Oakdale Joint Unified board ratifies 5% pay increases, approves developer-fee report and educator declaration

The Oakdale Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees on April 15 ratified multiple bargaining agreements that include a 5% salary increase and approved several related budget and personnel items.

The board voted to ratify tentative agreements with the Oakdale Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association Local 830, adopting a 5% increase to certificated and classified salary schedules and preparing updated salary tables effective July 1, 2023. District staff said the agreements were reached after bargaining and that membership votes in the units supported ratification. Trustees then approved applying the same 5% increase to certificated and classified managers and confidential employees retroactive to July 1, 2023.

District staff reported collection of more than $250,000 in developer fees during the third quarter, tied to 21 new homes and several subdivisions including Whispering Oaks and projects in Caramel R and Metalon. The board approved the third-quarter developer fee report, as moved and seconded during the meeting.

The board also approved the annual Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators for the 2024–25 school year, a state-required estimate that allows hiring on limited or emergency permits if fully credentialed candidates cannot be located. Mr Redond explained the district will exhaust other avenues before using permits and recommended board approval.

Trustees additionally discussed and approved changes to administrative regulation AR 5121 to permit locally designated honors course status for certain accelerated ninth-grade and math courses, enabling those classes to be weighted on a 5.0 GPA scale to help student competitiveness in college admissions.

Procedurally, the consent calendar passed on a roll-call vote and the board confirmed a plan to bring a construction contract for two kindergarten portable classrooms to a future meeting. The board scheduled a special meeting for April 29 to approve a scholarship award and set the next regular meeting for May 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Actions recorded in the meeting minutes include formal ratification of the tentative agreements, approval of salary schedules, approval of the developer fee report, and adoption of the Declaration of Need. The board’s votes on these items were taken during the open meeting following earlier closed-session personnel and expulsion actions.