WATSONVILLE — Mediated contract negotiations between Pajaro Valley Unified School District and its teachers’ union stalled Monday after the sides failed to reach an agreement.
Both union and district have been at the bargaining table hammering out the details of the teachers’ 2016-17 contract.
The teachers’ union has asked for a $4,408 salary increase retroactive to that year, which the district has said it cannot afford. The district countered with a $3,200 one-time payment and a 2 percent salary increase for this year, which would be effective upon ratification by the union.
The latest proposal made Tuesday by the district would give teachers a 1 percent salary increase and a 2 percent one-time payment, both retroactive to the 2016-17 school year.
Teachers would also receive a 2 percent raise retroactive to Jan. 1, and an additional 3 percent raise next year.
Adult and early-childhood education teachers would get a 6 percent increase.
The offer also comes with a condition: teachers must also agree to changes in their health benefits.
This would mean raising copays for doctor visits from $10 to $20, and increasing prescription drug costs from $15 to $20. Teachers would see no changes to premiums.
Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers President Francisco Rodriguez has described this requirement as “cost-shifting.”
PVFT has asked for any salary increase to be retroactive to the 2016-17 school year, which the district has previously said is a financial impossibility.
The teachers’ union, meanwhile, disputes that assertion, and points to the district’s propensity to understate its ending fund balance, and practice of keeping its reserves higher than the state-mandated 3 percent.
Union officials also say that the district could shift its spending priorities to free up the money.
According to PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez, the new offer was possible thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, which allocates additional money to K-12 schools in disadvantaged communities and gives more local control to districts.
The LCFF reached its statewide funding goals two years ahead of schedule, meaning an additional $6 million annually for PVUSD, she said.
“We want to give the best compensation package possible, according to our fiscal outlook,” Michelle Rodriguez said.
Still, the offer comes with some caveats, Rodriguez said.
First, the district will tap the $9 million it has set aside to pay for facilities upgrades, repair and improvements such as roof and dry rot repairs, and replacing furnaces.
The increases will also reduce the district’s extra 3 percent reserve to 0.8 percent, leaving it only with the state-mandated 3 percent — about $7 million — by 2021.
It is not clear whether the teachers will accept the offer.
Francisco Rodriguez said the union has received the proposal, saying it is part of ongoing negotiations.
“We will of course consider the proposal and get back to them,” he said.
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Negotiations move to next phase
The negotiations now move into the fact-finding phase, during which a three-person panel examines the district’s finances, as well as the teachers’ demands, and looks for potential compromise.
The panel will be made up of one representative from PVUSD and one from PVFT, and a neutral third-party chosen by both sides. It will then have at least 50 days to prepare a report.
The sides would then meet again at the bargaining table to consider the findings and try to hammer out an agreement.
Should that fail, the report would ultimately go to the Board of Trustees, which could tell the district to impose the district’s best and final offer.
If PVFT does not agree with that offer, the teachers could strike.
The trustees could also order the sides to return to the bargaining table.
“We are prepared to reach an agreement with the district that is going to give us a fair contract,” Francisco Rodriguez said. “At this time we are concentrating on following the procedural requirements.”
