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School strike averted By DAMIAN MANN ROGUE RIVER - A tentative salary agreement has been hammered out this week between school officials and the teachers union, avoiding the possibility of a strike. Although it's an agreement the district will have difficulty affording and could set the stage for more layoffs in the future, said school board chair Dick Handbury, "All of the problems we may have can't be laid on a salary increase or settlement of contract. It starts at the legislative level. "It's obvious we're going to have to do some fine-tuning of our financial situation." District Attorney Bruce Zagar, who represented the district in the negotiations, said he believes the compromise agreement is still too expensive for the district. "We can't afford it," he said. Both sides declined to disclose details of the compromise, though the district has shown a willingness to increase its portion of the monthly insurance premiums from $470 to $506 this year, Handbury said. The board will continue to analyze the financial impacts during the next few weeks before voting on the contract at its board meeting in November. Handbury said an executive session held Thursday ended with a consensus by board members to tentatively support the agreement. "We are on track for a settlement," he said. In determining the financial impacts of the proposal, the district didn't calculate the latest warning from Gov. John Kitzhaber that most state agencies, including education, should expect at least a 2 percent reduction in revenues because of a worsening economy. This would be a financial hit for Rogue River schools, which have had declining enrollment and declining revenues for many years. "At this point, it will eventually impact employment here," said Handbury. The teachers union, known as the Rogue River Education Association, and the district were at odds over a wage and benefits package, with teachers working without a contract since June. They also had threatened to strike by November if a settlement wasn't reached. District officials had offered 2 percent increases in each of the next two years and a slight boost in the insurance cap from $460 to $470. The union, made up of 69 teachers and professional staff, had asked for 3.75 percent wage hikes during each of the next two years and annual 10 percent hikes in the insurance cap. District officials said the union's proposal would have cost $85,000 the first year, above and beyond what the district had budgeted for its proposed 2 percent increase. Joe Burns, bargaining chair and high school English teacher, said both sides met somewhere in the middle, drafting an agreement that should satisfy teachers, though salaries will remain lower than many districts. "We'll still be on the lower end, but we won't be the lowest," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.