Miller Creek teachers, administration declare impasse
The Miller Creek School District administration and its teachers’ union have reached an impasse in contract talks for the current school year.
The impasse was jointly declared at the last negotiation session on March 18, said Becky Rosales, the district superintendent.
Rosales said a state mediator will now be called in to meet with negotiating teams for the district and the union, the Miller Creek Education Association.
“The district looks forward to meeting with MCEA and the mediator to reach an agreement to resolve the outstanding issues,” Rosales said in an email.
The first state mediation session has been set for May 2, according to Mary Krause, chair of the union’s bargaining team.
Krause said the impasse declaration came after the district made its last offer of a 0.75% increase for the 2024-25 school year. District management refused to provide an offer for the 2025-26 school year, she said.
The union has proposed a $6,000 increase to all teachers’ salaries for the 2024-25 school year and a 6% salary increase for the 2025-26 school year, she said.
“The district’s offer is essentially a pay cut,” Krause said in a statement.
“If the 0.75% raise were converted to a dollar amount and spread equally amongst all unit members, it would be about $82 a month before taxes,” she said. “We expect health care costs to increase more than the management’s offer.”
Krause added that “MCSD management also proposed a cap on health benefit contributions, forcing MCEA members to pay for all health care increases out of pocket,” Krause added.
She said the low salaries in the district hurt teacher recruitment and retention. A beginning teacher’s salary in the Miller Creek district is $66,498 a year, Krause said.
“Our salaries are the 13th lowest salaries out of 17 Marin County districts,” she said. “Our students deserve better.”
According to union research, Marin County identifies residents as low income when a single person in Marin County is earning $109,700 annually, according to Krause.
“Under the current salary schedule, an MCEA educator would have to work a minimum of 15 years and have 75 graduate degree units to just squeak over the low-income threshold,” she said. “It is eye-opening to learn that so many of our Miller Creek teachers qualify for the Housing and Urban Development low-income assistance.”
The Miller Creek Education Association represents 104 teachers and other certificated staff.
Miller Creek School District, in northern San Rafael, serves students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade at three elementary schools and Miller Creek Middle School.