Tentative deal made to increase teacher’s salaries in PSUSD

The Palm Springs Unified School District has announced a tentative contract agreement with the district’s teachers.

A couple weeks ago teachers held what they called a “rally for respect” demanding a pay hike. Under the tentative deal, teachers would get a five percent raise that would be retroactive to July 1st of 2014.

They would get another five percent raise that would take effect on July 1st of this year. An additional half-percent raise would take effect sometime in the future.

The deal still needs to be approved by the teacher’s association and the school board.

The Palm Springs Teacher’s Association released a statement regarding the pay hike on Wednesday morning. President Mark Acker said the 10.5 percent salary increase is the big news, but what gets lost is that the association made more than 5 pages of changes to its contract as well. Thus, its bargaining team and executive board, who are all full time teachers, are out holding meetings to explain the changes.

Officials said the teacher’s association will hold a ratification vote next week, which will conclude on Friday, May 8.

As far as the agreement, the P.S.T.A. said it’s very pleased with the district’s offer and the offer shows that the district has a real vision for attracting and retaining high quality teachers.

Acker said the association wants to thank all of the parents, students and teachers that participated in its rally for respect.