LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — During its Wednesday evening meeting, the Middletown Unified School District’s Board of Trustees took united action to ratify a final agreement with the district’s teachers union.

The unanimous vote to approve the agreement with the Middletown Teachers Association, or MTA, came near the end of the board’s hour and a half long meeting.

“This is the agreement we’ve been working toward,” District Superintendent Jeff Crane told the board.

In April, it had looked like negotiations had broken down after the union voted to authorize a potential strike, as Lake County News has reported.

However, a few weeks later, a bargaining session that took place May 2 between the district and union resulted in a tentative agreement that the union ratified on Tuesday.

That left it up to the Middletown Unified board to give final approval on Wednesday evening.

Crane said he was really glad the two sides were able to reach the agreement in a manner that allows them to do things including approving new stipends for the current 2024-25 school year.

He said the agreement calls for increasing the stipends for peer induction and mentor support for new teachers, as well as providing stipends for leadership teachers and soccer coaches. For some staff who have gone “above and beyond,” it’s a chance to recognize their efforts.

The agreement also includes contingency language about a potential 1% salary increase which will be dependent on “unaudited actuals,” which make up the district’s financial statement at the end of the fiscal year. That financial information will be available in September, Crane said.

That increase would start in the 2025-26 school year and be retroactive to July 1. It would only take place if the district’s unaudited actuals for the 2024-25 school year reflect an increase in the end balance for unrestricted funds that equals more than $6.1 million.

“If our unrestricted general fund balance grows, then we’ll be able to share some of that growth with our employees,” Crane explained.

What he’s most excited about is what may sound weird to those outside the negotiation process, Crane said.

“I’m happy about the relationships that we’re able to build between MUSD administration and MTA leadership,” Crane said.

“I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anybody that there has been some unsettled leadership at the district level in MUSD for the last several years and, as I said before, my plan is to be here for awhile,” he added.

Offering a metaphor, Crane said, “Relationships are like a tree. The wind is what causes the tree to grow roots, and so it’s going through difficult times together that is what causes your relationship to grow roots and grow strength. And so I’m very optimistic about where we are moving forward.”

He added, “That’s not all included in the resolution.”

Board member Chris Ochs moved to approve the agreement, which was seconded by Board member Patricia Pachie.

During the brief discussion that followed the motion, Board President Zoi Bracisco asked for clarification about the proposed pay raise, which would be made in retroactive payments of $850 to staff.

Crane said retroactive checks cause a lot of logistical challenges for district business staff, in that they have to go back and undo what has been done. By the time they get the financial information in the fall, they would be looking at having to redo numbers for nearly a year.

Instead, the district is proposing an average payment of $850, which is a 1% raise based on 2024-25 numbers. Crane said that, rather than trying to calculate that 1% for everybody, they used an average to simplify the process.

The district’s current employees will get that payment, while employees who start work with the district in the new school year won’t, Crane explained.

In order to get that salary increase, the district’s financial statements must show an end balance for the 2024-25 fiscal year of $6,064,021 plus $150,000. Crane said that $150,000 is the district’s calculation — based on the recommendation of the mediator in the negotiations with MTA — of what it would cost to give a 1% raise to all employees.

That also could impact the district’s agreement with its classified employees, who are represented by the California School Employees Union, or CSEA.

Crane said part of the district’s agreement with CSEA is that anything that goes to MTA for a salary increase also would go to CSEA.

It would then be up to the board of trustees to decide if the district administration also is included, Crane said.

Following the brief discussion, Bracisco called for the board’s vote, which was unanimous in favor of approving the agreement.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.