The San Diego Unified School District and the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) have reached a tentative three-year agreement on the 2018-19 school year teachers contract. The parties reached agreement early Wednesday morning, following a 16-hour bargaining session and months of collaborative negotiations. The three-year tentative agreement includes a 2 percent raise in the 2018-19 school year, with staggered payments: 1 percent to be be paid July 1, 2018, and 1 percent to be paid by February 2019. In addition, the tentative pact awards SDEA employees a one-time, 1 percent off-schedule payment to be made by Aug. 1. The one-time payment was negotiated in exchange for the settlement of an outstanding grievance independent of the contract negotiations. The preliminary contract also includes a new benefit, three weeks of paid maternity leave for women in SDEA who have worked in the district for at least one year. In addition, the pact would give permanent and probationary SDEA members access to the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program that offers professional support to new teachers. Lindsay Burningham, who represents more than 6,000 teachers as SDEA president, said the proposed raises are well deserved. “Our San Diego Unified educators are worthy of fair and competitive salaries, and for the first time will be eligible for paid maternity leave,” Burningham said. “It is the hard work of our educators that has contributed to record graduation rates and student success in the San Diego Unified School District.” Before it becomes official, the membership of SDEA must ratify the contract revisions, and the San Diego school board must vote to approve the agreement. “We worked diligently with our partners at the San Diego Education Association to reach an agreement that will support the success of all our students,” said Superintendent Cindy Marten. “This agreement will help compensate our teachers for their hard work, while also helping the district attract and retain new educators.”