In lean times, teachers part of belt tightening

The first contract settlements reported by Twin Cities school districts show that teachers are getting stingier deals this year.

In some districts, they have even agreed to pay freezes -- almost unprecedented concessions in areas where annual raises are the norm.

That could have big implications for school districts grappling with declining student enrollment and the loss of revenue that goes with it and state funding that has been frozen for this year and next.

In Eden Prairie, for instance, teachers and board members last month agreed to a two-year contract that offers no cost-of-living increases. Other employee groups also agreed to a freeze. The payoff for the district, Superintendent Melissa Krull said, is $4 million in savings that will substantially cushion the blow of an anticipated $10 million budget shortfall next year. The result will be fewer teachers laid off and fewer programs cut, she said.

"They know, we all know, that jobs are at stake and programs are at stake," Krull said.

School officials and teachers' union representatives warn that it is too early to make sweeping generalizations about how contract talks will turn out this year. The Education Minnesota teachers' union lists 23 settlements so far, with more than 300 still to be settled.

Contracts are negotiated between Minnesota teachers and school boards every two years. Boards are supposed to have contracts settled by Jan. 15 or face financial penalties from the state. This year's pace is slower than two years ago, Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher said.

"We're a long ways from any real concrete answers to this," said Bob Lowe, director of management services for the Minnesota School Boards Association. But early returns indicate that, especially in financially troubled districts, teachers are biting the bullet this year and accepting less than they have in years past.

The Eden Prairie settlement will cost the district an additional 6 percent over the life of the contract. That includes the costs of insurance and "step-and-lane" raises that teachers still will get for additional years of experience and earning more college credits. The settlement two years ago cost the district an additional 11.2 percent.

In Westonka schools, teachers accepted a modified freeze, which held salaries at the status quo, but added a small amount to the "step" increases awarded for years of experience. As a result, teachers are getting more modest raises.

Westonka Superintendent Kevin Borg said that this year's contract will cost the district an extra 5.6 percent. The two prior contracts were closer to 10 percent each, he said.

Mark Swiggum, an Eden Prairie teacher and chief negotiator for the Eden Prairie Education Association, said that, in the 30 years he's been involved in contract talks, he can't remember other salary freezes.

"I think, without a doubt, the economic climate and lack of state funding were kind of overarching factors that affected the settlements for teachers and all the bargaining groups in Eden Prairie," he said. "And we're faced with a $10 million deficit. So the bottom line was, in order to protect jobs and programs, the bargaining groups of Eden Prairie schools have agreed to a settlement that will reduce the deficit."

In those districts where the financial picture is brighter, teachers haven't had to accept a freeze, though the settlements often come in lower than in past years.

The Minnetonka school board last week approved a contract that gave teachers a 1.9 percent pay raise this year and then a 1.65 percent raise in 2010-11, in addition to step-and-lane raises. That is still less than the 2 to 2.5 percent annual pay raises bargained in the past, school board Chairwoman Pam Langseth said.

"All of us were highly aware of many challenges being faced around the community," Langseth said. "So we went into negotiations believing very strongly that we want to give teachers something, but also recognizing where we are."

Langseth said the district was able to agree to raises because it's gaining students and the additional revenue that comes with them. Also, the district is facing no budget shortfall next year, and has reined in additional costs by customizing its own employee health insurance plan.

Wayzata, another district in healthy financial shape, awarded its teachers a 2 percent raise in the first year of the contract and a 1.5 percent increase in the second, in addition to step-and-lane raises, said Jodi Olson, president of the Wayzata Education Association.

"I think it's close to our previous settlements," Olson said. "We're financially stable, and maybe financial stability has been a component of this for the district."

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547