Negotiations Updates
Negotiations Update - SRVUSD and SRVEA - Session 7 - March 11, 2025
posted march 11, 2025Negotiations Update - SRVUSD and SRVEA - Session 7 - March 11, 2025![]()
posted march 11, 2025
Negotiations Update - SRVUSD and SRVEA - Session 7 - March 11, 2025
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) negotiations team and the San Ramon Valley Education Association (SRVEA) negotiations team met on March 11, 2025, for the seventh session of negotiations related to budget reductions.
The parties engaged in discussions regarding the following topics: an early retirement incentive, future block grant funding and impacts and effects of the layoff process.
Key aspects of the proposals exchanged between both parties are outlined for reference only and may not cover all provisions of a proposal. For further details, you may view each proposal using the hyperlinks included below.
SRVEA - San Ramon Valley Education Association
MOU- Retaining Current Elementary Rainbow Room School Psychologist, High School Teacher Librarian Staffing Ratio and 2.0 FTE SRVTIP TSA Position - SRVEA provided SRVUSD a Proposal for an early retirement incentive. Highlights of the proposal include:
- SRVEA proposed that Management will develop an early retirement incentive that complies with the California Department of Education Guidelines for a Golden Handshake.
- The early retirement incentive will only be implemented for 2025-26 and beyond if the estimated cost savings would maintain the following positions:
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- Maintain current high school teacher librarian staffing ratio
- Retain current elementary rainbow room school psychologist
- Retain 2.0 FTE SRVTIP TSA positions
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- The positions are estimated at the cost of $674,000.
MOU-Future Block Grant Funding - SRVEA provided SRVUSD a Counter Proposal on an MOU-Future Block Grant Funding. Highlights of the proposal include:
- Conditional on Funding: The MOU depends on the enactment of the Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant in the 2025-26 state budget, expected to provide $9 million, one-time dollars to SRVUSD.
- SRVEA rejected provisions of the District’s prior offer that made this MOU contingent on reaching 13.7 million in reductions from the SRVEA bargaining unit.
- SRVEA rejected provisions of the District’s proposal that would eliminate the positions at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
- SRVEA proposed that the positions funded from this one-time block grant would include:
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- Elementary Counselors will be staffed at .5 FTE per school site
- Middle School Student Support Counselors will be staffed at .5 FTE per school site
- High school counselor ratio will be 400:1
- Middle school counselor ratio will be 600:1
- Social workers will be staffed at a ratio of one (1) social worker FTE per 3,300 students.
- Maintain current staffing ratios for Grades 4 and 5
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- SRVEA proposed that any remaining funds of this discretionary block grant will be subject to SRVEA-SRVUSD Management negotiations.
- SRVEA proposed that the MOU remain in effect for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
MOU- Rehiring From 2024-25 Layoffs For 2025-26 - SRVEA provided SRVUSD related to the impacts and effects of the layoff process. Highlights of the proposal include:
- The District will not transfer work performed by laid-off SRVEA bargaining unit members to classified, confidential, management, supervisory employees, volunteers, short-term employees, substitutes, or students.
- The District will not subcontract out work previously done by laid-off or reduced-FTE bargaining unit members.
- Laid-off bargaining unit members will be placed on a reemployment list.
- Affected employees will retain their original seniority date, even if their layoff notice is rescinded before May 15th or they are recalled after May 15th.
- District-Initiated Transfers: Employees not on the reemployment list are placed based on qualifications, experience, and credential authorization.
- Returning Employees from Leave: Efforts will be made to reinstate employees to their original position.
- Reemployment List Members: Permanent/probationary members on the reemployment list are placed in seniority order, following a specific placement process.
- Placement process for laid off employees
- Process for filling Open Positions, after posting
SRVUSD - San Ramon Valley Unified School District
MOU-Future Block Grant Funding - The District provided SRVEA a counter proposal on this MOU for one time discretionary block funding. The highlights include:
- The District’s approach to negotiations around the Board Approved Budget Reduction Plan has focused on a minimum of $24 million of ongoing savings over the three-year budget cycle (2025-26 through 2027-28). The $24 million in reductions must be carried over in each of the budget years (2025-26, 2026-27, 2028-29). Based on the Board Approved Budget Reduction Plan, the portion of the reduction plan that outlines SRVEA positions and work year reductions is approximately $13.7 million per year.
- The District reiterated that allocating potential discretionary block grant revenue immediately upon receipt provides a one-time offset that could save the specified positions for one year, but does not address the need for ongoing reductions outlined in the first paragraph of this document.
- Due to the obligation to meet $24 million in reductions by SRVUSD budget adoption in June, combined with this money being subject to the state’s final adopted budget, which takes place after SRVUSD presents its budget, the District proposed the enactment of this proposed MOU is contingent upon the parties reaching agreements, including ratification by the association, on an MOU for Furlough Days (Article XII) commencing with the 2025-26 school year through the 2027-28, agreement on an MOU for Class Size (Article IV) commencing with the 2025-26 school year through the 2027-28.
