PALMDALE – The Palmdale Elementary Teachers’ Association (PETA) and the Palmdale School District have a three-year contract, District officials announced Thursday.
The Contract includes a 4 percent salary increase and an additional 2 percent increase to extend the work year by two days in order to provide professional development for teachers, with a 5 percent off-schedule salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2015.
Effective July 1, 2016, teachers will receive an additional 7.8 percent salary increase for an additional 24 minutes of instruction per day.
Intermediate schools serving 7th and 8th grade students will transition over to middle schools serving 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, with 2016 as the pilot year introducing 6th grade students to the middle school. Middle school students will receive an additional class period per day that will allow them to enroll in two elective classes.
In addition, the District will offer full day transitional kindergarten and full day kindergarten programs across the District. The District will also provide single subject physical education teachers for all elementary schools.
“Throughout the school year 2015-2016, I have been visiting schools and meeting with our stakeholders. With our Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) process, parents have been requesting additional services for our students,” Superintendent Raul Maldonado stated in a news release. “Per the new teacher contract, we have been able to come to an agreement to provide additional student services. We are making a mutual commitment to our students, parents and staff.”
“The Palmdale Elementary Teachers Association is pleased to accept the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement with our School District,” stated PETA President Hugo Estrada. “This contract was made possible by the passage of Proposition 30, the continued partnership with our District, and the vision of our current Board of Trustees. This contract re-affirms our association’s commitment to our community to provide more services to our students as we support the Palmdale Promise.”
Juan Carrillo, Palmdale School District Board President stated, “We, at the Palmdale School District, are fully committed to the Palmdale Promise and this three-year contract outlines the services that our community is asking for our children.”
[Information via news release from the Palmdale School District.]
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