On September 18, 2026, the Ventura Unified School District presented the Ventura Unified Education Association (VUEA) with a new total compensation (pay and health benefit costs) offer built around a six percent (6%) raise for VUEA (certificated) members, including teachers, counselors, nurses, and teacher-librarians. The District and VUEA's last proposals in April 2026 led to the recent impasse mediation process. The District's offer breaks the impasse and brings the parties back to the negotiations table, which is not bound by confidentiality as the impasse mediation process was. 

District leaders say the offer reflects the District's commitment to improving employee compensation while sharing responsibility with certificated members to maintain sustainable health benefit plans and offerings. The offer aligns with long-term recruitment and retention goals. It also allows the District to ensure long-term financial stability.

The District and VUEA had been participating in a confidential mediation process. The parties were prohibited and agreed not to disclose mediation proposals and/or discussions. The District and VUEA will now return to meet and negotiate in good faith in the regular negotiations process. The District will keep their community informed as the process continues and will post proposals made by all parties as they have done in the past. They will be posted on the VUSD Negotiations webpage.

 

The Offer

•      Effective January 1, 2027, certificated members will receive a six percent (6%) salary raise

•      In addition to existing health benefit plans, six (6) new health benefit plans will be offered for certificated members to choose from.

•      Certificated members who prefer to elect more expensive health benefit plans will receive an 80 percent contribution towards the cost from the District and pay an employee share of 20 percent (Participants can pay premiums with pre-tax dollars.)

•      Starting January 1, 2027, legacy certificated member* participants will have access to nine no-cost plans. These legacy members in plans with a Health Savings Account (HSA) costing less than $20,000 will receive a District contribution to their HSA. The contribution equals $20,000 minus the total cost of the plan, up to the IRS limit of $4,500, effective January 1, 2027.

•      Starting January 1, 2027, non-legacy certificated member* participants will have access to seven no-cost plans. Certificated members in plans with a Health Savings Account (HSA) costing less than $18,000 will receive a District contribution to their HSA. The contribution equals $18,000 minus the total cost of the plan, up to the IRS limit of $4,500, effective January 1, 2027.

•      For certificated members with more than ten years in the District who give a resignation or retirement notice by December 1, 2026,  with their last workday in the 2026-2027 school year, the District will pay their share of health premium costs through their last day of work (on or before June 30, 2027).

* Legacy certificated members are those employed by the District on or before February 13, 2024. Non-legacy members were hired on or after February 14, 2024.

Why This Offer Works

In 2024-25, the District paid $26.6M in health and welfare benefit costs. Those costs rose to $27.7 million in 2025-26. VUEA members last received a salary increase in July 2024. Efforts to share in the responsibility to contain health and welfare benefit costs with VUEA were ineffective. Health and welfare costs and salaries are paid out of the same budget area. Increases in health benefit costs impact the District's ability to offer raises. VUSD's teachers are among the lowest paid in Ventura County.

Approximately 50% of VUSD's teachers earn $100,000 or more. A six percent (6%) raise is at least $6,000 or more per year for those certificated members. This proposal allows all VUEA members to choose from a variety of no-cost plans. Should they prefer a more expensive plan, they would share in its cost (20%). For most, their raise would cover this cost and would improve retirement pay.

The District's offer is a responsible step toward closing the pay gap between VUSD and other Districts' certificated members in the county and improving VUEA members' pay. Sharing with VUEA members in the higher-cost plans allows the District to plan budgets more effectively and improve VUEA's salaries.

Why the District is taking this action now

Although no agreement was reached in mediation, the confidential discussions provided new perspectives. The District has determined it can responsibly improve upon its last formal offer. In truth, this is also a much improved offer from VUEA's April 2026 proposal that did not include a pay increase for its members. The District hopes the proposal will receive serious consideration.

By breaking impasse and returning to the negotiations table, the District hopes to put our at-large community at ease over the uncertainty of the fact-finding process and potential outcomes. 

Part of a broader effort

The District's offer is made with a clear view of the road ahead. The District believes state and federal funding for schools remains well short of what students and staff need. An improved salary is one piece of a broader effort to recruit and retain dedicated employees. The sale of the Education Service Center (ESC) property and other surplus properties gives the District the ability to rent housing to its own employees at an affordable price. Taken together, the plans for educator workforce housing and the terms of VUSD's proposal say one thing clearly: the District values the people who work here and wants them to stay.

