School District Reaches Tentative Agreement with Teachers

Teachers Express Appreciation for New Superintendent

Six weeks into the job, newly installed Superintendent Jason Sutter of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) sent the following message to teachers and other certificated staff, on the evening of Thursday, April 16, 2026:

“The District and VMTA (Valley of the Moon Teachers Association) are pleased to share that a tentative agreement was reached today. Additional details will be presented at the upcoming VMTA General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in the Sassarini MPR. In the meantime, here are some key highlights: 

• The salary increase for 2025- 2026 will be a one-percent increase retroactive to July 1, 2025, and an additional one-percent increase retroactive to January 1, 2026. This results in an overall two-percent increase to the salary schedule for next year. 
• A one-time bonus of $1,000. The bonus shall be prorated for employees working less than 1.0 FTE (Full Time Employee).
• An MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)  establishing a Health Care Committee to review benefit providers and plans available to all staff in Sonoma Valley Unified School District.
• An MOU addressing the effects of layoffs.

We want to thank the negotiation teams for their hard work on behalf of our staff and our District. If you have any questions or concerns, please bring them to the General Membership meeting, or email Laura Monterosso.

Thank you for your continued support.
VMTA and SVUSD negotiations teams

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Co-presidents of the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association, Laura Hoban and Shellie Ryan, sent the following statement to the Sun. VMTA is the bargaining unit for SVUSD teachers, and its membership represents almost 97-percent of the District teachers.  

“The Valley of the Moon Teachers Association is pleased to share that we, VMTA and SVUSD,  have reached a tentative agreement (TA) for this school year. The VMTA is currently proceeding through its internal process of membership review of the TA. 

“While bargaining is a complicated process, we’d like to acknowledge the experience, tone, and humanity that our new superintendent, Mr. Jason Sutter, has brought to ‘the table’ since recently joining our District.  

We collectively look forward to finishing 2025-26 strong.” 

The VMTA is pleased to share that we, VMTA and SVUSD have reached a tentative agreement (TA) for this school year. The VMTA is currently proceeding through its internal process of membership review of the TA.  

While bargaining is a complicated process, we’d like to acknowledge the experience, tone, and humanity that our new superintendent, Dr. Jason Sutter, has brought to “the table” since recently joining our district. 

We collectively look forward to finishing 2025-26 strong!