District hesitant to cover teachers’ health insurance

Since last February, the San Mateo Union High School District Board and the SMUHSD Teacher’s Association have been in a stalemate over the issue of healthcare insurance, with the District reluctant to continue paying for teachers’ healthcare. With rising insurance costs and a failing “formula” that proportionally divides the district’s budget, it seems the District Board is taking a hard-line stance, despite having $4 million more than expected.

Currently, the two sides are in a secretive mediation process.

“If the District is not totally reasonable, there may be no middle ground,” explains SMUHSD Teachers’ Association Vice President and Aragon teacher Carlo Corti. “From my own experience, I know that the District has covered teachers for at least the last ten years. But for the last four years, the economy has been weak, leading to problems with the District’s financial budgeting formula. If the district isn’t getting more money each year from property taxes, then the ‘formula’ doesn’t work because the expenses grow every year.”

At a recent District board meeting that over 200 teachers attended to express their wishes for a fair contract, president of the SMUHSD Teachers’ Association Craig Childress urged the District to come to a fair settlement quickly, criticizing the District for not being open to compromise.

“The final public proposal made by the Association represented a significant number of major concessions from our original bargaining position, especially regarding salary,” says Childress.

A recent article from the Foster City Patch states that health and welfare benefits constitute 11.1 percent of the district’s budget, while salaries constitute 46.4 percent of the school district’s general fund budget.

Certificated teachers did not receive a salary increase in the 2009-2010 school year, and the Association this year is merely asking for the status quo regarding salary and healthcare.

Childress further explained that the expectations of teachers are not being met by the Board and that teachers are not having enough say in the board’s actions.
“We expect that teachers will have a meaningful and authoritative role in the continuous mission to reduce and control health care costs … Despite our effort, the only role we have been allowed to play is that of a sounding board for District ideas for cost control, with no real say, even though our benefits hang in the balance. We expect that the District will consult with teachers when developing future bond or parcel tax proposals so that we can be an active voice of support for items that affect our livelihood and the education of the students we see every day … and we expect that we will be treated with respect and as valuable voices in conversations about the future of this district,” he stated.

Although Childress emphasized that “it is still the hope of the Association Bargaining Team that the parties can reach a fair settlement through mediation” and that “[the Association] believes that the parties have moved closer in recent sessions,” many teachers are visibly upset that they are working without a formal contract. At the board meeting, teachers wore black t-shirts reading “no teacher left behind,” and held up signs reading “Do We Deserve Reduced Compensation?”

Aragon teacher Steve Ratto says “For me, thoughts about the contract are always in the back of my mind, since these decisions will have a big impact on my future. I don’t have dependents now, but if I have children in the future, I’ll have to think about what happens to them. ”

In response to the Association, Board member Peter Hanley said that the negotiations were primarily about balancing the needs of teachers and those of students. “We’re primarily here to educate kids,” he told the Foster City Patch.

Student representative to the Board of Trustees and Aragon senior Kayla Lahoz said, “Part of the problem is that the state hasn’t passed the budget yet, so the Board wants to be semi-conservative in their actions.”

Only time will tell what becomes of this mediation process. Although Childress has stated that he feels the SMUHSD Teachers’ Association and the District are nearing a final agreement, he believes there is still a gap to be bridged. Adds Ratto, “If this mediation process does somehow work out this year, I’ll wonder if the same problem will come up next year… did we actually solve the problem, or did we put a small Band-Aid over a big wound?”