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Rogue River deal heads off strike School board agrees to teachers' demands By VICKI GUARINO ROGUE RIVER -- The school board blinked. Teachers cheered. The Rogue River School Board gave in Monday to teachers' wage and benefits demands, ending the threat of a strike next week. The district's 80 teachers will get 2 percent raises, retroactive for the current school year, increasing to 3 percent by the end of the three-year contract. Also in the wage package are raises of more than 3 percent for teachers with specific experience and education. The board also agreed to preserve an early-retirement incentive for current faculty; new teachers will not be offered the benefit. That board had wanted to phase out the program for all teachers to save money. Teachers who crowded into the Rogue River Middle School library to watch the session, applauded the end of 16 months of negotiations. The talks began last year with school board calls for a wage freeze and an immediate end to the retirement plan -- a plan teachers said they had counted on and made wage concessions in past years to guarantee. It was the looming strike that drove the board to give in, board chairman Dave Cunningham said at the close of Monday's session. "We couldn't have a strike here, that's why we backed away," Cunningham said. "It would have been bad for our teachers. It would have been ultimately wrong." The agreement between board representatives and teachers' negotiating team is tentative, but it suspends the strike, which had been called for March 3. The contract must be ratified by teachers and the full board. Votes are expected today. Union representative Steve Straughn said he and the teachers on the negotiating team will urge a yes vote. Cunningham said the full board already has given him and fellow board member and negotiating teammate Richard Gertsmar authority to settle. "I think this all will hold together and work out fine," Cunningham said. Board members clearly were in the mood to settle Monday. "We'd like to close the door on this now," Cunningham said early in the session. Unlike most labor talks, the meeting was public. Rogue River teachers and board members agreed several weeks ago to open the doors so that the community could observe the process. At moments when talks snagged on a technicality, Gertsmar repeatedly pushed forward asking, "is this a deal breaker?" The longest such debate centered on the due date for retroactive pay. Teachers asked for payment by April 19, the beginning of spring break. Board members balked, saying district staff would need more time to compute amounts. Finally, both sides agreed that checks would be issued as soon as possible. Negotiators also resolved issues surrounding working conditions. Board members had sought a new contract clause giving them authority to make changes in teachers' schedules and similar matters. The board agreed to a counter offer by teachers that would send workplace disputes to binding arbitration. The board sought the additional authority in the expectation that some rescheduling and shuffling of teachers could be needed to cut costs. Cunningham said the district is anticipating cuts in state funding next year, which makes many district activities and programs uncertain. "There are going to be substantial changes," Cunningham predicted. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA