Teacher's Union OK's Contract Concessions Late Thursday

The Rohnert Park Cotati Educator’s Association Thursday night voted in favor of a set of union givebacks, nearly three months after the .

The tentative agreement was reached last Friday, but was ratified by the teacher’s union last night. Faculty have settled on a two percent salary reduction until 2014 and a 15 percent contribution towards their medical benefits — a deal that amounts to about $1.5 million a year, according to Stacie McGwier, a president of the Rohnert Park Cotati Teacher’s Association.

“The salary reduction is temporary, but the contribution to medical benefits looks a little more permanent,” McGwier said. “It’s unfortunate that instead of trying to get a little more, we’re having to go in reverse." 

The concessions, which still have to be agreed upon by the school board in public and OK’d by the Sonoma County Office of Education, add up to about $1,500 in additional contributions per teacher per year. Under the deal, the school district would also be shortened from 182 to 176 days and teachers would be paid for one teacher workday instead of two currently.

This proposed plan departs significantly from what district negotiators said they needed when Superintendent Barbara Vrankovich initially announced an impasse in mid-March.

Chief Financial Officer Wade Roach said then that in order to close a $4.9 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year and to keep the district from, teachers would have to agree on a permanent five percent pay reduction and a 20 percent contribution to benefits. Meanwhile, contended a three percent salary reduction and a 15 percent contribution to benefits was enough to close the gap.

The deal reached last night by teachers comes at the heels of Gov. Jerry Brown’s May revised budget — which kept in place Prop. 98 funding — something that was unclear in the beginning of the state budget talks, allowing the district to reexamine their budget shortfall. The current projected deficit after the governor’s revised is $3 million, according to Roach.

“Of course we had to consider the state budget when balancing our budget,” Roach said.

The tentative deal set forth by teachers last night would still leave a budget gap for this fiscal year, though Roach said it was too soon to give a dollar amount.

Barbara Tatman, from the Sonoma County Office of Education who was assigned aid the district in the mediation process, said the county will review the proposal and make a determination if the concessions are adequate after the school board makes their decision.

“Hopefully it will help get the district back to fiscal solvency,” Tatman said.