Glendale Unified School District

GLENDALE, CA – Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) and Glendale Teachers Association (GTA) bargaining teams have reached a tentative agreement on wages for the 2026-27 school year. The agreement includes an ongoing 2% wage increase effective July 1, 2026, and a 1% one-time payment in November of 2026. This is the second year in a row that the parties have concluded negotiations ahead of the school year. 

The agreement also includes a broad range of updates focused on employee support, instructional practices, early learning, workplace safety, and student opportunity. In addition to compensation, GUSD and GTA reached agreement on the following contract items:

• Adjustments to compensation for Child Development and Child Care (CDCC) teachers to provide a universal increase in place of a cost-of-living adjustment, funded through the California Department of Education Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP).  
• New language addressing employee-created instructional materials and the use of artificial intelligence in schools, protecting educator intellectual property rights, ensuring AI systems cannot replace bargaining unit work without agreement, and establishing clear guidelines for training, privacy, oversight, and instructional use of AI technologies. 
• A clearer set of advancement opportunities for CDCC teachers and head teachers, including new protections for employees who transition into classroom teaching positions.  
• An increase in annual sick leave from 10 to 11 days for counselors.
• An updated workplace safety agreement affirming the District’s commitment to promptly investigate and address reported unsafe conditions, while strengthening employee supports related to workplace violence, including paid leave protections following traumatic incidents, documentation procedures, and access to legal, mental health, and other support resources for affected employees. 
• Revised class size procedures that strengthen collaboration and transparency between site administrators and GTA representatives through regular joint meetings focused on class size, staffing allocations, teacher workload, course preparations, and student enrollment data to support equitable classroom distribution and staffing practices. 
• A memorandum of understanding reaffirming the District’s commitment to supporting students and employees impacted by immigration-related matters, including clear protocols for immigration enforcement requests on campuses, employee protections, leave provisions related to immigration and citizenship matters, and reinstatement protections for employees whose work authorization is temporarily impacted by changes in federal immigration policy. 
• Expanded Dual and Concurrent Enrollment provisions to strengthen collaboration between high schools and post-secondary partners, increase access and support for GUSD teachers interested in dual enrollment opportunities, improve student support and oversight within college courses offered on high school campuses, and enhance transparency, communication, and planning related to concurrent and dual enrollment programs. 

As a next step, the GTA membership will vote on ratifying the tentative agreement, after which the GUSD Board of Education will vote on the final approval of the contract. 

“This agreement reflects the thoughtful and collaborative work that can happen when both teams remain focused on supporting students, valuing educators, and strengthening our schools,” said GUSD Board of Education President Ingrid Gunnell. “In addition to compensation increases, these agreements address important issues impacting our school communities, from workplace safety and class size collaboration to career pathways, early learning, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. I want to thank both bargaining teams for the professionalism and partnership that made this possible.” 

“Our educators play a critical role in shaping the experiences and success of our students every day, and this agreement reflects our continued commitment to supporting them in meaningful ways,” said Superintendent Dr. Darneika Watson. “I am grateful for the collaborative approach demonstrated throughout negotiations and proud of the work both teams accomplished together on issues that directly impact teaching, learning, and school culture across Glendale Unified.” 

“I am proud of the progress we’ve won together through GTA’s collective strength in advancing our vision of safe, healthy, and welcoming public schools,” said Taline Arsenian, GTA President. “This agreement delivers meaningful gains for our members, including salary increases, continued employer-paid healthcare, protections around AI and immigration enforcement, expanded career pathways, and stronger support for GUSD educators over outside contractors. We look forward to building on these wins in the year ahead.” 

GTA Bargaining Chairperson, Sarah Morrison shared: “Our tentative agreement reflects the shared commitment of GTA members and District leaders to invest in educators and students. We are proud of what we have achieved together. And with increased state funding, which GTA continues to fight for, and a school board that cares deeply about the welfare of students, we believe the conditions are right to bargain for even more substantial improvements in the coming years.”

Press Contacts:
Vanessa Flores Waite, GUSD | vwaite@gusd.net
Sarah Morrison, GTA | bargaining@glendaleteachers.org