Teachers’ union signs contract for 3.5% raise

The Huntington Beach City School District and its teachers’ union are expected to vote on their new contract in coming weeks, officials said.

On May 21 they ended nine months of negotiations and signed a tentative new deal that is expected to pass without difficulty.

Teachers will get a 3.5% raise this year, effective as of last July, Supt. Roberta DeLuca said. For next year, they will get a pay raise equal to any state funding to keep up with the cost of living.

While the tentative deal still has to be voted on by the board and the members of the Huntington Beach Elementary Teachers Assn., officials on both sides said they didn’t expect much opposition.

The two-year contract, which is retroactive to last summer, lasts through July 2009.

— Michael Alexander