Teachers reach 3-year agreement with district January 21, 2022 — by Christina Chang and Martin Xu Teachers will receive a 5% raise for three consecutive years.Following continuous efforts to rally for higher pay in the fall, the members of the District Teachers Association (DTA) came to an agreement with LGSUHSD in December. The agreement entailed a 5% raise for three consecutive years for a total of 15%, along with improvements to dental and vision healthcare plans. The chief negotiator representing SHS and Los Gatos teachers was Marcy Cooper, a teacher at Los Gatos High School, while the chief negotiator for the district was associate superintendent Carrie Bosco. Teachers said their salaries hadn’t increased enough in recent years, didn’t come close to matching inflation and fell far short compared to other local districts like Santa Clara and Mountain View-Los Altos. While most teachers voted in favor of the agreement, roughly a third voted against it because it fell short of keeping up with 6-7 percent annual inflation. Among them was history teacher Mike Davey. “We didn’t get the average raise we wanted, even though it’s not the fault of our negotiators,” Davey said. “The district played hardball and the district won. I’m really disappointed.” For her part, Bosco said this was the largest total raise provided in the district at any time and is much larger than those granted by most other local districts in recent years. “This recognizes the skill and dedication of our staff and keeps our total compensation highly competitive in the area,” Bosco said. 5 views this weekAbout the contributorsChristina ChangChristina Chang, Class of 2023, is an Editor-In-Chief of the '22-'23 Falcon staff. Previously, she served as a Sports Editor and local events beat writer for the '21-'22 staff and a Reporter and Layout Artist for the '20-'21 staff. During her time with The Falcon, she covered community news like the breakdown of city budget allocations and the first Blossom Festival post-COVID; wrote a series addressing mental health; profiled teacher friendships amid the pandemic; reported on the return of in-person learning and sports after shelter-in-place; and authored a narrative reflecting on her own basketball journey of eight years. Christina was named one of four finalists for Youth Journalism International's 2023 Student Journalist of the Year and one of seven finalists for the National Scholastic Press Association's 2022 Writer of the Year. She has received 23 journalism awards at the international, national and regional levels; her works have been recognized by Youth Journalism International, National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association of Northern California, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and Santa Clara University. To further her journalism experience, she attended workshops during summer 2022 hosted by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, California Scholastic Press Association and Stanford Daily. She will fondly remember The Falcon as a highlight of her high school years, and will forever cherish the memories created during monthly deadline nights, enjoying catered food and chatting with fellow staff members while rushing to finish each print edition. Outside of the J-room, she enjoys getting involved in the community through volunteering with local nonprofits and school clubs as well as exploring her interests and creativity through art.Martin XuMartin Xu, Class of ‘23, is Sports Editor for the 2022-23 staff. He was a Web Editor for the 2021-22 staff and a Reporter and Layout Artist for the 2020-21 staff. He's written in-depth stories regarding therapy and free speech, human interest stories profiling students and news stories on local events.