MUSD Superintendent Susanna Contreras-Smith
Dear Parents,
The Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) always puts our students and employees first. We are pleased to announce that we have settled contracts with the California School Employees Association (CSEA), Montebello Chapter 505, and the Montebello School Police Officers Association.
We are currently negotiating an additional salary increase with the Montebello Teachers Association (MTA). MUSD is proud of the fact that our teachers are the fourth highest paid in Los Angeles County. The average teacher in our district makes $90,000 for working a 10-month school year. On average, our MUSD teachers earn up to $500 per instructional day; meanwhile veteran teachers make even more.
Unfortunately, the Montebello Teachers Association is attempting to mislead the general public into believing that the district does not care about our teachers. The union leadership has been utilizing deceitful propaganda to spread false information about the district and the Board of Education that represents you.
The goal of the union leadership during this negotiation is to mislead the public in order to pressure the School Board into increasing the average teacher salary to nearly $100,000 per year for 10 months of work. Keep in mind that the average median household income in our hard working community is $50,000 for 12 months of work by comparison.
MUSD has a history of consistently providing its teachers with a generous employee compensation package. In the last three years, teachers have been given a 10.4% wage increase, excellent insurance benefits, and increased district contributions to one of the finest retirement systems offered in California -CALSTRS.
The school district plans to continue to reward all of its employees again this year while being fiscally responsible and maintaining sound financial practices. We strive to be a high performing district while being fair to all of our employees. Our vision is to redirect our budget towards providing updated computer technology, expanding after-school programs, beautifying our school facilities which our children deserve, and enhancing safety for our students and employees.
It is essential that MUSD is in clear and constant communication with our parents and students, to ensure that everyone knows exactly what our plans and goals are-to be fully transparent in the community.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Angel Gallardo at (323) 887-7900, extension 7924.
Thank you for your continued support of the Montebello Unified School District.
Sincerely,
Susanna Contreras Smith
Superintendent of Schools
