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December 14, 1999
District 88, NUEA inch toward settling 1999-2001 contractBy ERIC SERRANO Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM - With a Jan. 18, 2000, deadline approaching, negotiators for District 88 and the teachers' union made progress on a new two-year contract Monday night. The district's 8.5 percent total package increase (4.91 percent in the first year and 3.59 percent in the second year) for 1999-2001 was countered with a 12.72 percent hike by New Ulm Education Association (NUEA) representatives. Both sides have come to terms over 3 percent increases in rates of pay for teacher substitutes and commuting teachers. Monday, negotiators agreed on a proposal for the district to provide full health insurance coverage in both years of the contract for single plan subscribers and full coverage in the first year and a 15 percent hike above the 1999 rate in the second year of the agreement for family subscribers. Points still to be settled include: * Increases in overload compensation. The district proposes 3 percent each year; NUEA is seeking 10 percent and 3 percent in respective years. * Increases for summer school teachers, computer personnel, and department heads. NUEA seeks 3 percent hikes for both years of the contract. The district wants to keep the rates as the same as the current contract. * A five-day extension of the contracts of district media specialists. NUEA maintains the extension, at full pay is necessary in light of the increased use of research facilities because of the Grad Rule. The district's negotiators propose a continuation of the current contract's figures. * Increases in step and longevity pay. District 88 has offered a one-step increase for eligible staff and $800 for teachers at the top of the pay scale who cannot move a step forward on the salary schedule. NUEA countered with hikes of 4 percent across all steps of the salary schedule in the first year of the contract and a 3 percent increase in the second year. NUEA representatives and district negotiators have also agreed to draft a compromise letter of agreement to cover planning and scheduling time, and necessary certification training needed to implement the middle school concept at the former junior high school. Personnel at the school - where more than 20 of over 30 teachers are within five years of retirement eligibility - are voicing concerns about installing the new educational program, district and NUEA negotiators have been told. "It's understandable. It's new, and some of these people have been doing their job for a long time to now have to change their ways this close to retirement," NUEA representative Virgil Debban said. "But, I think we can come up with something that will help everybody get what they need to make (the middle school concept) work." Both sides plan to meet again this week and at least once more before Christmas in hopes of inking a deal before the new year. Failure to reach an agreement by Jan. 18 will result in a state-imposed penalty on the district of $25 per pupil or $77, 500 in state aid in the 2000-2001 school year, district officials estimate.
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