ESCONDIDO: Elementary district employees approve 2 percent raise

Contract will cost about $2 M

By SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 9, 2008 4:51 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Employee unions in Escondido's elementary district overwhelmingly approved new contracts this week with retroactive 2 percent raises and a district-contribution cap for health benefits for the current school year.

The separate contracts for Escondido Union's 1,026 teachers and 439 support employees ---- custodians, library technicians and school clerks, for example ---- include both the raise and the continuation of a health benefits cap of $9,184.

The contract approved by the Escondido Elementary Educators Association covers the current 2007-08 school year and would run through 2008-09, with new negotiations for raises and benefits each year. The new three-year California School Employee Association deal would go through the end of the 2009-10.

Employees for both of the unions have been working without a new contract this year.

District trustees, who must also approve the contracts, are expected to vote on the separate deals in a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the district's headquarters, 2310 Aldergrove Ave.

About 92 percent of the teachers and about 96 percent of the support employees who voted signed off on the contracts, union leaders said.

The raises have been a controversial topic at board meetings over the last three months as the district grappled with about $14.4 million in cuts. Some teachers had split with union leadership, saying the union should forego a raise this year to save jobs during tight budget times.

Several board members have also suggested that teachers should share the burden of budget cuts. The district issued pinks slips to 78 full-time teachers and 67 temporary teachers in March in an effort to cut about $2.57 million out of next year's budget.

"It's good news that the unions went ahead and ratified (the contracts) and the district can compensate them for this year," board President Zoe Carpenter said. "We will still have to find the money in our budget for next year."

The latest estimates by officials in the 23-school district is that they will need to trim about $14.4 million from the 2008-09 school year budget. The projected cuts are in response to proposed state budget cuts, declining enrollment and increases in the cost of insurance, salaries and special education.

In January, the governor proposed cutting about $4.4 billion from state education spending to cope with a $16 billion deficit. An updated budget will be presented to the legislature for consideration in May.

The total projected revenues for the district for the 2008-09 school year are $145.2 million, compared to a projected $151.9 million for the current year and $153.6 million for last year.

"We are hoping that the board is going to overrule (the contract)," Pioneer Elementary kindergarten teacher Kimberly Bloodgood said. "In light of the budget cuts, there is a (feeling) in the district that it's not really fair."

Bloodgood, who received a pink slip in March, was one of the district's teachers who tried to rally support for a 'no' vote on the raise.

Layoff notices for the district's support staff haven't gone out yet. The board is scheduled to vote on a resolution to send pink slips to 12 custodians and nine instructional and testing assistants at Thursday's meeting.

Unlike a state law that requires districts to notify teachers, counselors and other credentialed employees that they may not have a job in the following school year by March 15, the district is only required to give support staff 45 days notice.

"Because they have already given the teachers notices, they are going to have to cut more classified positions," said Carol Inga, the chief negotiator for the nonteaching union.

So far, the district has looked to reduce spending by increasing class sizes at the kindergarten level, reducing the number of counselors and assistant principals at its middle schools, and consolidating custodian crews, computer technology support, and library technician hours.

The board is also waiting to vote on proposed reductions to the work year for all employees after the teachers respond to a recommendation that they work two fewer days a year.

Even with many of those cuts factored in, however, the district is still about $3 million shy of its $14.4 million goal, officials said.

Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, email addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.