Manhattan Beach teachers and district reach tentative agreement
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District has reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract with its largest teachers union that would provide a 3 percent salary increase. But Manhattan Beach Unified Teachers Association president Karl Kurz said that the teachers’ protest, which has controversially included not writing letters of recommendation for students, will not end until after teachers approve the contract. Teachers will meet next week to vote on the decision. “I can’t give my personal opinion,” Kurz said. “I have to hear what everybody else thinks about it.” In addition to the salary increase the contract will also maintain teachers’ current health benefits, and it will increase the hourly rate teachers earn for duties performed outside regular work hours from $31.83 per hour to $38 per hour. The contract also includes provisions for decreased ongoing costs to the district in case of state budget cuts that may be on the horizon. The tentative agreement was made during a mediation meeting Thursday. “If you’ve ever been to a mediation session you’ll know it’s a lot of work,” district superintendent Michael Matthews said. “I think both sides were exhausted by the end…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com