West Contra Costa Unified reaches tentative agreement with union to reopen schools

West Contra Costa Unified and its teachers union, the United Teachers of Richmond, reached a tentative agreement Thursday afternoon for a return to classrooms in the spring.

Both the district and the teachers union announced the agreement after their third bargaining session this week. They didn’t immediately offer details of the plan but promised more information Friday.

West Contra Costa Unified’s campuses have remained closed during the pandemic. It’s previous agreement with employee unions was not to reopen until: all ZIP codes within the district were in the orange or “moderate” tier on the state’s reopening tier system for 21 consecutive days; the case rates in surrounding counties of Alameda and Solano counties dropped below 10 per 100,000 population; and the positivity rate dropped below 3%.

After a group of parents criticized that agreement as being too stringent to allow for in-person instruction in the spring, the district’s school board unanimously directed staff on March 4 to return to the bargaining table with its unions.

United Teachers of Richmond members will vote to ratify the plan next week, and union leaders will answer teachers’ questions at a town hall March 24.