Clovis Unified teachers, other staff win 7% raise

The Clovis Unified school board voted Wednesday to grant a one-time raise of 7% to teachers and other district employees, according to the Fresno Bee.

Teachers said they were happy about the raise, but it wasn’t enough to cover the rising cost of living and inflation, or put Clovis salaries on par with nearby districts.

“We are the lowest-paid teachers in the area,” teacher Kristin Heimerdinger, spokeswoman for the Association of Clovis Educators, told the Bee in May. “While a paycheck is not necessarily the only factor that can affect your job satisfaction, the reality of it is that people can make more money in other school systems and in other professions. … We’re told regularly that we are the best at our jobs, but they will not pay us as if we’re the best.”

Clovis teachers are among the few teacher groups in California that are not unionized.

The raises, which will cost the district $30.9 million, cover more than 4,000 teachers, administrators, bus drivers and other staff. Psychologists and other mental health providers are working on separate negotiations with the board.