Posted: 1/17/06
School board ratifies teacher contract
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The board of ISD #299 approved a two-year contract with its teachers on January 9 by a 5-1 vote.
Teachers will receive a total package increase of 4.7 percent for 2005-2006, with 3 percent of that for salaries and 1.05 percent ($938) for health insurance.
The total package increase for 2006-2007 is 4.5 percent for 2006-2007, with 2.8 percent of that for salaries and an additional 1.06 percent ($635) for health insurance.
Step and lane advancements and increases in co-curricular and athletic coaching salaries are also part of their package. Total settlement costs are $176,255 in the first year of the contract and $177,444 in the second year.
Salaries range from a base of $31,122 to a maximum of $54,588 for a teacher at year 13 with a masters degree plus 30 credits.
The settlement came eight days before a January 17 deadline set by the Minnesota Legislature. After that date, school districts which have not signed new contracts are penalized $25 per student weighted average daily membership.
Mike Novak voted against the contract and Chuck Schulte abstained. Novak felt the total agreement was more than the district could afford. The board had to cut more staff than it should have last year, and it is negotiating away its budget, he said.
Any staff cuts next year wonít be because of the new contract, Barb Hurley responded, but rather from declining enrollment.
Novak agreed that declining enrollment is part of it, but he felt the district is spending money it doesnít have. He also objected to using staff development money to help pay for the teachersí pay increase.
Charlie Wray said the new contract is in the middle with comparable districts and other settlements. He said the district had used staff development money in the past to help pay teacher salaries when the district was in Statutory Operating Debt.
(Editorís note: Staff development money is two percent of student aid payments. The money was not restricted to staff development from 2003-2005. Prior to that it had to be used for staff development, but Caledonia received an exemption to that because it was in SOD. Starting this school year, it must be used for staff development and about $98,894 is in the budget for that use. Last year the district budgeted $51,150 for staff development and spent $43,541. A committee of teachers and administrators determines how the money is spent.)
Schulte didnít explain his abstention to the new teacher contract, other than to say, ìIt might look improper.î His wife is a teacher in the district.
Schulte thanked the committee of board members Mary Frank, Naomi Fruechte, Charlie Wray, and superintendent Mike Moriarty. Schulte also wished that the board could be kept abreast of the negotiations more frequently, and he wished the two sides could being the process earlier.
ìAs a school board how do we put together a budget that means anything?î he asked.
Thatís the fallacy of setting a budget in June, Novak responded. ìThis is what happens. We always exceed the budget more than we take in.î
ìI think weíre lucky to get the educators we have here,î Hurley said.
Naomi Fruechte said that the district was not running the budget in the hole, so she felt comfortable with the new contract.
Following the contract vote, the board approved a resolution for structural balance by a 6-1 margin. Novak was the no vote.
Board reorganizes
New officers were elected at the meeting. They are Mary Frank, chair; Naomi Fruechte, vice-chair; Barb Hurley, clerk; Chuck Schulte, treasurer; and Jean Meyer, legislative liaison.
Meetings were kept at the third Monday of the month by a 6-1 vote. Novak voted no. He wanted them changed to the third Wednesday of the month, because there have been postponements of Monday meetings in the past and he feels the public doesnít always know when the meeting is.
Several people disagreed with that idea, saying it conflicted with church activities.
The board also voted 6-1 to keep its attorney Ratwik, Roszak, and Maloney for employee/student matters. Moriarty said he felt comfortable working with the firm.
Novak voted no, saying the firm had given poor advice on whether to release the name of a fired teacher to the public last year.
Schulte responded that no law firm is going to say they made a mistake. He said he could see both sides of the issue. The district can call the firm and register its discontent when they have a problem, he added. Moriarty has to be comfortable dealing with them, he said, and no one will find a law firm that is right all the time.
The board voted to keep its pay per meeting at $35, which hasnít changed in eight years. Mileage went up from .40.5 cents per mile to .44.5 cents per mile. The Caledonia Argus was again designated the official newspaper by unanimous vote.
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