DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas Education Association’s latest contract proposal included a 1.5 percent raise based on the 2014-15 salary scale was rejected Tuesday.
The offer was built on a salary matrix that both sides agreed was broken, said Dallas School Board and negotiation team member James Gattuso.
“The percentage increases are all over the place and both sides agreed from day one that it needs to be fixed,” Michael Cherinka, the Dallas Education Association president said in an email sent Tuesday night. “This (proposal) would avert any strike and allow us to continue to bargain to find more potential savings then we already offered.”
The union has set a strike date of Friday, Sept. 22, pending the outcome of negotiations.
Under the 2014-15 expired pay matrix, Dallas School District teachers received raises for each year, up to 16 years for every six college credits above a bachelor’s degree and 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 contract covering 2015, 2016 and expired the end of the year, Cherinka said.
“The majority high percentages are on lower salaries, not the top salary,” Cherinka said. “We’d be lucky if the top saw even close to one percent.”
The contract offer allowed the district to spread the salary changes out over time, he said.
Gattuso said the union’s contract 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.
Healthcare is another hurdle for both parties.
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 healthcare proposal could save the district $174,000, Cherinka said.
“That was the number from the district’s (healthcare) broker,” Cherinka said. “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 is working with Millennium Healthcare Group as its healthcare broker. Millennium Healthcare Group 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 said.
Gattuso said the information was requested from Highmark Inc. and the district was “put in cue” waiting for the company’s response, which arrived Wednesday morning.
The district’s finance committee will meet to develop a counter offer, Gattuso said.
The district’s negotiation committee and teachers union have a meeting scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21, but an another meeting may be organized for Wednesday, Gattuso said.
“There are a lot of emails and texts following back and forth,” he said. “I really believe both sides want to resolve this.”
