The district's board of trustees passed an agreement in a 4-1 vote that will give teachers and staff a 2 percent salary increase to help compensate them for elevated costs of living. The decision comes at a time when the district and state are facing dismal budget shortfalls related to uncertainty and frustration.

Before the board of trustees reached its final vote on Oct. 28, members listened to three minutes each from concerned parents, teachers and community members in the packed audience at the Redwood Middle School library. Both board and audience members held fiscal responsibility and maintaining high standards of education for children in Saratoga as top priorities. Following the public comment session, board members took extra time to answer and discuss all audience questions.

Board President John Waite voted against the proposed agreement, which had previously been reached after an extended arbitration between representatives from the Saratoga Teachers' Association, board members and a mediator who was called in to facilitate negotiations and reach the compromise.

"I've been on the negotiation team for 10 years," said board clerk Cindy Ruby. "And this year was especially difficult. It's always a leap of faith when we've had to ratify the agreement."

The proposed agreement primarily affects the previous 2002­03 school year. In addition to the 2 percent salary increase, the agreement states that the district will maintain and pay the costs of health and welfare for district employees and their dependents from the 2002­03 school year. In addition, the district will pay for health and welfare benefits of those who are currently covered in the 2003­04 school year.

"This is a time to put 2002­03 contract negotiations behind us and move on," said board member John Poo, in favor of the agreement.

A task force of administrators, teachers, and employees, plus a representative from the board of trustees, is being assembled to collect information related to health and welfare benefits for district employees in future years. The first tentative organizational meeting of the task force is planned for Nov. 13 at the district office.

"I'm really excited about our adventure together in really looking for some creative problem solving," said Argonaut Elementary School kindergarten teacher Connie Clancy, who spoke in support of the raise.

Director of Human Resources Margie Singleton explained that eight school districts in the area, including Saratoga Union School District, belong to a trust—or a legal entity of paid consultants—that purchases benefits for district employees as a group. District Superintendent Lane Weiss said Waite was being cautious in his decision to vote in opposition of the proposed agreement because of the potential that health and welfare benefit rates could be raised midway through the school year, possibly in January.

After the negotiations had taken place, Waite said new information came to his attention that $415,000 was being used from the district's reserve fund to balance the budget, as well as a potential $268,000 expense to the district if health and welfare costs should skyrocket.

"There was roughly a $600,000 bigger potential risk for the district, and that's what made me uncomfortable with [the proposed agreement]," Waite said.

Parents brought forward questions about the potential of overly optimistic budget projections for future years and confidence levels of board members because of assumptions they are making in unpredictable fiscal times.

Argonaut Parent-Teacher Association President Katherine Tseng supported the recognition and reward to district teachers of the 2 percent salary increase through a petition signed by about 60 local parents. Parents and teachers also thanked the Herculean fundraising efforts of the Saratoga Education Foundation, which contributed about $230,000 at the end of last academic year, mostly to maintain K-2 class size reduction, Weiss said.

SEF is a non-profit organization of community members and parents concerned about state funding cutbacks in public schools.

Weiss said SEF has funded everything from a counseling position, music program, science-related costs, library technicians, instructional media and technology teachers, as well as technology support and Web maintenance. But the extra fundraising efforts didn't save everything, and according to Chief Business Official Ellen Tipton about $1 million was still made in overall district cuts.

STA president Martie Connor, a first-grade teacher at Foothill Elementary School who has worked for 34 years in the district, spoke to board members in favor of the motion to pass the proposed agreement.

"I believe it's a fair and just outcome that was reached," Connor said.