Schools OK Renegotiated Contract, Give Teachers Immediate 1% Raise : Education: To save jobs, union decided not to go to court to retain a pay increase agreed upon previously.

The Long Beach Unified School District board has unanimously approved a two-year contract for teachers that includes an immediate 1% increase in pay and a plan to raise salaries more when the district receives additional money from the state.

Negotiating teams called the contract fair, but teachers’ union leaders left the table with little enthusiasm. The new contract replaces an earlier deal that would have raised teachers’ pay 16% over two years, but the previous agreement hinged on the district receiving its full adjustment from the state for inflation. Teachers had agreed to return to the bargaining table when legislators deleted most of the school-funding increase from the recession-pinched state budget.

“I’m not jumping up and down for joy,” said Jim Deaton, president of the Teachers Assn. of Long Beach. “I would love for teachers to have the 8% we agreed to.”

The union, however, decided against going to court to keep the pay raise, especially since winning the legal battle probably would have forced the district to lay off 250 to 300 teachers, Deaton said. “The teachers kind of swallowed hard and said, ‘Yeah, it wasn’t what we wanted, but it was the best we could have done.’ ”

Teachers earlier this month approved the contract by a vote of 1,550 to 142. The school board approved the contract Monday. The district must still negotiate this year’s pay levels with its non-teaching employees.

The 1% pay increase is retroactive to July 1.

An annual 3% bonus that Long Beach teachers have traditionally received will now become part of the regular pay schedule, giving teachers a higher base pay for future raises. The district also agreed to raise pay automatically as it receives funding increases from the state over the life of the two-year contract, said Steve Dodge, the district’s director of employee relations.

Under the contract, more teachers will be allowed to split teaching jobs when they want to work part time. Teachers also agreed to form a committee to discuss dress standards for teachers.

Long Beach Unified, with 73,600 students, has about 3,250 teachers. Their average pay is about $39,500 a year. Salaries range from about $27,000 to $50,500, Deputy Supt. Ron Bennett said. Long Beach teachers earn slightly less than most teachers in the county.