Negotiations Update - April 15th, 2026

Overview

The District and the Porterville Educators Association met today, April 15, for a full-day negotiation session covering PEA's initial proposal package. Consistent with the joint norms adopted by both teams, this update is being shared to keep members and staff informed about what was discussed at the table. 

The day opened with a financial overview from the District and continued with a section-by-section walkthrough of PEA's proposal. The teams engaged in collaborative discussion to clarify each proposed change, ask questions, and surface the rationale behind specific items. The District is now preparing its response, including cost analysis of PEA’s proposal, for the next session.

Fiscal Context Shared at the Table

Initially, the District's Business Office shared a budget presentation.  Key points presented:

• Enrollment continues to decline. PUSD enrollment is down 913 students (−6.7%) since 2017-18, while charter enrollment in the area has grown by roughly 42% (+377 students) over the same period. Because LCFF funding is enrollment-driven, this trend continues to shape the District's revenue base.
• Statutory COLA does not equal actual COLA. While the statewide statutory COLA for 2026-27 is 2.41%, PUSD's actual COLA, after declining enrollment is factored in, is projected at only 0.94% — less than half of statutory. This is the most important number for understanding new revenue capacity.
• Special Education contributions are the single largest operational cost driver, up $4.43M (+80.5%) since 2023-24. Utilities and property and liability insurance also continue to climb.
• Cost of compensation increases. A 1% salary increase costs the District approximately $1.14M on its own. When step-and-column movement (about 1.5%) is layered in, which happens automatically every year regardless of settlement, the combined cost rises to roughly $2.77M.
• The District remains in a sound position with respect to required reserves, but available capacity for new ongoing commitments is significantly tighter than in prior years.

The full presentation is available here: PUSD Fiscal Review 2026-2027

PEA acknowledged the financial overview and indicated its proposals are intended as an opening package for discussion.

PEA Proposal: Topics Discussed

PEA's package spans the contract, and the items below are not a complete list of all the changes PEA proposed, but include a high-level summary of the topics covered.

General language and definitions (Article 1). PEA proposed updating terminology throughout the contract from "teacher" to "bargaining unit member" to more accurately reflect the range of certificated roles covered.

Association rights and meetings (Articles 5–7). Proposed adjustments included additional bargaining-team release time, a regular meeting between the Association and the Superintendent, and revised language in the management rights article.

Academic freedom and instructional materials (Article 9). PEA raised concerns about scripted instruction, sought clarification around the use of supplemental materials, and the impact these and related items should have or not have on evaluations.

Grievance and arbitration (Article 10). PEA proposed expanding the categories of contract provisions subject to the grievance and arbitration process.

Leaves (Article 11). Proposals included expanded discretionary-leave provisions and adjustments to leave for in-district interview opportunities.

Transfers (Article 13). PEA proposed additional procedural parameters related to involuntary transfers and reassignments, including documentation requirements.

Class size and overage (Article 14). PEA proposed lower class-size targets at several grade spans and increases to per-period overage compensation at the secondary level. Related proposals addressed special education caseloads, English Learner concentrations, and counselor caseloads.

Prep time and combined classes (Articles 4, 24, and related sections).PEA proposed changes to prep-time protections, the use of Wednesday collaboration time, the rate paid when teachers cover during their prep, and compensation when classes are combined due to substitute shortages. The teams also discussed the existing 8:00–8:25 pre-student window and how it interacts with proposals around before-school tutoring.

Evaluation (Article 18). PEA proposed clarifying the evaluation process for itinerant staff who serve multiple sites and other changes related to scheduling.

Calendar (Article 19). PEA proposed establishing a calendar input committee.

Compensation and stipends (Articles 20, 26, 28, and Appendices).Proposals addressed the certificated salary schedule, stipend column placement for special education, the addition of new fine-arts assistant positions and percussion-director positions tied to growing programs, department-chair compensation at the middle-school and high school level, the SCICON stipend, induction/Impact mentor stipends, the workshop rate, and a new master's/doctorate stipend. PEA also proposed adjustments to vocational/CTE column placement and pathways for movement on the salary schedule for CTE teachers, as well as additional compensation for teachers delivering dual-enrollment courses.

Coursework for horizontal movement. PEA proposed allowing pass/fail coursework from accredited institutions to count toward column movement under defined criteria.

The day was spent engaged in collaborative discussions and the District team asking clarifying questions on most items to better understand the underlying concerns, the source of the language (PEA member surveys, comparison districts, or specific site experiences), and the practical operation of each proposal. PEA was responsive in providing context and acknowledged that several items are starting points open to refinement.

What Comes Next

The District is now reviewing the full package and preparing its responses. This includes:

• Costing each compensation-related item, individually and as a package.
• Analyzing the operational and cross-article implications of language proposals.
• Preparing the District's own proposal items to bring back to the table.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for May 11, 2026.