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Teachers reject insurance package Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Kennedy Elementary School teacher and Medford Education Association President June Buck finishes year-end grades in her now-empty classroom. Association members have overwhelmingly rejected a school district plan that would increase insurance premiums to its teachers. Union says it unfairly reopens contract By DAMIAN MANN Teachers resoundingly rejected a new insurance package Monday because they say the Medford School District's proposal has broken the spirit of a negotiated contract. With a vote of 555 to 55, the teachers' union plans to file a grievance action against the district for what it considers unfairly reopening a contract ratified in 1999. "We want to protect our contract and our members to the best of our abilities," said June Buck, president of the Medford Education Association, which has about 700 members. District and union officials have spent months trying to forge a compromise insurance agreement after the Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) announced it was pulling out of Jackson County last year. Superintendent Steve Wisely believes language in the contract allows the district the right to reopen negotiations because the HMO is no longer in existence. "When we bargained in 1999 we had no idea that this would come up," said Wisely. "We had no idea the HMO would go away." The district estimates it will cost an average $684 a month for managed care for each employee under the new plan, which is being underwritten by AAI Managed Care, a subsidiary of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Other districts like Ashland, Central Point, Phoenix-Talent and Jackson ESD have caps on their plans, ranging from $475 to $570 a month. Costs under the new, basically district-funded plan will be $1.8 million more than last year, bringing the district's total fiscal impact to $10.1 million in an $80 million budget. "We want salaries to be competitive," said Wisely. "We want insurance to be competitive, but how much is too much. We feel the new plan is competitive." Insurance hikes plus cost-of-living and utility increases have left the district with a $1.8 million shortfall that will lead to bigger class sizes and fewer teachers next year. The district agreed to absorb the fiscal impacts of the new insurance program for the first two years, but wants to place a 7 percent cap in 2003-04 to encourage less use by employees. The contract the union approved in 1999 expires in 2004. The plan would also establish a reserve fund that could offset any overage charges if employees meet certain benchmarks in insurance usage during the next two years. Insurance use has increased in recent years, partially fueled by the demand for prescription drugs, which make up an estimated 35 to 40 percent of costs. James Bond, a consultant with the Oregon Education Association, disagrees with the district's belief that it could reopen negotiations. "They have no rights to bargain a cap." But, in the interests of compromise, he said the teachers' union offered a cap proposal of its own that would ask its members to absorb 60 percent of insurance increases above 8 percent in 2003. The union also pushed the district to consider a stress reduction program as part of a more comprehensive health package that would help drive down costs. Bond said the district has increased the number of meetings and the amount of paperwork it demands of teachers in recent years, increasing their total work hours and leaving them with less time to devote to students. "We want to enable our members to have more control over their professional lives so they would have more say in how to meet the needs of their students," said Bond. The district rejected the stress reduction component because it would adversely affect the duties of administrators and other district activities. Both classified employees and administrative staff in the district have voted their support for the new insurance package. "It's an awesome insurance package," said Julie Smith, president of the Medford chapter of Oregon School Employees Association. She said the district will be providing employees with usage figures on a monthly basis to keep track of insurance costs to avoid exceeding the caps. Even with the cap, she said this district is better off than most. But Bond believes that forcing this change in the contract on teachers is unprecedented in the district. "We've never had a situation where the district said 'We're done. Take it or leave it,'" he said. "This is not the way we've done business in the past." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.