A proposed contract being considered by the teachers of the Austin School District will not increase the cost of insurance, but also will not increase their salaries this year.

Friday, March 29, 2002

A proposed contract being considered by the teachers of the Austin School District will not increase the cost of insurance, but also will not increase their salaries this year.

The tentative agreement says next year, teachers would be required to pay varying amounts of money depending on the co-pay. Policy options would carry deductibles of $150, $250 and $500 and Austin Education Association president Bob Riege explains "co-pays would be higher for the $150 policies than the $500 policies."

He also says the contract does not increase the teachers’ salaries this year, but they will receive a 4 percent increase next year.

Additionally, the second year of the contract will reward anyone who has been with the district for 25 years with a $500 longevity pay, Riege says.

If the contract is approved, Riege says teachers will have retirement incentives such as the "buyout of sick leave days and a post-retirement health care plan. The co-payments and medical bills can be paid out of this plan upon retirement."

Teacher contract days also will be reduced from 194 days to 192 days, though the number of contact days with students will remain at 178 days, Riege says.

Contract negotiations have been on-going since July and the tentative agreement was reached last week during a mediation session.

Riege says teachers will vote on the proposal next week and two-thirds of them will have to approve it.

The tentative agreement will then go to the school board and "if they do not ratify it, we’ll have to go back to negotiating," Riege says.

Though the tentative contract doesn’t promise exactly what the teachers wanted, Riege acknowledges "negotiations mean compromise. We have to look at money in the budget and structure a balanced budget. We have to look at what other districts are doing and operate within our means."

"The teachers would always like to see an adaptation in the cost of living. Our bills go up and we’d like to see that reflected in our salary," he says. "But I think it’s a fair contract across the board."

"It was a good building year and we can improve on this contract the next time around," he says.

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com