PVUSD Board of Education · Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 5:00 PM · Item 7.2 · PUBLIC HEARING
Hearing on costs of new teachers' union contract
In plain English
This is a public hearing to lay out, in public, the cost and terms of the tentative contract the district reached with the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers on August 24, 2026, before the board votes on it. The agreement runs July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028 and covers 1,051.00 full-time-equivalent teachers. It gives a 2% salary increase for 2025-26 (paid retroactively), 1% for 2026-27 and 1% for 2027-28, plus a $250 per-teacher supply reimbursement, more hours for instructional aides in general education kindergarten classrooms, one optional workday in 2026-27 and two in 2027-28. It also restructures Aptos High School from seven periods to six beginning 2027-28, removing the extra collaboration period and cutting a projected eight full-time-equivalent teaching positions, and withdraws a pending case before the state Public Employment Relations Board.
The pay increases and classroom supports apply to about 1,051 teachers district-wide, while the Aptos High School change would reduce teacher positions and classes offered there; the district says the cost will be paid mainly out of its unrestricted fund balance and will increase deficit spending, with $20 million in new funding or expenditure cuts still required by 2027-28.
Key facts
- Agreement term: July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028; the governing board will act on it October 7, 2026.
- Salary increases: 2% effective July 1, 2025; 1% effective July 1, 2026; 1% effective July 1, 2027 — a compounded 4.05% by 2027-28. Because 2025-26 books are closed, 2026-27 pay out totals 5.02% (2% retroactive plus 3.02% compounded).
- Total compensation increase: $2,508,962 in FY 25-26, $1,998,924 in FY 26-27, $2,806,808 in FY 27-28; average cost per employee rises $2,387.21, $1,901.93 and $2,670.61 in those years.
- Settlement adjustments add $6,636,244 to this year's combined general fund spending, lowering the ending balance from $92,332,930 to $86,567,304.
- Non-pay items: $250 teacher supply reimbursement; kindergarten instructional aides add 75 minutes a day in classrooms; Aptos High School goes from seven periods to six in 2027-28 with a projected reduction of eight full-time-equivalent teachers.
Reasons to support
- The Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent certify the district can meet the costs over the full term, and unrestricted reserves still meet the state 3% minimum in 2026-27 (3.04%), 2027-28 (3.12%) and 2028-29 (3.01%).
- Added kindergarten aide time gives teachers more capacity for small-group and individual work in early literacy, numeracy, language development and classroom routines, and the $250 per teacher lets teachers buy classroom materials they judge necessary.
- The settlement also withdraws the pending Public Employment Relations Board case, revises contract language on workload, calendar, leaves, evaluations, transfers, safety and benefits, and includes a joint communication from both sides.
Reasons to oppose or change it
- The district states the agreement creates deficit spending this year and increases it in later years, with the ongoing cost paid primarily from the unrestricted fund balance rather than new revenue; the unrestricted general fund balance is projected to fall from $59,953,335 to $31,055,579 by 2028-29.
- $20 million in additional funding sources or expenditure reductions must still be implemented by 2027-28, a target unchanged from the 2026-27 adopted budget — meaning other cuts are still ahead.
- Aptos High School families and staff absorb a specific loss: dropping from seven periods to six will affect the number and type of classes offered, remove scheduled teacher collaboration time, and cut a projected eight full-time-equivalent teaching positions.
Official wording
Public Hearing on the Disclosure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between PVUSD and Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers Report by: Kit Bragg, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources and Douglas Crancer, Consultant 5 min report; 5 min discussion Assembly Bill (AB) 1200 requires local education agencies to publicly disclose the provisions of all collective bargaining agreements before entering into a written agreement. Further, in accordance with Government Code Section 3547.5, before a public school employer enters into a written agreement with an exclusive representative covering matters within the scope of representation, the major provisions of the agreement, including, but not limited to the costs that the public school employer would incur under the agreement for the current and subsequent fiscal years, shall be disclosed at a public meeting of the public school employer in a format established for this purpose by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Attached is the AB 1200 Public Disclosure of the Tentative Agreement reached with the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers on August 24, 2026.
Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the PVFT Negotiated Agreement Public Disclosure AB1200 (25-26 through 27-28) 10.7.26.pdf. It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.