Brandon Diniz, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, speaks to the Board of Trustees in October 2025. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local file)
WATSONVILLE >> After 11 months of negotiations, Pajaro Valley Unified School District leaders and the teachers union reached a tentative agreement on a new employment contract, the district and the union announced Thursday.
The agreement between PVUSD and the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers comes after months of disagreements over benefits, pay and workloads for teachers — and could bring an end to a period of uncertainty for the district.
The agreement maintains health benefits, includes a 4% increase in the pay scale and adds measures to ease teachers’ workloads and class sizes, according to the union.
“This agreement reflects our members’ desire to keep our current benefits structure unchanged, put money into the pay scale, and create better working conditions that put students first,” PVFT President Brandon Diniz wrote in a statement.
The union highlighted several specific points in the tentative agreement, including more instructional assistants in kindergarten, dedicated time for special education teachers to handle paperwork, and the restoration of a $250 stipend to Palace Art & Office Supply for all teachers.
“Reaching this agreement required hard work, open dialogue, and meaningful compromise from both sides of the table,” Superintendent Heather Contreras wrote in a statement on Thursday, August 27. “This milestone allows our entire educational community to refocus our collective energy where it matters most: on supporting our students and improving outcomes in every classroom.”
The tentative agreement must now be adopted by PVFT members and approved by the PVUSD Board of Trustees.
Smaller kindergarten class sizes
One of the achievements PVFT considers a success is the return of instructional assistants to kindergarten classrooms.
For Edith Ruiz, a bilingual kindergarten teacher at Landmark Elementary School and PVFT treasurer, that support is important for both teachers and students.
Ruiz has worked in the district since 2004 and is about to begin her 23rd year at Landmark Elementary. During an interview with Noticias Watsonville, she said that staff cuts have left teachers with less support to meet students’ needs.
“Students aren’t receiving the support they need, and classrooms are less safe,” Ruiz said. Some kindergarten classes have 26 or 28 students, she said, many more than is ideal.
The current contract sets a maximum of 24 students for kindergarten, Ruiz said, but the specific details of the new agreement and how student limits will be enforced still needs to be ironed out after the contract is ratified.
Months of negotiations
Negotiations between PVUSD and PVFT lasted nearly a year before reaching an impasse and entering the fact-finding process.
For Ruiz, the process was frustrating.
“Basically, they dragged us along for many months. That’s very frustrating as a teacher,” she said.
The district, for its part, described the agreement as the result of months of negotiations and compromise on both sides.
The tentative agreement will first be presented to PVFT members for ratification and then to the PVUSD Board of Trustees for final approval.
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Erandi García reports on the Latino community, covering issues and decisions that shape life in the Pajaro Valley and across Santa Cruz County. "My goal is to provide accurate, accessible journalism that helps the migrant residents stay informed and engaged in their communities. I live in the Pajaro Valley and enjoy spending time with my family, exploring local events and staying connected with the community I have called home for most of my life."
Before joining Santa Cruz Local, Erandi spent more than a decade as a television journalist, reporting and anchoring for Spanish-language news. Her reporting focused on public safety, local government, immigration, crime, education and agriculture. Most recently, she served as Director of Community Outreach and Education at Hospice Giving Foundation, where she led bilingual outreach initiatives and worked with community partners throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
