Talks stalled after 10 meetings over an 11-month period. Teachers are working under terms of the old agreement, which expired June 30. Dianne Cooper, a 22-year district employee who teaches first grade at Rancho Elementary School, said she has been through tough negotiations before. Teachers maintain that they're at the bottom of the pay scale when compared with other districts in Southwest County, even though their achievement test scores are among the best countywide. Pay rates are figured in steps that are based on how many years a teacher has been with the district and how much education he or she has.
Teachers can also earn extra money by coaching or taking on extra assignments.
The proposal also called for a deduction from that increase to be used to pay medical insurance for 51 teachers hired before 1986. Because it was never resolved whether they were new employees after the district unified in 1989, they face the prospect of not having Medicare coverage when they retire. According to information provided by school board President Rick Shafer, on Wednesday the district offered a 2.7 percent salary increase that would include the cost of Medicare participation for the 51 teachers and extra-duty stipends for several activities. Now that an impasse has been declared, the next step is for a mediator to work with both sides in an effort to reach an agreement. The third step is the district's last, best and final offer, after which teachers are allowed to conduct a strike vote.