By Keighla Schmidt, Staff Writer

A contract between the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District and the Burnsville Education Association (BEA) has been approved that calls for a 1 percent salary increase and some concessions on health insurance premiums.

Members of the BEA approved the contract Wednesday (Dec. 16) by an unofficial vote of 500-90 and the District 191 School Board unanimously ratified the contract Thursday (Dec. 17).

Highlights of the new contract include a 1 percent salary increase for both 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years and teachers will be paying higher portions of their health care premiums.

“One of the most important outcomes … was the realization both parties drew that our current health insurance costs are unsustainable,” said Sue Grissom, executive director of human resources. “The process by and large was collaborative. It is difficult during these economic times to find a place where we can satisfy both the parameters set by the board and the interest of our teachers.”

The agreement was reached after five months of negotiations, capped off by a 15-hour mediation session Dec. 1. It is retroactive to July 1 and continues through June, 30, 2011 for 724 teachers, nurses, psychologists, counselors who make up the district’s largest employee group.

Districts that do not reach a settlement with their teachers’ union by Jan. 15 face a financial penalty imposed by the state.

Health insurance

For the first time ever, teachers with single insurance plans will make a 2 percent contribution starting in March 2010 and 5 percent contribution for the 2010-11 school year.

For BEA members with a family plan, their contributions will increase from 15 percent to 18 percent in March and then 20 percent for the next school year.

“We appreciate that the district pays a lot for insurance and we know that we have to change our approach to how insurance is structured,” said BEA President Libby Duethman.

Grissom said last year 280 teachers had single coverage and 413 had family plans.

School Board Members Ron Hill and Gail Morrison represented the board in negotiation talks. Hill said he was pleased with the contract and thought it was reached responsibly.

“Health insurance is a growing percentage of our overall general fund. With health insurance growing as fast as it is – it takes away dollars that could be for our students, it takes away dollars that could have gone to teacher’s salaries, it takes away dollars that we would use to hire teachers, it takes away dollars from all areas of education,” he said. “Everybody recognized that and understood that this growth of health insurance is just unsustainable.”

In the 2009-10 budget, salaries, wages and benefits for all district employees ate up nearly 82 percent, or $87.8 million, of the general fund.

No other union negotiations for this year have been brought to the School Board for approval.

Salaries

While some metro school districts have put soft freezes on teachers’ salaries, BEA members will see a retroactive pay increase.

There will be a 1 percent increase for the next two years and teachers on terminal steps of the salary schedule will receive an additional $1,000 in the 2010-11 school year.

“It’s been more than that before … there are other districts that have gotten the same amount, some have taken soft freezes, but, we’re in the mix,” Duethman said.

Grissom said throughout the metro area pay changes range from zero to nearly 3 percent increases.

“It’s a fairly comparable salary schedule improvement compared to other districts in our area,” Grissom said. “I think there is a recognition that the state is in a pretty dire financial condition.”

Hill also cited the economy as a contributing factor in the salary change.

“Both the teachers’ union and the school district knew that anything more than that was just not in the cards because of the way the economy looks right now,” he said. “Teachers understood and recognized that this was all that could be done at this juncture.”

Other changes

Other highlights of the contract include:

+ Several stipends were approved – to include advising high school groups.

+ The tax-sheltered annuity match didn’t increase in the 2009-10 school year but will increase from $1,162.50 to $1,500 for teachers with more than 14 years of service starting in the 2010-11 year.

+ Newly-hired teachers must retain their license certifications they have when they’re hired.

+ All tax-sheltered annuity plans must be one of the union-approved 403 (b) companies.

+ Additional lanes were added to the ABE/ECFE salary schedule so teachers can earn additional compensation for work beyond a master’s degree.

+ Teachers will no longer get three years of personal illness days when they are hired; they will get one years’ worth – or 10 days, when hired.

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com