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DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas Education Association’s contract proposal that was rejected this week included a 1.5 percent raise based on the 2014-15 salary scale.
The offer was built on a salary matrix that both sides agreed was broken, explained Dallas School Board and negotiation team member James Gattuso.
The failure to come to an agreement makes a teachers strike Friday a real possibility. The union set Sept. 22 as a potential strike date earlier this month, when it pushed back an earlier walkout date.
Michael Cherinka, the Dallas Education Association president, explained in an email the latest proposal “would avert any strike and allow us to continue to bargain to find more potential savings then we already offered.”
Under the 2014-15 expired pay matrix, Dallas teachers received raises for each year (columns) up to 16 years for every six college credits above a bachelor’s degree (steps) — up to 36 credits beyond a master’s degree.
The 2014-15 matrix started with minimum annual earnings of $34,501 and would take an educator 15 years to reach a maximum salary of $80,866.
The union’s offer included a retroactive three-year deal covering 2015, 2016 and expired at the end of the year, Cherinka said.
“The majority high percentages (for raises) are on lower salaries, not the top salary,” he noted. “We’d be lucky if the top saw even close to 1 percent.”
The contract offer allowed the district to spread the salary changes out over time, he added.
But Gattuso said the union’s proposal could cost the district up to $600,000, which is an unsustainable cost.
“We will continue down the path to find a solution fair for the taxpayers and teachers,” Gattuso said.
Health care is another hurdle for both parties, with teachers maintaining they shouldn’t have to shoulder any premium cost.
The Dallas School Board suggests cost-sharing plans to cut down the expense, while the union recommends cost savings found in higher deductibles and prescription co-pay programs.
The union’s health care proposal could save the district $174,000, Cherinka said.
“That was the number from the district’s (health care) broker,” said Cherinka. “Their proposed cost-shift would save $71,400. We were seeking even further savings through an independent broker.”
In a phone interview, Cherinka said the union was working with Millennium Healthcare Group as its broker. Millennium worked with North Pocono School District to develop its plan, he said.
“She (Millennium’s broker) presented them (Dallas School District) with the potential to save more than $500,000 on top of our original proposed $174,000,” according to Cherinka’s emailed statement. “They (district) were skeptical of her numbers and wanted more specific information.”
The union’s broker requested information from the district regarding its Highmark Inc. plan, Cherinka said.
“It’s been 21 days and we still don’t have that information,” he added.
Gattuso said the information was requested from Highmark and the district was waiting for the company’s response, which arrived Wednesday morning.
The district’s finance committee was meeting Wednesday to develop a counter-offer, Gattuso said.
The district’s negotiation committee and teachers union also have a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
“There are a lot of emails and texts following back and forth,” he said. “I really believe both sides want to resolve this.”