RICHMOND — New agreements were approved Wednesday between the West Contra Costa Unified School District and two of its labor groups but some district leadership warn costly repercussions could come for what’s been promised.
United Teachers of Richmond and Teamsters Local 856, which represent about 3,000 employees across the district’s dozens of campuses, will receive 8% raises over the next two years and 100% employer funded health care by mid 2027, among other benefits.
The contracts were approved after multi-day strikes in December 2025 that saw thousands of community members, including some elected city officials, join picket lines and rallies in solidarity with teachers, counselors, cafeteria workers, school security and other district employees.
“I’m glad that the fiscal state of our district is now a priority. We cannot hide in the shadows and only appear when it’s convenient. We have to be here and stand strong and stand in the light when it’s not comfortable,” said board President Guadalupe Enllana during a Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday.
Trustees voted 4-1 Wednesday to approve the Teamsters contract, with Trustee Leslie Reckler voting no. The contract with United Teachers of Richmond was approved 3-2 with Trustee Jamela Smith-Folds and Reckler as the nay votes.
Reckler and Smith-Folds said they were concerned for the future financial stability of the district and the on-the-ground impacts that would result from having to make cuts to afford benefit increases.
While supportive of offering district employees more, Smith-Folds shared concerns the district would have to draw from other funds like retiree health benefits to pay for the contracts, valued at about $90 million combined over a three-year period, without a plan for how it will replenish those dollars. Reckler said staffing could see cuts of about 10% and other areas like elementary school music programming could lose funding.
“I’m deeply concerned the school district does not have the resources to sustain this agreement and there will be very real and direct impacts to schools, classrooms, staff and students,” Reckler said. “There are other paths forward that would still be lucrative for employees and more financially achievable for the district. Those paths should be pursued.”
Trustees have already promised to cut $32 million from the district’s budget to retain local control. If not, they were at risk of losing the ability to make decisions to the Contra Costa County Office of Education.
United Teachers of Richmond President Francisco Ortiz said during Wednesday’s meeting that he was at a “loss for words” by the concerns raised by the two trustees but encouraged by other board members “who are being courageous and are saying the status quo is not working for our students.”
Union members have often questioned where the district could feasibly make cuts, arguing they already work in understaffed and under-resourced campuses. They’ve proposed the district could redirect some of the roughly $117 million it spends on outside contractors toward internal staffing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently unveiled a draft 2026-27 budget that proposes increasing per-pupil spending, special education funding and investments in community schools, after-school programming, school meals and other areas. But Smith-Folds noted the budget is only a proposal that could see substantial changes and requirements tacked on to what future money is offered to districts.
Exactly what financial decisions will be made are still unclear, Trustee Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy said in a statement on social media. Trustees passed a resolution promising to balance the district’s budget during an early January meeting, but public feedback gathered during community meetings still needs to be presented and considered by the board during future meetings, he noted.
“For years we have voted on cuts after cuts and I’m tired of cutting while I see our schools starving and our staff not being able to afford to work in our community and have a living wage,” Gonzalez-Hoy said. “We will confront our financial challenges with integrity, compassion, and community voice. That is the leadership our students deserve and that is the leadership I will continue to provide.”
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