 

 

 

 

The Ventura Unified School District Board of Education voted Tuesday, Aug. 25, to sell two surplus District properties for housing development. In the larger of the two agreements, the District did something groundbreaking in Ventura County. Instead of taking the full $39 million purchase price for the District offices located on Stanley Ave., the District opted to take roughly $21.5 million in cash and the remaining in finished homes the District will own for staff housing. This structure gives Ventura Unified approximately 50 housing units and, critically, the freedom to decide who lives in them and determine the rent associated with them. 

Because the District will own the units directly rather than participating in a subsidized housing program, they are not bound by the income limits that govern most affordable and educator housing developments. Ventura Unified can prioritize employees with the greatest need, but it can also lease to the teacher or classified employee who earns too much to qualify for affordable housing and not enough to afford Ventura's open market, the group most often squeezed out of both.

"Our teachers and staff should be able to live in the community they serve," said Dr. Antonio Castro, Superintendent of Ventura Unified School District. "What makes this agreement different is that we are not just selling land and hoping housing gets built. We are taking a substantial share of the purchase price in the form of housing the District will own. That gives us real flexibility to help employees live in the city where they work.”

The two agreements

Under Resolution #26-23, the Board approved the sale of the 24.88-acre Education Service Center property at 255 W. Stanley Ave. to an affiliate of MW Investment Group and HCD Investments LLC for $39,000,000.

Under Resolution #26-22, the Board approved the sale of the former Washington Elementary School site at 96 Macmillan Ave. to City Ventures for $8,325,000, with the potential for additional future payments to the District.

The two agreements total approximately $47.3 million.

The Macmillan Avenue sale is a standard sale to City Ventures for $8,325,000, with potential for additional future payments to the District. We won't own housing there. The developer's plans include potential affordable units with priority for District employees, but those would follow the usual income rules. The District-owned units described above exist only at the Stanley Avenue site.

How the Stanley Avenue deal is structured

The Stanley Avenue transaction is a mix rather than a straight sale. Under the terms of the agreement, the buyer will:

• Purchase a portion of the property to develop market-rate and affordable housing;
• Lease a portion of the property to develop affordable workforce housing
• Deliver approximately 50 constructed housing units to the District. Those units are valued at an average of about $350,000 each, and the balance of the purchase price is paid in cash to the District. 
• The District is still discussing the types of units it will request (1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, etc.). It has been conducting employee surveys to help determine the best mix. The District will develop a leasing policy and share it publicly before any units are available.

Cash proceeds from the sale are restricted by law: they may be used only for repairs and upgrades to Ventura Unified facilities, not for salaries, supplies or other operating costs.

Background: a public process

Both sales followed an extensive public process. A Board-appointed advisory committee known as the "7-11 Committee" studied potential uses of District-owned real property and gathered community input over several years. Acting on the committee's recommendation, the Board declared the Stanley Avenue property surplus on Aug. 10, 2021.

The District obtained a waiver from the State Board of Education, renewed in November 2025, that waives specified sections of the Education Code, allowing the District to use a request-for-proposals process to select a purchaser while maintaining flexibility in sale terms and maximizing return. The District issued an RFP for the Macmillan Avenue property on Sept. 30, 2025, and for the Stanley Avenue property on Jan. 5, 2026.

"This was a deliberate, public process," said James Forsythe, President of the VUSD Board of Education. "The 7-11 Committee did the study, the community weighed in at public board meetings and town hall meetings, and we've spent years getting to a structure that serves both the housing need and the District's long-term financial position."

Ventura and its surrounding communities face a critical shortage of affordable housing, making it difficult for some VUSD employees to live in the city where they work.  Housing that educators can actually afford supports the District's educational mission by helping Ventura Unified attract and retain qualified teachers and staff.

“This allows us to build workforce housing without asking the community to approve a bond or relying on state and federal affordable housing subsidies, which often exclude educators who do not meet the income requirement”, stated Board Trustee Sabrena Rodriguez during the meeting. “This is truly groundbreaking because we can use resources the district already owns to directly benefit our employees and the broader community, without increasing the tax burden on residents.” 

Education Service Center operations

The District has spent several years preparing for the relocation of personnel currently assigned to the Education Service Center at 255 W. Stanley Ave. Staff will be relocated to existing District-owned property or, pending the outcome of the District's school closure process, to school sites no longer operating as schools. Relocation planning is underway; the move is at least a year away, and District operations will continue without interruption.

Next steps

The resolutions authorize the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, or a designee to execute the Purchase and Sale Agreements, open and close escrow, and take all necessary steps to complete the transactions. The sales remain subject to the terms and conditions of those agreements. Any future development of either site would proceed through the City of Ventura's own planning and entitlement process.

 

The Ventura Unified School District is proud to introduce Sydney Traub as Co-Chair of the School Closures Advisory Committee.

