The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

FEA calls contract proposal DOA

By Katherine Petersen

A mediator's proposal to settle the high school teachers' contract dispute was declared "dead on arrival" last week by the head of the union.

The more than 400 teachers represented by the union will not even vote on the recommendations, said Fremont Education Association President George Gredassoff. The union and the administration have been trying to negotiate a contract for more than 15 months.

The high school district board accepted the report's recommendations, received on June 23, and is ready to continue contract talks with the union.

"It's a two-way street. We want to reach a fair and equitable agreement, which will help rebuild trust between the two sides," said board President Randy Okamura.

Gredassoff agreed that continued talks are necessary.

The proposed agreement in the neutral fact-finder's report includes a "protocol" for giving salary increases. Any disputes related to the protocol would be subject to binding arbitration.

Recommendations include a hike in teachers' salaries based on an increase in revenue from property taxes, one-time money for teachers if district reserves exceed a benchmark figure, giving teachers the option to take cash in lieu of health benefits, formation of faculty advisory committees at each school to participate in site-based curriculum decision-making and the union's input in any decision concerning the district's reserves.

"There's not a whole lot in here that makes us happy," Gredassoff said, although he does like the concept of faculty advisory committees and some control over the district's reserves.

The teachers would receive a 7.05 salary increase for the 1996-97 school year and, according to preliminary estimates from the county assessor, a 4.8 percent increase for the second year.

Yet Gredassoff contends that the union membership wants a one-year contract or firm numbers, not speculation, for increases during the second and third years of a three-year agreement.

"A contract without firm numbers is unacceptable. We need to know what we can count on," he said.

The union still wants a 10.5 percent increase for the 1996-97 school year and wants to be the highest paid union in the state.

"We don't have a specific number in mind yet. We're still analyzing data," Gredassoff said. "We believe the district can afford a larger increase for a one-year contract."

The district has promised to hand all new property tax revenue, as well as reserves above certain benchmark, to the union, said associate superintendent Mike Raffetto.

Essentially, all new growth in tax revenue would be earmarked for teachers. Consequently, any new programs would be paid for out of existing funds, Raffetto said.

"This is no small sacrifice," he said, adding that any drop in funding the district receives would be its problem, not the teachers'. "If we said they could have it, we can't just take it back," he said.

A maximum for health-care benefits would have to be renegotiated at the end of the three-year contract, under the fact-finder's recommendations.

Teachers could strike by the beginning of the school year if a settlement has not been reached, Gredassoff said. The union has made several threats of strike during negotiations.

The release of the report marks the end of the fact-finding process, which was to review the arguments and evidence presented by both sides and to gather objective facts and data including an analysis of the district's ability to fund any settlement agreement.

"Now that the facts are clearly set out in this report, we can turn our attention to working out a final contract this summer so our teachers can vote before the students return to classes from summer break," Superintendent Mary Panucci said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 2, 1997.
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