Jeffco Schools, teachers at impasse over contract

LAKEWOOD – Negotiations between the Jeffco Public School District and the teacher’s union remained at an impasse Wednesday and there was no indication when the stalemate might be broken.

The Jefferson County Education Association, which represents the district’s teachers, last week announced its policy board rejected the district’s latest contract offer and declared the talks at an impasse. The move moves the talks to mediation under terms of the current contract, which expires in 2011.

Lynn Setzer, Jeffco Schools spokeswoman said Wednesday it could be months before the process resumes.

But Kerrie Dallman, JECA president, said the two sides could agree within a couple of weeks on a date to meet with a mediator.

The difficulty is finding open dates in the calendars of “two large associations such as ours plus a mediator in the mix. It can be a little cumbersome. So we are working on trying to schedule that very shortly,” Dallman said

Both sides pointed fingers at the other in announcing the impasse.

“I am saddened that the JCEA doesn’t support what we consider a fair and reasonable money offer in these difficult economic times,” said Jeffco schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson.

“Jeffco teachers are extremely disappointed by the district’s last salary offer, which fails to provide anything close to a cost of living increase. We are upset, angry and very, very frustrated,” Dallman said.

The sides have been negotiating since January.

The district says its offer amounts to a 4.5 percent increase for “most employees.”

The offer includes a one-time salary “payment” of 1 percent, payable this fall, but would make the “payment” an on-going increase in salary if the district gets to keep $11 million that is held in reserve by state mandate until late January.

The state, which is suffering budget problems,  is holding onto the money to make sure it can cover the cost.

The district also offered a “step” increase in years of service and credits for educational incentives, both of which are used in computing actual salary. The “step” formula adds another 2.50 percent increase for the average teacher, the district said.

The district also figured its 0.9 percent contribution increase for the teachers’ Public Employees Retirement Account plan into the 4.5 percent figure, but that increase was mandated by the legislature and is not part of the contract negotiations.

“Recognizing how hard our teachers work to educate children, we proposed a monetary package that would give our employees a raise at a time when many businesses are taking money and benefits away from employees,” Stevenson said.

The union questions the district’s calculation of the value of the compensation package, saying the 1-percent “payment” amounts to n more than a stipend and would range from as little as $350 for a second-year teacher to a maximum of $800 for a 28-year teacher with post-graduate credits.

“Jeffco teachers just aren’t buying the district’s argument that they can’t afford fair and reasonable salary increases. The truth is the district is receiving a 4.9 percent funding increase from the legislature to cover employee salaries and other operations costs,” Dallman said. “It also received nearly $15 million in federal stimulus funds to protect jobs and support school improvement.

“But, most significantly, the district has $160 million in operating reserves, $57 million more than even they projected they needed in 2006. … Socking money away for a rainy day can be reasonable and prudent. Hoarding more than you expected and more than you need is unreasonable and imprudent.”

The JCEA has about 4,000 members.