Sydney is a 9th grader at Foothill Technology High School and previously attended Montalvo Arts Academy and Anacapa Middle School. As a current student, she brings a valuable perspective to the committee, offering insight into the day-to-day experiences of students and how decisions may impact them.

In addition to her role on the committee, Sydney serves as Freshman Vice President at Foothill Technology High School. Through this leadership role, she has developed skills in communication, collaboration, and representing her peers.

Sydney recognizes that the work of the committee is both important and challenging. As a student and sibling of another VUSD student, she understands the concerns many families may be feeling as this process moves forward.

“To help keep the committee focused on the facts and data, I will encourage everyone to set aside their personal views for the betterment of our district.”

She also emphasized the importance of maintaining a respectful and productive environment during discussions, sharing:

“I will also help by implementing the three most basic rules of classrooms: be respectful, listen to others, and take turns.”

Sydney believes one of the committee’s key responsibilities is to balance community input with a clear understanding of the data.

“While the opinions and statements of our community are welcomed and encouraged, the committee must remember that we need to see and hear the facts as well because, at the end of the day, we must give the board our best recommended course of action that will better our community and give future students the best education possible.”

She acknowledges that this could be a difficult process, but remains hopeful.

“This process is a very difficult and heart-heavy one. We as the committee have a very hard job ahead of us, but I know with our amazing members, board support, and community families, we can accomplish this difficult task.”

VUSD appreciates Sydney’s leadership and the important perspective she brings to this process. Her voice helps ensure that students remain at the center of these conversations as the committee continues its work.

For more information about the School Closures Advisory Committee, including meeting materials and opportunities for public input, please visit the School Closures webpage, .

We are pleased to introduce the Chair of the School Closures Advisory Committee, Mrs. Peggy Maryanski, who brings a deep commitment to public education and decades of experience serving students and the Ventura community.

With a 20-year career in Ventura Unified, she shared,
“I taught mostly kindergarten and also 2nd grade, reading intervention, and math intervention over my 20-year career with VUSD. I made my home in classrooms on both sides of town, and in midtown (Sheridan Way, Juanamaria, and Elmhurst). At each site, I participated in the PTA, School Site Council, and/or the staff Leadership Team, knowing that my important work in the classroom was dependent on each school's thoughtful financial decisions, committed leadership, and a strong school culture. I was a dedicated teacher and loved my students and my work. I retired in 2023.”

Her professional background also includes 15 years as a local news reporter and editor.
“I reported on many public entities and respect those that, like VUSD, strive to meet their mission with transparency and consensus.”

She emphasized her commitment to thoughtful leadership and collaboration, noting,
“I am grateful to be a member of this important committee and believe I can contribute as chair. I am dedicated to public education. I have the benefit of insight into schools without an active stake in any particular one. I am versed in public budgets and their constraints. I am open to creative problem-solving. I do not shy away from challenging conversations.”

When asked how she plans to lead the committee, she shared a perspective shaped by years in the classroom:
“I taught kindergarten for 16 years. Taking my cue from Robert Fulghum's ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,’ I hope to ensure that committee members take turns, share, and play nice. We have a lot to learn together and an important task to accomplish. We will also break occasionally for milk and cookies.”

She recognizes the importance of the committee’s role, stating,
“The school closures advisory committee is a microcosm of our community. Everyone on this panel cares about doing the right thing. In meeting the committee's mandate of making a recommendation to the Board of Education about which schools, if any, should be closed, the committee has a responsibility to model for our fellow Venturans the value of making well-informed decisions, considering others' views, and valuing consensus.”

For families and staff who may be feeling uncertain, she offered this message:
“Action and knowledge are antidotes for anxiety, and I encourage interested parties to participate and stay informed as this committee gathers information and seeks consensus. Know that I am committed to a fair, transparent, and inclusive process, and if our work lacks these characteristics, I urge observers to speak up.”

She also spoke candidly about why this work is necessary:
“To NOT look at potentially closing schools, to avoid painful conversations, to embrace the status quo is to abdicate VUSD's responsibility to its many stakeholders. The district's greater community deserves to know that VUSD is willing to reflect on its current state, acknowledge the need to do better, build a stronger financial safety net, and consider even the most substantive changes. We owe the same to the future.”

A longtime Ventura resident, she shared her personal connection to the district:
“My husband, Ken, and I raised our daughter in Ventura and were very happy with the rich and challenging education she got through VUSD. I have lived the passion of school spirit. I’ve lived in Ventura for 27 years, and I intend to stay. I am grateful I can serve my community in this role.”

We thank her for her leadership and service as the committee begins this important work. We will share more about our Vice-Chair in an upcoming communication.