Negotiations Update: Tentative Agreement Reached on Successor Agreement with SCGA


Sweetwater Union High School District and Sweetwater Counseling and Guidance Association are pleased to jointly announce that we have reached a tentative agreement for a three-year successor agreement.  In the coming weeks both SCGA membership and the Board of Trustees will be voting on the Successor

Agreement.  Highlights of the Agreement include:

  1. Article 4, Wages:  3.75 % salary increase retroactive to January 1, 2017.
  2. Article 13, Caseload:  Codifies the lowering of counselor caseload from 400 to 1 to 360:1.
  3. Articles 5 & 22, Work day/Work year & Counselor In service: Adds three additional days to counselor schedules for professional learning and collaboration, which will help cut down on counselors being pulled away from their sites when students are present.
  4. Article 5, Work day/Work year: Establishes a Head Counselor position & stipend at Learning Centers.
  5. Article 7, Transfer Article:  Changes the transfer process to no longer include the lateral list, ensuring unit positions can be filled more quickly & allows for greater access to positions by unit members.
  6. Article 11, Leaves:  Expands parental leave.
  7. Article 10, Evaluations:  Clarifies that Written Assistance Plans related to employee evaluations must be in writing; and illustrates when continuances of evaluations can be given by principals.
  8. Reopener in second year to continue working on issues related to counselors working outside their duty day during the second year of the agreement.
  9. Reopeners in the second and third year of the contract for wages and benefits, once the 2017-18 school and state budget are finalized.

SCGA unit members will conduct hearings and vote on the agreement in the near future. The Board of Trustees will take action on June 12, 2017. We appreciate the work of both bargaining teams over the past year to reach this agreement. We are proud of the collaborative spirit at the bargaining table and how the process demonstrates that working together is the best way we ensure each student has the supports they need to succeed.  We look forward to working together to implement the agreement and ensure that District administrators and counselors understand the changes in the contract.