Ventura Teachers Approve Pact With 3.73% Pay Hike

Teachers in Ventura’s public schools have approved a labor pact that will give them a 3.73% raise this year, the first significant pay hike in four years, union leaders said Tuesday.

Under the new three-year contract, beginning teachers in the Ventura Unified School District will earn $23,947 a year. Instructors with 30 years of experience and a master’s degree can earn up to $50,849, said union President John Weiss.

The 650 teachers in the Ventura Unified Education Assn. are satisfied with the agreement, which covers July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1998, Weiss said.

“You’re never happy,” he said. “But I know this is the best we can do.”

The pact was ratified unanimously by the Board of Education at its Tuesday night meeting just hours after teachers voted to approve it. A similar agreement with the district’s secretaries, bus drivers and maintenance workers is expected to be approved today, officials said.

Teachers did not get any pay increase for the 1994-95 school year, but received a 2% raise in 1993-94 as well as a 4% bonus, officials said. This year’s nearly 4% raise is the result of increased state funding for education, district leaders said.

In other changes, trained classroom aides will be available for teachers who are asked to provide instruction to disabled students along with their mainstream pupils.

Students with severe disabilities, such as mental retardation and spinal bifida, are being placed in traditional classrooms in increasing numbers, a movement called full inclusion. Weiss said teachers asked for the contract language so they would not be required to take on health-related tasks, such as administering medicine or diapering students.