Thursday, December 25, 2003
Enterprise board, teachers
at impasse
By Rick
Swart of the Wallowa County Chieftain
Unable to reach an agreement on compensation,
benefits, and contract language, the Enterprise School Board and teachers
union declared an impasse last week, raising the prospect of a strike
in January.
“It’s the worst thing
I’ve been involved in in my 22 years as a school administrator,” said Enterprise
superintendent Brad Royse.
Declaring an impasse is one of the last steps in the negotiation
process. Under Oregon law, once an impasse is declared the two sides
have seven days to submit their final offer. If neither offer is accepted,
negotiations can continue during a 30-day “cooling off” period. After
the cooling off period the school district is free to implement its offer
whether the teachers accept it or not. At that point — Jan. 24 on the current
timeline — the teachers could choose to strike.
“We hope that negotiations will continue,” said
Duff Pace, spokesman for the teachers. “Any time you can keep communication
lines open, that’s the best approach. I honestly think that discussion
is health and that we’re not that far apart.”
How far apart remains to be seen.
After 12 meetings since the last contract expired in July,
including to 8-hour mediation sessions ending Dec. 15, the two sides are
still deadlocked over health insurance. The union wants the school district
to continue paying health insurance premiums for teachers from the time
they retire until they are eligible for Medicaid at age 65. That demand
would cost the school district $515 a month for each retiree.
The school district is currently paying $135,000 a year
in retirement medical premiums and that figure would increase substantially
in the next several years because the Enterprise teaching staff has an
unusually high percentage of teachers who have been with the district for
20 years or more.
“The district spends more on medical benefits for retirees
than we do for current teachers,” Royse said of the school board’s desire
to reduce retirement medical expense.
Pace countered that the continuing retirement health
premiums will actually save the district money by providing more senior
members of the staff more incentive to retire early.
“I see it as a win-win,” said Pace, who said the
provision would allow the school district to replace highly compensated
senior educators with younger, less experienced teachers who would come
in lower on the pay scale. Teacher salaries at Enterprise range from a
low of $26,993 a year to a high $49,757 a year. Because of the high percentage
of teachers with many years of service the average yearly compensation
is weighted toward the upper end of the pay scale, at $45,750.
Time is money
Another major sticking point is the so-called “funding
clause” which spells out conditions under which the school board could
cut up to 15 days out of the teachers’ schedule ... and reduce their salaries
proportionately. That provision would be triggered if the state school
fund fails to increase by 3 percent or more.
“We don’t think we’re ever going to see a 3 percent
increase in state funding,” said Pace, who estimated that taking 15 days
out of the teachers’ schedule would amount to a salary reduction
of 10 percent. Royse said the funding clause would give the district more
flexibility in the event of a budget shortfall.
The teachers and the board are also split over pay. In
its last offer, the board proposed a 1 percent increase in fiscal 2003
and again in fiscal 2004. The teachers offered to accept no increase in
2003 but wanted a 3 percent increase next year.
| Comments on the above story:
“The district spends more on medical benefits for retirees
than we do for current teachers,” Royse said of the school board’s desire
to reduce retirement medical expense.
Pace countered that the continuing retirement
health premiums will actually save the district money by providing more
senior members of the staff more incentive to retire early.
OMED: The problem with the text above, is that due to PERS (Public Employee
Retirement System) payments, at least until recently, some members of Oregon's
educational establishment receive from 100% to 130% of their working pay
after retiring.
You don't save money by retiring experienced teachers at close to or
above their working salary, and replacing them with inexperienced teachers
who require their own salary and benefits package. This process dramatically
increases the cost of education instead of reducing it.
There has been a great deal of talk about changes being made in that
system, but the press reports we've seen focus on the guaranteed return
aspect. (You, the taxpayer, guarantee that if the PERS retirement
funds are invested in the stock market, for example, if the market drops,
the PERS investments will still get a positive return. Their stock
value will grow, no matter what happens. The difference between the
stock price and that guaranteed growth rate comes out of your pocket.)
For more on this and related problems, read Tillamook
Schools: Who is being milked? |
Original text © 2004 Wallowa County Chieftain |