Teachers hoping for contract

A quiet game of tug-of-war is going on between teachers in Sisters schools and the Sisters School Board. The teachers have asked for a 6.7 percent pay increase.

The school board says money for pay increases is not available without cutting staff and increasing class sizes.

Both sides are trying to stay upbeat and calm.

There are also some non-monetary issues. The teachers want complaint procedures modified, and what they call "fair share," where all of the teachers "would bear the cost of union representation" by the Oregon Education Association.

The school board would like to limit personal leave and have some restrictions related to probationary teachers.

Representing the Sisters Education Association, teachers Dennis Lindahl and Diana Pritchard told The Nugget the 6.7 percent increase is needed to reach parity with Redmond, and that they have seen the buying power of their paycheck decrease against the consumer price index over the last few years.

The base salary for Sisters teachers is now $21,794, with the top salary at $42,867. In addition, teachers receive an insurance package that costs $409.67 per teacher per month for 12 months of the year, and the district pays approximately 16 percent in Public Employee Retirement System benefits.

According to Sisters Schools Business Manager Earl Armbruster, a 6.7 percent increase would cost the school district an additional $221,113, including social security taxes and PERS, but that number does not include classified employees such as bus drivers, maintenance and janitorial.

Teachers believe there is unbudgeted revenue, such as the $60,000 Sisters Schools will receive from Camp Sherman, that could go to providing pay increases. Lindahl and Pritchard also said, without being specific, that there were budget increases this year for some items that might not need to be increased.

"We would like the board to include the teachers as a priority when they put together the budget," said Pritchard.

Administrators were given a raise this year, they pointed out.

Bill Reed, Chairman of the Sisters School Board, said there is no unanticipated windfall. "We just received the audited numbers from the state, and even with the Camp Sherman revenues, with paying the step increases we are obligated to pay, right now our projections are to run an operating loss of $88,000 (for this school year)."

There are no easy places to cut, either, according to Reed. He said last year, the budget was $5,113,000. This year, the budget has grown to 5,353,000, an increase of $240,000 or 4.7 percent.

"Aside from $20,000 for the Talented and Gifted program, and $17,500 for school bus replacement, most of the increases are little tiny items of less than $1,000 that add up to the $240,000," Reed said.

A budget with all the increases highlighted has been given to the teachers to show those areas which received additional funding, he said.

The Sisters School District has been exceptionally lucky in the past but this year is finally going to have to deal with the effects of Measure 5, according to Reed.

"We may have to lay off our first teacher this year if we have a fall off in enrollment," Reed said. Because Measure 5 in effect dictates how much can be spent per student, enrollment has a direct impact on the budget, of which 80 percent goes to salaries and benefits.

"We want to do what we can for the teachers, but we are going to hit the wall this year (if enrollment drops and the state reduces the amount it sends to the Sisters schools)."

As to the teacher's non-monetary requests, Reed said "those teachers who choose not to join the union should not be required to join the union."

Reed said about half of Sisters teachers will receive a 3 1/4 percent bump up in salary called a "step increase," which goes up that much each year to compensate teachers for their additional experience. Some will also receive another 2 percent for acquiring additional education.

But not all teachers receive a step and education increase, especially in Sisters, which is more heavily weighted with experienced staff. Teachers were offered a 1 percent stipend for those at the top of the salary scale, but according to Lindahl and Pritchard, such a one-time increase "would destroy the integrity of the salary schedule."

Step and education increases for teachers will costs the district $43,688 this year and that does not include classified employees, Reed said. "We need 10 new students per year just to fund these increases."

Reed said recent history paints a grim picture. In 1992-93, the district had reserves of $674,386 and ran an operating loss of $18,500. The next year, 93-94, the district had an operating loss of $351,659, which reduced the reserves to $361,727.

In 94-95, there was a loss of $135,028, and reserves dropped to $226,699. In 1995-96, Reed said the projected loss is $87,799, which will reduce the reserves to $138,900, down $141,000 from what was budgeted.

It was originally his hope the district could spread those reserves over a six-year period to retain jobs and preserve class size. "But we have run out of money in three years, and we don't have the reserves to fund the same kind of shortfalls (as in the past)."

Which may soon leave the school board some difficult decisions, Reed said.

"Which teachers and how many to we have to lay off? Which program gets slashed? It is one thing to talk about "riffing" (Reduction in Force) people. It is entirely different when you put a face on them."