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# Union tentatively settles contract with school district
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/union-tentatively-settles-contract-with-school-district/
- Published: 2002-09-07T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:43:16.000Z
- Author: Andrew Fixmer
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

*Teachers would gain a 2 percent raise and no reduction in benefits*

After nine months of tense negotiations, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the Santa Monica Classroom Teachers Association have reached a tentative contract.

The union has agreed to undergo a national certification process and submit to a new district-wide evaluation. District officials, in exchange, have created weekly “professional development” time for teachers and agreed to a 2 percent salary increase with no reductions in benefits.

The school board will consider ratification of the new contract at its Sept. 19 meeting, while the teachers’union will hold a vote sometime next week, officials said.

“This agreement is an example of the union’s willingness to negotiate traditional salary and benefits and, at the same time, the professional concerns of our membership,” said Harry Keilly, SMMC- TA president. “This settlement is good for teachers, students and the public schools in Santa Monica and Malibu.”

> “This agreement is an example of the union’s willingness to negotiate traditional salary and benefits and, at the same time, the professional concerns of our membership.” — — HARRY KEILLY SMMCTA president

SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy said the agreement would allow for a modest increase in teachers’ pay while ensuring enough money for educational programs and facilities.

“It sets the stage to support all of the efforts underway to dramatically improve student achievement through high quality teaching and professional development,” he said. “This is a milestone in collaborative work for students.”

Deasy joined the school district as its superintendent a little more than a year ago, and since then he has begun an ambitious renovation of the school district’s educational programs. He said this contract would provide a cornerstone for that work.

> “(Certification) helps provide a model of all professional development activities and holds the bar extremely high.” — — JOHN DEASY SMMUSD superintendent

For example, all teachers would have to undergo National Board Certification, which is a rigorous, nation-wide program that requires teachers to pass tests, make portfolio presentations and demonstrate their teaching abilities.

The national certification requirement is the first step in helping teachers continually improve their teaching methods, which will help raise student achievement, Deasy said.

“It helps provide a model of all professional development activities and holds the bar extremely high,” he said.

The teachers’ union and the district also announced they would jointly construct a new, standards-based evaluation process for all teachers. The evaluation process and its criteria would be created by a committee consisting of teachers and district administrators.

Additionally, teachers would be given a weekly allotment of time to be used specifically for improving their teaching skills and researching other classroom methods. Called “collaborative time,” this practice would be instituted in every school by the beginning of the 2003-04 school year, officials said.

“As professionals, teachers deserve to get feedback from their evaluations that highlights their many strengths and at the same time gives them a clear focus for areas of growth,” Keilly said. “An evaluation system based on the California Standards for the Teaching Profession will accomplish that.”

One of the sticking points in the contract’s negotiations concerned the model for student services at Santa Monica High School, officials said. Beginning this year, there will be significantly more student support specialists, who will undertake some work that used to be done by guidance counselors.

They will also be responsible for expanded duties, aimed at providing a more personalized relationship with each student and their family, officials said. Union officials had worried the expanded role and use of the position would undermine the job of counselors.

“This issue was one of the more difficult ones to resolve, but at the end of the day, our members will serve as student support specialists and with a well needed, reduced case load, teachers, students and families will benefit,” Keilly said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 7, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090702.pdf?ref=smdp.com)