The San Benito High School District has reached a tentative
agreement with the school’s teacher’s associations on salary and
health benefits
– the first step toward a new teacher’s contract after nearly
three years of negotiation.
Hollister – The San Benito High School District has reached a tentative agreement with the school’s teacher’s associations on salary and health benefits – the first step toward a new teacher’s contract after nearly three years of negotiation.
“I’m extremely pleased with the offer,” said Charles Schallhorn, President of the San Benito High School Teacher’s Association. “We knew this is what the district could and should afford.”
Salary and health care represent only part of the district’s new contract proposal, the rest of which is still in the negotiation stages. The salary and benefit changes combined will cost the district approximately $3 million over a period of three years.
The agreement can not take effect until both the SBHS Board of Trustees and teachers have ratified the entire contract, which will most likely take place after the new year. Now that the two biggest points of contention have been taken care of, however, both sides agree that future negotiations will proceed much more quickly.
“When we got down to it, negotiations were respectful and fair,” said Doug Emerson, a member the SBHSTA negotiation team. “In October, both sides made a conscious decision to reach a settlement.”
According to the terms of the district’s proposal, teachers who have been employed since 2004 will receive a salary increase of 2.14 percent for their work dating back to July 1, 2004. On top of that, teachers will receive a 4 percent raise for their work dating back to July 1, 2005. Based on the proposal, some teachers will receive a raise of 6.4 percent – their first raise since the old contract expired three years ago.
“Although we’ve debated raise amounts, we’ve always wanted to give our teachers a raise under the constraints of the budget,” said Don Balfour, the district’s human resources director.
In addition, teachers who choose to coach a sports team after class or advise a club will see a 4 percent increase in the salary they receive for that extra duty, also retroactive to July 1, 2005. Teachers who choose to serve as a Class Advisor will receive an additional stipend of $1,292 a year – each class has two advisors who coordinate the student’s fundraising efforts and activities. Those teachers who choose to give up their preparatory period and teach six classes each week will be given a stipend of $6,750 a year, up from $5,700.
“I like that the salary increases actually amount to something,” said English teacher Tom Rooth. “This is good for veteran staff… and newer staff have got to feel a better sense of security.”
Three hundred thousand dollars was previously set aside to fund health benefits, which will be used to ensure each teacher receives $12,840 in health coverage each year in addition to their salaries. While all of the District’s 140 teachers are required to participate in a plan through the Self-Insured Schools of California, they need not choose the most expensive one. If a teacher wants a less comprehensive plan, they will receive the difference between the plan and $12,840 in cash. Should $300,000 prove insufficient to cover premium increases until 2007, the district will provide for the rest.
“The initial plan was for teachers to take any premium increase and pay for it out of their own pockets,” said Schallhorn. “In the future, it may come to that, but for now the school can afford to pay for it.”
The proposal also maintains that work hours for Special Education teachers remain the same, whereas in the past, the district proposed that some Special Education teachers would receive two prep periods and some only one.
While the teachers have not yet had an opportunity to collectively examine the proposal and discuss it, those familiar with the proposal are pleased.
“There’s definitely been an improvement in morale,” said Rooth. “We’ve gone from a place of feeling unheard and regressive bargaining, to a place of acknowledgment.”
Assuming the contract is ratified by the Board of Trustees and the teacher’s association, Balfour said teachers could see their raises as soon as late February.
“This is going to benefit the entire district,” he said. “It shows teachers that we’re serious about being fair to employees and demonstrates our commitment.”
Negotiators will meet Monday and possibly Wednesday to discuss the remainder of the contract. While there are no further points of contention, contract language regarding evaluation procedures, leaves and other issues not revisited in over 15 years will also be discussed.
“Negotiating this was the hard part,” said Schallhorn. “Everybody on both sides has been able to take a collective sigh of relief. Everything else is downhill from here, it’s all gravy.”
