The Foothill-De Anza faculty association unanimously ratified a two-year salary proposal for both full-time and part-time faculty.

The district and faculty agreed to raise the 5% to 6% raise in 2019-20 term with another increase in 2020-21.

The deal is only temporary because of all the complexities involved in the matter, such as what the budget and funding would look like in 2020-21.

Union members ratified the proposal in early October, and now the agreement is in effect. There is also a “hold harmless” status on Foothill-De Anza for 2021-22, which means the district will not get a budget cut because of a new formula that was introduced for calculating the budget.

After 2021-22, when the “hold harmless” status will be dissolved and district can receive a significant budget cut from the state.

In the new agreement, the part time faculty also received some beneficial revisions to their salary schedules.

In general, part time faculty have a longevity clause in their contract, meaning they need to teach a certain number of quarters to be able to reach the last or highest step of the salary schedule.

In the new agreement, this longevity clause was modified, so part-time faculty do not have to wait 12 quarters to move between the lower steps to the highest salary steps.

“Many part-time faculty teach at most two quarters a year at FHDA, and this meant some faculty had to wait six years to move to the highest pay possible,” said Kathy Perino, the faculty negotiator. “That seemed unnecessary at this point in time.”

Perino said she is satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation. Even though it may not be enough to cover the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, Perino believes it was still a fair outcome.

She said the future of the negotiations is uncertain and in a “wait and see” mode.