FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

  

Issued By:  Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi (510) 337-7060 and 

                         Board President Gary Lym (510) 337-7187  

  

  

Alameda, Calif. — November 18, 2025 — The Alameda Education Association (AEA) has asked the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to declare an impasse in their contract negotiations with the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD). 

 

AEA, which represents teachers, counselors, nurses, school psychologists, and speech pathologists, filed for impasse on November 17, alleging the two teams’ salary proposals are too far apart to be bridged. 

 

The district and the union have been negotiating various articles in their current contract since last spring. Tentative agreements (TAs) have been reached on seven other articles in the contract, including leaves, work hours, evaluation, and unit member safety. 

 

AUSD has offered a 2.3% salary increase for the current year, plus a contribution of up to $1,168 per month towards individual health plans. This amount would pay for the entire cost of coverage for an individual employee on several AUSD health plans (i.e., employees would not have to contribute to their premiums). 

 

AEA, in turn, has asked for 9% ongoing starting in 2025-26, plus: 

 

The cost of AEA’s current proposal would bring the district’s ending fund balance down from a projected $20.73 million at the end of 2027-28 to a deficit of $4.46 million at the end of 2026-27 and a deficit of $19.34 million at the end of 2027-28.  

 

Last year, AUSD provided a 7% salary increase to all employees, as well as an unprecedented $1100 per month contribution to individual employees receiving Kaiser health insurance.

 

Over the last ten years, AUSD employees have received more than 40 percent in raises, including a 13% raise in 2020 made possible by the support of Alameda community members via the Measure A parcel tax. 

 

“We understand the advocacy of teachers needing more, particularly in the economic context of the Bay Area,” says Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi, “and at the same time acknowledge the fact that over the last decade, we have been able to provide steady and often substantial salary increases to our very deserving employees."

 

“But we cannot agree to a salary increase that would essentially create huge deficits in our first year and insurmountable deficits in the next few years," he continues. "We are witnessing numerous regional examples of what happens when districts use one-time funds for long-term salary commitments and the harm from those decisions that extends to students and staff alike, often via major program and staffing cuts.” 

 

In fact, he notes, “the Alameda County Office of Education won’t fully approve our budgets if we show that we plan to spend more money than we receive.” 

 

If the Public Employees Relations Board certifies the AEA’s request for an impasse determination, the agency will assign a third-party mediator to work with the two teams. If they still can't come to agreement, they'll enter fact-finding, in which a panel reviews the arguments and proposals of both sides and then provides a recommended course of action. 

 

"We are disappointed that we will not continue current negotiations in light of AEA’s quick move to impasse,” Superintendent Scuderi said. “However, we will invest in the mediation process, hope that it will be mutually beneficial, and continue to work toward an agreement that is acceptable and responsible."

 

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Alameda Unified School District serves more than 9400 students in Alameda, California., an island community in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit the AUSD website or follow AUSD on Facebook or Instagram. Questions? Contact Susan Davis, Senior Manager, Community Affairs, at sdavis@alamedaunified.org.