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Teachers, district go to mediation Wages, early retirement program at heart of teachers' contract dispute By VICKI GUARINO ROGUE RIVER -- Teacher talks that picked up last February and ground to a halt in May resume today with a state mediator. Among the issues in dispute for the Rogue River School Board and some 70 district teachers is a proposed wage freeze. The board wants to hold the line on pay this year, but teachers seek a 3.5 percent raise. Despite their differences, both sides say they hope to reach a contract agreement today. Teachers have been working without a contract under provisions that allow terms of the expired contract to remain in effect until a new document is signed. "If the school board is as prepared to seek a compromise as we are, we will settle," teachers' negotiator Steve Straughn of the Oregon Education Association said Tuesday. School Superintendent Charles Hellman, speaking for the Rogue River School Board, also was hopeful about the mediation, which begins at 4 p.m. at the high school. The state Employment Relations Board is handling the talks. Teachers and the board disagree on numerous contract issues, including wages, an early retirement program and procedures for evaluation and dismissal. Hellman said in addition to the wage freeze for the current school year, the board wants to end to a district-funded early retirement incentive program. In both cases, he said, the issue is declining district revenues. State funding has lagged behind costs, Hellman said. The district has been spending more money than it has received in revenues, relying on an ever-growing portion of cash carryover funds from previous years to balance new budgets. As a result, for the past few years the amount of money saved and carried over into the next year has been declining. Hellman said board members have agreed that such spending must stop. The district is operating on a total general fund budget this year of just over $7.9 million. The early retirement plan is costing the district about $79,000 this year, Hellman said. It could cost $170,000 in three years if all eligible Rogue River teachers were to take the option. "It's a tremendous financial burden to the district," Hellman said. "The money is needed for programs and teachers." Regular teacher retirement through the state Public Employees Retirement System wouldn't be affected by the board's contract proposal. Straughn, however, said money is available to give teachers the wage increases they seek and preserve the retirement plan. Teachers want a 3.5 percent raise this year, plus a 3.35 percent step increase for those teachers who qualify on the basis of increased education or experience. According to district records, a beginning teacher in Rogue River earns $25,386. Through step raises, the average Rogue River teacher earns $38,257. Straughn said that the retirement incentive should be kept, both because it saves the district money, and as a matter of fairness. The plan has been offered for several years and teachers have planned retirements around its availability. Straughn said his calculations show the retirement program saves money overall by enabling the district to replace older, more experienced teachers with teachers at the lower end of the wage scale. Teachers and the board also have parted company over contract clauses regarding evaluations and dismissals. Straughn said the proposed contract would enable the district to start disciplinary action leading to dismissal without evaluating the teacher. Hellman said evaluations would remain a part of the process for teachers, but that the provision is a mater of board policy and should not be part of the teachers' contract. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA