June 10, 2021 – At the recent business meeting, the SSD Board of Education approved the joint resolutions for Special District Visual Language Specialists (SDVLS), the interpreter employee group; Special Education Employee Association (SEEA), the paraprofessional employee group; and Special Education National Educator Association (SDNEA), and the teacher employee group. The resolutions, which were ratified by the employee groups, are two-year agreements.

The employee groups participated in an interest-based bargaining process to make language and salary changes. This process allowed all involved to focus on issues and work collaboratively to resolve them. “I’d like to thank both the SSD and SDNEA negotiations teams for the hard work, and very purposeful and meaningful dialogue,” said SDNEA President Monica Jefferson, who is retiring this year. “In the end, we came out with a product that was crafted by all involved. It’s a pleasure for me to end my career with SSD on a high note!” 

The two-year agreements include:

• SDVLS Joint Resolution - step movement, adjusted step placement, and a wage increase to the top step for each year of the agreement
• SEEA Joint Resolution - step movement for all, adjusted step movement, money added to the top step for each year of the agreement, a 3.74% increase to forecasted expenditures for 2021-22, and a 4.22% increase to forecasted expenditures for 2022-23
• SDNEA Joint Resolution - step movement and step adjustment for each year of the agreement, a 4.34% increase to forecasted expenditures for 2021-22, and a 3.71% increase to forecasted expenditures for 2022-23

Reaching multi-year agreements with SSD’s three largest employee groups will allow SSD to continue to recruit and retain the best and brightest staff. “The current job market is very competitive, and we want our staff to know that we appreciate them. We also want to encourage the most qualified and experienced candidates to join the SSD team,” said Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Keenan. “I value the collaborative relationships between the district and our employee groups, which allowed for a positive process and outcome for everyone involved in negotiations.”

To view the details of the updated agreements, click on the links below.

2021-23 SDVLS Joint Resolution

2021-23 SEEA Joint Resolution​​​​​​​

2021-23 SDNEA Joint Resolution