Modesto City Schools teachers will get a salary bump. Here’s how much and how it happened

Taylor Johnson
·2 min read

Modesto City Schools officials and the Modesto Teachers Association reached a tentative agreement on a new contract after more than a year of negotiations.

The new contract gives teachers a 7.25% raise in salary. In addition, starting in January 2025, teachers will receive an extra $150 a month for health insurance.

Members of the Modesto Teachers Association ratified the 2023-25 Tentative Agreement on Friday, May 17 with 82.4% in favor. The contract is also retroactive to the beginning of the just-completed school year.

“Members of the Modesto Teachers Association strongly recommend that Modesto City School Board trustees ratify the 2023-25 tentative agreement,” said Modesto Teacher Association President Chris Peterson.

Modesto teachers had been working without a labor contract since the end of the 2022-23 school year. The union sought an 11% salary increase to help cover the rising cost of living and health insurance.

Before the $100 increase in the district’s contributions to health insurance premiums in January teachers had to spend between $12,355.68 and $22,552.80 a year to cover themselves and their partners, depending on the plan they chose.

To cover themselves and their families, including children, teachers would need to pay between $18,942.36 and $32,198.64 per year, depending on the chosen level of coverage.

Hundreds of people — teachers and others — picket outside the Modesto City Schools board meeting Monday afternoon, March 4, 2024.
Hundreds of people — teachers and others — picket outside the Modesto City Schools board meeting Monday afternoon, March 4, 2024.

In March, around 400 Modesto Teachers Association members picketed outside a school board meeting, calling for the increase. At the time, the district offered only a 6.25% salary increase.

Because the union and the district reached an impasse, a state mediator came in to help with negotiations.

The Board of Education is set to vote June 3 to put the new 2023-25 contract in effect.

“I am also proud that despite the bumpy financial road ahead for school districts throughout California, teachers at Modesto City Schools will receive a significant salary increase,” Superintendent Sara Noguchi told The Bee in an email.

Latest Stories