During its April 28 meeting, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board of Education approved agreements with the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB), granting retroactive salary increases plus a one-time bump to employees.
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The LBUSD Board unanimously approved agreements with TALB—a union representing over 3,700 LBUSD teachers and staff—granting retroactive raises and a one-time “off-schedule” salary increase.
The Board approved separate agreements for K-12 employees and early childhood educators and staff that TALB had ratified on April 20. The Board also approved the same increases for non-represented teachers and management.
Per the agreements, in June, qualifying LBUSD employees will receive a salary increase of 1% for the 2019-20 school year, retroactive to July 1, 2019. They will also receive an additional 2% increase for the 2020-21 school year, retroactive to July 1, 2020.
As of July 1, regular paychecks will reflect both salary increases.
In addition, in September, those employees will receive a one-time payment of 2% of their annual salaries from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
“Given the difficulties that our students and employees have endured during our nation’s worst pandemic in a century, a priority for our district leadership was to offer a meaningful increase in compensation […] to help retain and encourage our amazing and resilient staff,” Superintendent Jill Baker said in a bargaining update last month.
LBUSD teacher salaries start at about $59,500 annually.
The Board also approved three memoranda-of-understanding (MOU) with TALB regarding collaborative co-teaching, training and professional development, and support for teachers who change assignments.
Steve Rockenbach, LBUSD director of employee relations and ethics, said the MOU for training included five days of paid professional development prior to the start of the school year, which LBUSD conducted for the first time last summer.