- Conditional on Funding: The MOU depends on the enactment of the Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant in the 2025-26 state budget, expected to provide $9 million, one-time dollars to SRVUSD.
- The District proposed that the SRVEA portion of the Discretionary Block Grant (approximately 52.7%) will be used to offset reductions in 2025-26, as outlined below, and that the following positions will be eliminated effective June 30, 2026, unless otherwise noted below:
a. Middle School Student Support Counselors will be staffed at .5 FTE per school site.
b. Social workers will be staffed at a ratio of one (1) social worker FTE per 3,300 students
c. High school counselor ratio will be 400:1
d. Middle school counselor ratio will be 600:1
e. Elementary Counselors will be staffed at .5 FTE per school site
f. Grades 4 and 5 classrooms shall be staffed at a site average enrollment of 29:1 with a maximum of twenty-nine (29) students enrolled per class. This class maximum may be exceeded by two (2) students per class, for a total of thirty-one (31) students.
District Response to SRVEA’s Proposal for a Retirement Incentive - The District reviewed and considered SRVEA’s proposal for a Golden Handshake to save $675,000 which would be used to retain key positions, including high school teacher librarians, Rainbow Room School Psychologist and 2.0 SRVTIP TSA positions.
The District provided SRVEA with a detailed analysis of two different types of retirement incentives: 1) Golden Handshake; 2) Flat Rate.
Golden Handshake: The District utilized a “test group” of 17 SRVEA members with 30+ years of service and completed a calculation based on the STRS Employer Guidance using 2025-26 salaries and Age Factor. The service time incentive would cost SRVUSD approximately $1,320,302, absorbing all of the projected salary savings and requiring a contribution of an additional $796,097. Offering this type of retirement incentive (i.e. purchasing service time for employees) is not a cost savings and will not be approved by the County Office of Education or the California Department of Education.
Flat Rate: Alternatively, SRVUSD could consider offering a flat $2000 to any employee interested in retiring before a certain date prior to June 30, 2025. Using the projected savings from Table 1 of $524,205 (linked in the District’s response) as a starting point, $2000 for each of the 17 employees would cost $34,000. A potential net savings of $490,205 would result (524,205 minus 34,000). The net savings will not pay for the positions SRVEA would like to save in their proposal, which are estimated to cost $675,000.
Ultimately, given the District’s current financial situation, it cannot agree to provide an incentive program that could cost the district more money than what is already allocated in the budget. Nor can the District agree to an MOU that uses proposed savings in any other way than to address achieving the budget reduction target of $13.7 million.
Declaration of Impasse
At the conclusion of the session, the District informed SRVEA that after seven negotiations sessions on the Budget Reduction Plan, substantive progress has yet to be made in reaching common ground for necessary budget reductions.
The District expressed appreciation for SRVEA’s solution-focused approach to future revenue enhancements, acknowledging that many of SRVEA’s ideas align with the District’s own Revenue Enhancement Plans. While the District agrees that revenue growth is essential for long-term financial health, these enhancements will not materialize in time to offset the reductions required for SRVUSD’s June 2025 Budget Adoption.
The immediate challenge remains achieving at least $13.7 million in reductions from the SRVEA unit for each of the next three years. Despite seven negotiation sessions and approximately 12 proposals, the parties have not reached substantive progress on this critical issue.
The District believes that engaging a third-party mediator is the most prudent course of action to facilitate movement toward a resolution. As such, the District is declaring impasse and requesting that PERB appoint a mediator to assist both parties in reaching an agreement.
The District also invited SRVEA to file a joint declaration of impasse. However, SRVEA declined.
Next Steps
1. Filing for Impasse: The District will formally file for impasse with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) due to the lack of substantive progress in negotiations.
2. PERB Review and Certification: PERB will review the District's request and determine whether the negotiations between SRVUSD and SRVEA meet the criteria for impasse.
3. Assignment of a Mediator: If PERB certifies impasse, an independent mediator will be appointed to assist both parties in working toward a resolution.
4. Mediation Process: The mediator will facilitate discussions between the District and SRVEA, with the goal of identifying common ground and reaching an agreement.
5. Next Steps Based on Mediation Outcome:
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- If mediation leads to an agreement, the parties will finalize and implement the terms.
- If mediation does not result in an agreement, further impasse procedures (such as fact-finding) may be initiated as outlined in the collective bargaining process.
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The District remains committed to working toward a fiscally responsible solution while engaging in good-faith negotiations throughout this process.
Representatives in Attendance for Negotiations Today
San Ramon Valley Unified School District |
San Ramon Valley Education Association |
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View previous negotiation session summaries with each of our Union partners.
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California School
Employees Association (CSEA)
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Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)
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San Ramon Valley
Education Association (SRVEA)
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If you would like to review additional information regarding the process, documents, resources, and iterations of the budget reduction plans, you may view those here:
