Contract Matters: Tentative Agreement Raise FAQ
May 27,2015
The tentative agreement between the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) lays out a innovative and complex salary increase for teachers. We have developed an FAQ that helps to clarify the details of this raise.
By the end of the 2016-17 school year, teachers would receive a series of ongoing raises and one-time bonuses. We estimate that teachers will receive an ongoing 11.88% raise by January 2016 (8% guaranteed plus 3.88% estimated) plus other raises based on the level of funding from the state during the 2016-17 school year. (Estimates based on funding projections; see our calculations here)
For more detailed information, please see our chart detailing the logistics of each individual salary increase or the OEA’s table detailing how this raise would impact teacher salaries over time.
Tentative Agreement Raise FAQ
What are the types of raises proposed in the tentative agreement? If OEA membership and the OUSD Board of Education ratify the tentative agreement, teachers will receive two types of raises: guaranteed raises and formula-driven raises.
What is a guaranteed raise? A guaranteed raise is a salary increase that teachers will receive under any circumstances. There are no “contingencies” on these raises.
How large is the guaranteed raise? By January 1st, 2016, teachers will receive an 8% guaranteed raise. This raise comes in four pieces:
- 2% effective July 1, 2014 (retroactive)
- 1% effective February 1, 2015 (retroactive)
- 2.5% effective June 30, 2015
- 2.5% effective January 1, 2016
Part of the January 2016 increase is a raise and part is compensation for an additional 30 minutes of teacher collaboration time during student minimum days. This collaboration time will be planned by school site faculty councils and will begin during the 2016-17 school year.
What is a “formula-driven” raise? A formula-driven raise is a salary increase that depends on how much state funding OUSD receives. There are two types: (1) Ongoing raises and (2) one-time payments. Teachers may receive ongoing formula-driven raises during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years. During these years, teachers may also receive formula-driven one-time payments, or bonuses.
How are the formula-driven raises calculated? At its most basic, these raises are calculated by taking a set portion of new or unexpected money that OUSD receives from the state and dividing it among teachers so that every educator receives the same percent raise.
However, that’s really the most basic. The formula-driven raises and bonuses are all calculated slightly differently, using different pots of money and driving different amounts to OEA members. To help you learn more about how each of these raises are calculated, we’ve developed a chart. You can also look at the contract itself, which has a number of example calculations for each of the formula-driven raises and bonuses.
But these raises aren’t guaranteed – are teachers likely to benefit from them? Yes. We believe that OUSD will receive additional money in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years that will create raises for teachers. Last week, surging tax revenues in California [LINK] led to a very strong May budget update [LINK], bringing in new funding for K-12 education. OUSD will receive some of this new funding and, under the formula in the tentative agreement, part of that money will go directly to additional teacher raises.
If the projections in a Board report on the new state funding are correct, we calculate that teachers would receive an additional 3.88% ongoing raise and a 0.39% bonus during the 2015-16 school year. That would bring the total ongoing raise to 11.88% by January 1st, 2016, plus any further formula-driven raises during the 2016-17 school year.
