Saugus Teachers, District Draft Tentative Pact

Teachers and administrators in the Saugus Union Elementary School District said Friday that they have drafted a tentative agreement to end their contract dispute.

The agreement, reached late Thursday with the aid of a state mediator, apparently ends a tense six weeks in the fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley school district.

Teachers staged several protests during the talks.

Although the current contract was not scheduled to expire for two years, passage of a statewide school funding initiative last fall prompted the teachers to return to the bargaining table. Jo Ann Pryor, president of the Saugus Teachers Assn., said the contract allows negotiations to reopen when new state funds become available.

The agreement would give the teachers a 4% raise this year and a 1% raise for the 1990-91 school year, Pryor said. The increases will be in addition to a 6% raise that the teachers were to receive this year and a 6% raise set for next year.

The 214-member union is scheduled to vote on the agreement Wednesday.