Wage increases not likely this year
Like grocery store clerks, bus drivers and hotel workers, local school teachers are fighting to hold onto an employment perk they’ve long enjoyed — decent medical benefits.
The rising cost of healthcare and the laggard economy has pushed the contentious issue to the forefront of ongoing negotiations between the local school district and teacher union. So far, the two sides have met more than 10 times and have failed to reach a consensus.
Teacher organizers said the issue is more important than pay raises, but acknowledged district leaders are in a precarious position with no simple solution. Officials hope to ink a new contract by this fall for all 780 teachers and counselors in Santa Monica and Malibu.
Entry-level teachers in the district are paid $39,000 a year. Veterans with 28 or more years of experience make a maximum of $78,000. The district covers all medical costs for the 70 percent of teachers in the HMO plan, while the other 30 percent must pay for a portion of their plan, said Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association.
510,“In normal times, we would be having conversations with the district simultaneously about healthcare and pay raises,” Keiley said.
“Within our district, this year alone, we’ve seen a 17 percent increase in healthcare costs and last year there was a 24 percent increase in costs,” he added. “At the same time, it’s dangerous and it would not be prudent to enter into a situation where the district doesn’t provide a comprehensive healthcare program, because you’re not going to attract teachers into the district. They’re going to go elsewhere.”
The SMMCTA union represents all teachers, counselors, librarians and speech pathologists in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, which has some 13,000 students. Their two-year contract with the district expired last summer, though it remains in effect until the two sides reach an agreement or declare an impasse. Members of the union work 183 days out of the year. Their package includes medical coverage and routine dental visits, but doesn’t provide for vision or chiropractic care.
Marc Sanschagrin, a fifth-grade teacher at McKinley Elementary school since 1988, said maintaining good medical coverage is absolutely critical. He pays about $150 a month for a PPO medical plan for himself, his wife and their two sons, ages 4 and 6.
568,“I’m not just a teacher, I’m also a husband and a father — and one of the most important things I provide to my family is healthcare,” said Sanschagrin, 50, who lives in the Pico neighborhood. “It would be hideously expensive without the excellent healthcare we’ve had up to this point.”
“I’m not just a teacher, I’m also a husband and a father — and one of the most important things I provide to my family is healthcare.” — – MARC SANSCHAGRIN Teacher, McKinley Elementary
Sanschagrin also is vice president of the teacher union and is participating in the ongoing negotiations.
School officials throughout the state are watching healthcare costs escalate while trying to figure out how to make do with shrinking support from Sacramento. Next year alone, schools will forego $2 billion to help Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pass a balanced budget. In the local school district, programs have been cut and staff have been laid off, though teachers have been spared, so far. That’s largely due to strong support among local voters and elected leaders for high-quality public schools.
John Deasy, superintendent of the district, said the district will be eliminating positions for next year, but he estimates it will avoid layoffs, as the positions to be cut are for temporary workers whose contracts expired.
Deasy added that in the next two school board meetings he hopes to be able to rehire all of the full-time teachers that were issued “pink slips” in March, after the district reviewed the state budget scenario. In total, more than two dozen pink slips were issued.
As to contract negotiations and the severity of healthcare expenses for teachers, Deasy declined to comment. As a matter of policy, he said he won’t discuss the matter publicly until after the contract disputes are resolved.
Marc Sanschagrin
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.