Both sides expect ratification sometime next week 

NATIONAL CITY – After 18 hours of negotiations that began Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the National City Elementary Teachers Association (NCETA) and the National School District signed a tentative three-year contract at approximately 2:30 a.m., Friday morning, February 4, 2011. The settlement prevented a strike  today by the district’s 354 teachers. 

If the tentative agreement is ratified next week by teacher unit members and the district’s governing board as expected by both sides, the contract will initiate the following conditions: 

• A reduction in unpaid teacher “furlough” days from five per year to four in each of the 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13 fiscal years. If the district’s attendance-based “revenue limit” funding increases beyond a certain level in 2011-12 or 2012-13 those furlough days could be reduced further.
• Class size maintained at 22 to 1 in grades kindergarten through third grade and 33 to 1 in grades four through six in 2010-11 and 2011-12.  Class size for the 2012-13 could be maintained at 22 to 1 if district’s revenue improves to a certain level.
• Alignment of the school calendar with the Sweetwater Union High School District for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. 

“We are very happy that we were able to settle the contract and continue to maintain our focus on student learning,” said National School District Superintendent Dr. Chris Oram. “We are very pleased that after many hours of intensive negotiations we were able to come to an agreement for the benefit our students and the community of National City,” said Linda Cartwright, President of National City Elementary Teachers Association.