MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — In late August, the McFarland Unified School District and its classified employee group agreed to a tentative one-year contract. The contract, which includes a salary increase for teachers, bus drivers, and other staff members, is being called one of the largest in the district's history.
MUSD Superintendant Aaron Resendez says one of the contributing factors to the increase is the impact that inflation has had on the economy. The agreement that came from the classified employee group includes an on-schedule salary increase of 8.5 percent for both certified staff, such as teachers and counselors, and classified staff, such as custodial and food service workers.
"Our greatest resource next to our kids are our staff, and we wanted to make sure that we invested in them as well," said Resendez. "We know that from fuel, to food, to household items, all of those things have increased significantly. As much as we are able, we wanted to make sure that we can keep pace. We feel like our kids deserve to have the best staff members serve them."
In addition to the salary increase, Resendez says the district also agreed to cover all the cost increases of employee benefits.
Gatz Nieblas has been a social studies teacher at McFarland High School for four years, and says that he finds this increase to be a tremendous help.
"My hat's off to the union for doing their thing and securing this as well for us," says Nieblas. "We all have bills to pay. Getting this raise is just icing on the cake, because now i know that the district is showing it's serious about retaining quality educators, and it's good to have quality educators."
According to Resendez, the MUSD board will vote on confirming the new agreement in the first week of September.
