Las Virgenes teachers get modest pay increase

Heeding recent budget warnings from state and local officials, teachers of Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD) have tentatively agreed to a 1 percent pay raise retroactive to Nov. 15.

The effective salary increase for the current school year computes to .75 percent.

While the salary increase represents only about a tenth of what teachers received in their 2001 pay hike, Las Virgenes Superintendent of Schools John Fitzpatrick said overall benefits for the educators have improved.

For example, the health insurance package for each teacher jumps from $8,400 to $9,000 a year, Fitzpatrick said.

"We want to pay our teachers more, but there just isn’t the money from the state and with a lot of the expenses we’re incurring in different areas, that’s the best we could do this year," Fitzpatrick said.

According to the California Teachers Association, teachers in Simi Valley and Moorpark districts received raises in the 2 percent range. Salary negotiations in the Conejo Valley Unified School District reached an impasse and are scheduled to go before a mediator on May 22.

The starting teacher salary in the CVUSD is $37,650 a year. In Las Virgenes, beginning teachers make $36,600.

The teachers’ union wanted the Las Virgenes pay raise to go into effect last September, but agreed to the November date in order to receive a better medical package.

"We compromised by increasing the amount realized for this year and putting that savings against the benefits," said Donald Zimring, LVUSD assistant superintendent.

The local 600-member Las Virgenes Educators Association is voting on the deal this week.

"This will probably be the closest vote that I can ever recall for a Las Virgenes contract," said Jake Anderson, LVEA president.

Again, as in the past, the union said LVUSD spends too much on special education and not enough on teacher salaries.

Hal Vick, co-executive director of the teacher’s union, said Las Virgenes teacher salaries aren’t in the top 10 percent of Ventura County school districts, yet LVUSD’s spending on special education is among the highest in the state.

Las Virgenes administrators say their budget left little room in the way of teacher pay raises this year because of rising energy and special education costs that the state has largely ignored.

"I think in light of the economy and I think in light of what were all facing, this is a reasonable offer and a reasonable compromise," Zimring said.

The salary increase comes in the third year of a three-year contract between the school district and the teacher’s union. The parties are expected to negotiate a new multi-year deal in 2003, although roadblocks remain.

"Because of the uncertainty, it’s been more difficult to look at a two-to-three-year contract for both sides," Vick said.