VVUHSD teachers at impasse over health benefits

Source: Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.儲存Sept. 04--VICTORVILLE -- Discussions between the Victor Valley Union High School District and teacher bargaining units were at an impasse and will go to fact-finding, a fiscal adviser for VVUHSD said Tuesday.VVUHSD wants to cap teacher health benefits at $14,840.28 annually in an effort to curb district spending, Michelle McClowry said.The cap would allow the district to better plan its mandatory three-year budget and help it move to a positive financial status with the County Superintendent of Schools, she said. Currently the district's multi-year budget projections show a negative funding balance and they do not have a positive status with the county, she said."The reason for a cap is to stop the escalating costs for the district," McClowry said. "If the benefits go up 5 percent or 10 percent, they don't know what it will be in advance, or until shortly before the year begins. The cap sets a limit so the district then knows what to budget for in the subsequent year."Jose Berrios, Victor Valley Teacher's Association President, argues that putting a spending limit on teachers' health benefits would not save the district any money this year, which McClowry confirmed. The proposed cap is the same amount the district currently pays for individual benefits, she said.He also said capping teacher benefits was not fair based on the fact that their salary schedu新蒲崗迷你倉es were much lower than nearby districts. Teachers in the district have also gone without a pay raise for almost nine years, he said."We gave them numerous options and a lot of offers to try and get things settled and they want a hard cap," Berrios said of the union's negotiations with the district. "From our point of view we don't see why this is such an important thing because this year they're not making any more money or saving any more."McClowry said the majority of school districts in San Bernardino County and across the state currently cap employee health benefits. She said both parties would also have the option to renegotiate the limit every year.The district reached a similar hard cap agreement with classified personnel and administration employees in their first meeting last week, McClowry said. She confirmed benefits for both classified personnel and administrators are more expensive than the teachers benefits because they are issued through a different health insurance group.Messages left with VVUHSD administrators for more details regarding their benefits cap were not immediately returned.Brooke Self may be reached at 760-951-6232 or BSelf@VVDailyPress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSelf.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.) Visit the Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.) at .vvdailypress.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage