Deadlock reached in teacher negotiations

The Las Virgenes Educators Association and the Las Virgenes Unified School District have reached an impasse in their nego- tiations for higher teacher salaries and better medical benefits.

Paul Markowitz, the teachers' union co-president, said both sides agreed to notify the state about the deadlock. An impasse in contract negotiations means both parties have presented their "bottom lines."

Markowitz said the state will send a mediator to begin talks with each group separately.

"We had told them in negotia- tions we were very close to our limits, but this was the first time that the district indicated they were," Markowitz said.

The teachers' union wants a 3 percent salary increase retroactive to July 1, with another 3 percent hike on Feb. 1. The union also wants better medical coverage- an increase of 8 percent to the benefits cap.

The district said it doesn't want to pay any increased sala- ries retroactively, but will agree to a 5 percent wage increase start- ing on Dec. 1. The district refuses to increase medical benefits.

The union also wants an addi- tional $1,000 tacked on to teacher salaries as an "anniversary incre- ment" once teachers have worked in the district for 16 years.

"I wouldn't close any doors at this point, said Dan Stepenosky, assistant superintendent of per- sonnel and a member of the district's negotiating team. "The district would be open to all things. We want to continue the process-bringing in a mediator, I think, would be a good step."

Stepenosky said that while an impasse sounds "very serious," it's really just a tool to reach an agreement. "We're going to stay optimistic that it can and will hap- pen," he said.

When it comes to competitive salaries and benefits, Stepenosky agrees that the district is not on par with neighboring districts.

"We want to be competitive," he said. "Are we as competitive as we can be right now-we're not, (but we will) work to im- prove that."

Trying to keep pace

Markowitz said some neigh- boring school districts, including Simi Valley, Conejo Valley and Moorpark, pay higher teacher salaries and benefits.

Even if the educators association's proposal was ac- cepted by the school district, Markowitz said teachers would still be several thousand dollars behind the Conejo and Simi dis- tricts. He said the association's proposal would not match the salaries of other districts, but would stop the district from fall- ing further behind.

The top salary in the Conejo Unified School District is $82,693, Markowitz said. If the association's offer was accepted, teachers in the top salary bracket in the Las Virgenes district would earn $80,000. And since Conejo Valley teachers don't contribute money for family medical cover- age, the actual difference is big- ger, Markowitz said.

Under the district's proposal, Las Virgenes teachers could face $4,000 in personal medical cover- age. "That $2,500 difference in sal- ary now becomes $6,500," Markowitz said. "The difference of $6,500 could potentially become $8,500, depending on the medical program the teacher selected."

District officials have cited de- clining enrollment and higher special education costs as reasons for lower teacher salaries and medical benefits.

The district said it also needed to restore reserve fund levels that dipped below the mandated 3 per- cent level.

But the reserve fund has been restored and the projected loss of enrollment has not occurred as predicted, Markowitz said.