Cd'A school board, teachers struggle to negotiate salaries

COEUR d'ALENE — Another negotiating session ended Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene without an agreement on a contract for public school teachers for next year.

Negotiators for the school board and the teachers union are at odds over how to spend $2.1 million in new state funding for salaries.

Trina Caudle, the district's director of secondary education and the board’s lead negotiator, maintained the board's position that only a portion of the new state funding should go toward raises for existing personnel. The board’s negotiators contend the new revenue, allocated by the Legislature for salaries, could also cover a $392,597 health insurance rate increase for all employees, with the remainder of the funds being used for hiring additional staff. However, Tim Sandford, lead negotiator for the Coeur d'Alene Education Association — the local chapter of the state teachers union — held firm in the CEA's position that most of the state funds should go toward raises for current district personnel.

"The board needs to value existing staff as much as they seem to value the staff they intend to hire," Sandford said. "You're asking us for Nordstrom's quality at Walmart prices. We call on you to do what is right."

Sandford then distributed a CEA counter-proposal, which would give all district staff a 2.95 percent raise while the district absorbs the increased health benefit costs. This prompted the board's negotiating team to enter a closed-door caucus, which they returned from with a counter-proposal of their own.

The board offered a 1.1 percent salary increase to all district staff, while covering insurance rate increases. After a CEA caucus, the group came back with a proposed salary increase of 2.9 percent, with Sandford stating there is an issue with what the district chooses to prioritize.

"Two-thirds of the attendees here work second jobs," Sandford said of the more than 40 gathered at the negotiations. "One gentleman in the audience makes more on an hourly basis mowing lawns than he does as a teacher. We are really interested in seeing an offer from the district that values existing employees and makes them a priority."

Board negotiators once again entered caucus, and came back with a proposal that would raise salaries by 1.25 percent. Caudle told CEA negotiators the district could not absorb all of the increases to insurance costs if the salary increases went any higher.

"It's not about valuing teachers — we value teachers and all our staff," Caudle added. "It's really about what we can afford."

The school district’s proposed general fund, for operations and maintenance for the next fiscal year beginning July 1, is $72.9 million. The bulk of the operating fund, $52.4 million, will come from the state, including the $2.1 million being negotiated for. The district’s general fund will also include $15 million in local property taxes as this is the second year of a two-year, $30 million voter-approved maintenance and operations levy. Salaries and benefits represent 86.5 percent of the district’s operating budget.

Following the two rounds of proposals and counter-proposals on Tuesday, Sandford asked district negotiators if they would be willing to meet in the middle and agree to a raise of approximately 2.08 percent for all types of district employees. Caudle responded that she did not think the district could accommodate that, which led to statements from the CEA team that a third year of federal mediation could be on the horizon.

For the last two years, a federal mediator has been called in to reach a settlement between the two groups following their inability to settle the teachers contract through collective bargaining. The mediated contract in 2014 included a 0.5 percent base salary increase for all district employees, with no change to the health insurance co-payment amount or the coinsurance responsibility.

In 2015, a mediated contract provided teachers with raises ranging from 1.75 percent to 11.75 percent. Most employees holding education credentials received 3-7 percent raises, while the district's non-certificated, or classified, employees received 1 percent raises.

"We're not going to do this all summer, where we see ourselves heading toward is mediation. We're not going to sit here and nitpick and do this," Sandford said. "We either find a way to value this staff or we end up in mediation. Is that a place where we want to be? For the third year in a row?"

Caudle responded by encouraging the CEA negotiators to enter a closed-door caucus to discuss the district's proposal. However, when they returned, Sandford said the CEA was not prepared to provide another counter-proposal, and instead determined more time was needed to discuss the next move with as many CEA members as possible.

Both sides came to an agreement that the next negotiation session will take place at 8 a.m. on Aug. 10.