 public school districts in Solano County. 

Vallejo City Unified will now pay more than Dixon and Vacaville school districts, but less than Travis and Fairfield-Suisun. Vallejo City Unified will pay starting teachers about $1,300 more than the Benicia Unified School District, but about $9,000 less to its most experienced teachers.