More time off, health and retirement benefits on the table

Telegraph file photo Dixon teachers held an informational picket on the Galena Avenue Bridge on Jan. 12. Teachers have been working without a contract since October. The school board and union negotiators are scheduled to meet today.

BY MALINDA OSBORNE SVN REPORTER mosborne@svnmail.com DIXON - It's not always about the money. As negotiations between the Dixon School Board and Dixon Education Association continue, salary issues remain the biggest bone of contention. There are many other issues involved that have remained largely untouched in months of stalled negotiations. Here is a breakdown of some of the larger points of contention between the two sides: Additional time off According to the union's initial proposal, put forth in April, teachers want 15 sick days a year - five more than they receive now. Teachers cannot roll over unused sick days from the previous year, however, the unused days are banked and counted as extra time when a teacher retires. Pension benefits are based on the length of time a teacher is credited with working, including those banked sick days. The union also is asking for 40 bonus sick days on a teacher's 20th, 25th, 30th and 35th anniversaries, and for teachers to be allowed to accumulate up to 400 sick days. Under the old contract, teachers could accumulate 360 sick days, which is equal to a little more than two school years. However, in 2005, state law limited districts to allow only 240 accumulated sick days. Dixon Education Association President Jill Stoker said she did not know how to explain how the union's request for 400 days can be met given the new law. The board has said the current annual allowance of 10 days is fair and comparable to other districts. "When you get into time off, that becomes economic, like in terms of bringing in substitutes," said Doug Lee, school board president. The union also wants three personal days a year, up from two, and two new "situational days" for absences beyond a teacher's control, such as a delayed flight or a personal vehicle emergency. In addition, the union wants its president to be allowed three days off each month to conduct union business. Under the expired contract, all teachers have a total of nine union days they may use to attend a convention or leadership conference, but there is no separate allowance for the union president. The board's position is that it is in the students' best interests to be taught by their assigned teacher, therefore, it is unwilling to create additional categories of time off with pay,. So far, this issue has not been addressed by either side in the negotiations, Stoker said. Continuing education One area where both sides appear closer to an agreement is in the amount teachers are reimbursed for pursuing graduate degrees. Teachers now receive $850 per credit hour toward earning a master's degree, but nothing for a doctorate. The union has asked for $100 raises in each year of the contract for master's work, and $650 for each credit hour put toward a doctorate, with a similar $100 raise in each year of the contract. The board doesn't object to the union's demands and is willing to agree to the increases, as long as the course work is relevant to the teacher's instructional area, Lee said. Because graduate degrees play a role in a teacher's salary, though, the board says a teacher should not be entitled to reimbursement or movement on the salary schedule unless the course work is relevant to the teacher's teaching assignment or otherwise approved by the district. Several years ago, a number of teachers earned master's in outdoor education, Lee said. Although the degree did not pertain to their fields, it did advance them on the salary schedule and allow for reimbursement - exactly what the board wants to avoid. Health insurance Each side would like to see the other pay for a greater part of the teachers' health insurance coverage. Union members now pay $88 a month for family care and $50 a month for individual coverage. The district's monthly cost is about $900 per teacher for family coverage (about 90 percent), and $330 for individual coverage, (about 85 percent.) "People assume we have good insurance, but we have no dental or optical," Stoker said, adding that teachers also have a $500 deductible. The union has proposed the school's contribution for family coverage be increased by $3 in each year of the contract, while individual coverage remains the same. The board wants to get away from flat dollar amounts. "Health insurance costs have risen faster than cost of living. Our goal is to make teachers share in the percentage increases," Lee said. The board is willing to pay 90 percent of the monthly cost for individual coverage. For family coverage, the board is willing to pay 85 percent of the monthly cost during the first year of the contract, and wants to reduce the amount by 5 percent each following year. After three years, that would have teachers on the family plan paying $225 a month. This would be a significant increase in what teachers pay now, but the board is not trying to be mean-spirited, Lee said. After looking at other districts and local businesses, "I don't know if we found one that pays what we pay or less. For family coverage, seeing employees pay $200 and $300 is not unusual." Retirement benefit A teacher's annual retirement benefit is calculated by taking 75 percent of the individual's average salary for the last four years before retirement. In the past, school districts, including Dixon, would give large percentage pay increases, sometimes as high as 20 percent, near the end of a teacher's career to help create a larger retirement annuity. In July 2005, changes to the state's Teacher Retirement System eliminated those end-of-career salary bumps for teachers. Now, annual raises for teachers are capped at 6 percent in years prior to retirement. Districts that opt to pay retiring teachers more than the cap allows must pay substantial penalties to the retirement system. Lee said the state concluded that for every $1,000 in additional benefits a teacher receives, the district is assessed a $1,300 penalty. The union wants the district to pay that penalty, and the board says it will not. "That's spending taxpayer dollars and not benefiting students at all," Lee said. Instead, the board has offered to give a retiring teacher 6 percent raises in his or her last two years, provided this 6 percent also be a cap on any increases in compensation the teacher might otherwise receive; the union is asking for that benefit for the last four years. Points of contention

The Dixon Board of Education would like to create larger increases in pay during a teacher's early years and smaller increases in later years, to attract and retain better entry-level teachers. The Dixon Education Association wants decent percentage pay increases for all teachers.

The union is asking for more sick time so teachers can accumulate more credit toward retirement, as well as one more personal day and two "situational" days off. The board prefers the teachers not receive any additional time off because it would cost the district more money to pay more substitutes, and would take teachers away from their students more often.

The union wants a $100-a-year increase to be applied to the amount teachers are reimbursed when pursuing a graduate degree. The board agrees, as long as the coursework is relevant to the teacher's instructional area.

The union wants a slight increase in the amount the board pays for a teacher's family insurance coverage; the individual coverage rate would stay the same. The board wants teachers to pay a greater share of insurance costs over time.

Annual raises for teachers are now capped at 6 percent in years prior to retirement. If raises are more than that, substantial penalties must be paid to the state's Teacher Retirement System. The union wants the district to pay that penalty. The board wants to give retiring teachers a limit of 6 percent raises in their last two years. Reach Malinda Osborne at 284-2222 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 526.