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Talks turn to job conditions Rogue River negotiations resume today By VICKI GUARINO With the Rogue River school board moving closer to teachers' wage demands, issues linked to job conditions are expected to move to the forefront of contract negotiations. Teachers' representative Steve Straughn said Wednesday that teachers are looking for assurances that the school board won't change working requirements, such as length of the school day. Teachers are expected to bring up that issue as negotiations resume at 5 tonight at Rogue River Middle School. The meeting will be open to the public, although, like last week's public negotiation, public comments will not be taken into consideration. Last week, the board took another step toward meeting teachers' wage demands, upping its across-the-board raise offer to 1.6 percent. Teachers have been asking for 2 percent. Those raises would come on top of 3.5 percent raises for some teachers at certain levels of education and experience. Straughn said Rogue River teachers' wages are significantly lower than those paid teachers elsewhere in the county. The increases contrast with the board's position over much of the past year that the district had to freeze wages because of revenue declines. Teachers have insisted that the district has sufficient funds. Straughn said a recent audit shows the district has a $1.4 million cash carryover from last year -- money not spent that could pay for raises. He said the money represents 14.5 percent of district expenditures -- a high percentage of unspent funds compared to other district. Medford, by comparison, has a carryover that represents 6.25 percent of its operating budget, Straughn said. Superintendent Charles Hellman disputed teachers' claim of surplus funds. He said the money is budgeted and used to meet operating expenses. "It is not a surplus," Hellman said. "It's not a rainy-day fund." He said the carryover has been declining, while operating costs are going up. He said the district already is expecting $150,000 to $200,000 in added costs next year, excluding the cost of raises to teachers. As a result, cuts in services are expected. "It's absolutely the probability," Hellman said. "We cannot maintain the level of service that we have." For teachers, contract language regarding working conditions is important, Straughn said. Teachers fear the board could make significant changes in their work day without their agreement. They want working conditions such as length of class periods and school hours spelled out in the contract. Teachers also want to hold on to an early retirement incentive. They say the cash incentive was part of negotiations and wage concessions they made years ago. "Teachers have very clearly and overwhelmingly said, `We do not want this one decent benefit deleted,"' Straughn said. Board members have said they want to phase out the incentive over the coming two years because it is too expensive. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA