Talks to resume on workers’ contract

Now that Sisters School District has a new contract with its teachers’ union, bargaining attention has turned to those who perform other jobs for the district. They are known as classified employees and they are represented by Chapter 92 of the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA).

Negotiations with this group have been on hold for several weeks until a settlement could be reached with the teachers. This suited both management and labor leaders, who were aware that traditionally Sisters gives classified employees the same salary and benefit improvements received by teachers.

Many other issues come up in bargaining, of course, some of which affect only the classified folks.

Management and OSEA representatives were to meet for a negotiating session Tuesday, with a settlement considered possible but not guaranteed.

“I don’t know where it will go,” Superintendent Ted Thonstad told the school board at a special meeting last week.

The negotiations may have been complicated by the union’s displeasure with Thonstad’s announcement in the fall that the district intends to study the possibility of “contracting out” the school bus mechanic’s job, which is covered by the union.

In the meantime, additional bits of information have surfaced that provide a little more perspective on the teachers’ contract (see The Nugget, November 9, page 1, “Sisters teachers have a new contract”):

• The 3 percent salary schedule increase effective November 1 put Sisters at the top among Central Oregon neighbors in salary improvement for 2005-06, first year of the two-year contract. Bend raised its salaries for this year by 2 percent and Redmond by 2 percent plus .25 percent, the .25 to be paid from a teacher development fund. Crook County raised its schedule 1.75 plus .5 percent, the .5 coming as an index adjustment that raised high end salaries by 2.5 percent.

• Sisters is not at the top in terms of the district’s contribution for health insurance, however. The settlement here will give teachers $765.45 per month during 2005-06, an 8 percent increase. Other results around the region were: Bend, $800.15, up 8 percent; Redmond, $800, up 10.75 percent; Crook County, $748, up 6.1 percent. Crook County has a self-insured plan that provides competitive benefits for a lower premium.

• More than half of Sisters’ teachers are at the top step on the salary scale. This means they no longer receive the regular annual salary increments that less experienced teachers get just for moving up a step. The increments vary between about 2 percent and 4 percent. The 39 teachers who are at top scale will receive only the 3 percent salary schedule increase provided by the new contract for 2005-06, an increase that took effect November 1.

• Superintendent Ted Thonstad says roughly 50 percent of the district’s teachers earn $50,000 or more. The total cost of a $50,000 teacher is $72,380, which includes salary plus another 44.7 percent for benefits. The major benefits and their cost to the district as a percentage of salary are: health insurance, 17.7 percent; PERS (state retirement), 17 percent; and Social Security, 7.6 percent.