Posted: 5/8/02

Teacher contract is ratified

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

More than 10 months into the new contract period, teachers in School District 831 now have a new two-year deal. The school board on Monday voted to ratify the contract covering the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school years.

The school board decision followed a ratification vote by the Forest Lake Education Association in late April. Teachers last month approved the contract by 294-101 margin.

Under the settlement, teachers will receive 4.8 in salary schedule improvement ó 2.8 percent in year one and 2 percent in year two. Health insurance costs paid by the district will increase 1.9 percent over the two years under the agreement.

District figures also place the automatic costs for step and lane changes at 1.8 percent for each year of the contract period.

The total settlement ó including the cost of salary schedule improvement, insurance and automatic step and lane changes ó represents an increase of 10.3 percent over the two years.

The new contract is in accordance with a new state law requiring contracts to be within structural balance, said Larry Martini, director of business affairs. The settlement is the first for the district under the state law and ensures the agreement will not cause a structural imbalance in the districtís budget during the period of the collective bargaining agreement.

The board on Monday also adopted a necessary resolution approving the structural balance report.

Contract details

The new contract takes into account staff changes impacted by budget cuts. For the 2001-2002 school year, the district trimmed 50 teaching positions.

When the public voted favorably for an excess operating levy last November, the school board has since moved ahead with a new budget plan that will add back 24 teachers for the fall of 2002 and year two of the contract.

For the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2001, the district had total costs of $28,919,285 for the teacher employee group.

For year one, the districtís total cost will drop $2.1 million to $26,958,917. The contract will cover 468 teachers in the first year.

In the second year of the contract, the district is estimating a teacher count of 492. That will require total costs of $30,104,703. The increase is up sharply, Martini said, because of the add back of 24 teaching positions.

The contract also takes into account the rising cost of medical insurance. For the 2002-2003 school year, medical insurance is expected to rise by 28 percent, officials said.

School funds and teachers will be asked to share the rising cost, said Superintendent Lynn Steenblock.

Under the contract, the district will continue to pay the entire monthly cost of single insurance of $344.01 plus an additional $230 for teachers with dependent coverage. The $230 payment is a $50 increase over the $180 under contract for 2000-2001 and in 2001-2002.

Family or dependent coverage will cost $863.24 a month. With the district paying the $344.01 single employee cost and the $230 for family coverage, a teacher with dependent coverage will pay $289.23 a month

In language areas, a number of areas were addressed.

The new agreement will require teachers to use direct deposit effective July 1, 2002. The contract increases the maximum district contribution for health care reimbursement plan from $750 to $850 in the second year.

The contract adds new language dealing with teacher licensure. Under the contract, teachers are responsible for maintaining appropriate licensure. Teachers who fail to timely renew licenses by July 1 of the year the renewal is due will be put on unpaid leave as of Sept. 1 of that year.

Timely review means the application has been received by the Department of Children, Families and Learning, according to the contract.

The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2001 for salary payments. Martini said this week teachers can expect their payout in late June or two weeks following the last regular pay day.

The chart below address two key areas of compensation for teachers in ISD 831. The chart shows the wages first-year teachers will earn in the two years of the contract, plus the 2000-2001 school year. It also shows the range for teachers at the top of the salary schedule who are at the MA plus 60 credits step.

The second part of the chart shows the change in longevity pay, including the addition of a fourth step. Superintendent Lynn Steenblock said the change is a way to reward long-time teachers and encourage younger teachers to remain in Forest Lake.

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03

First Year Teachers $26,946 $27,189 $27,550

MA Level Plus 60 $52,670 $53,144 $53,851

Longevity Steps 16 yrs. + 20 yrs. + 25 yrs. +

2000-2001 $1000 $1250 $2300

Longevity Steps 14 yrs. 16 yrs. 20 yrs. 25 yrs.

2001-2002 $1000 $1000 $1250 $2300

2002-2003 $1200 $1200 $1400 $2400

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