DALLAS TWP. — Another contract offer crossed the table between the Dallas School Board and its teachers union Tuesday as a potential strike date is now less than three weeks away.

The latest proposal gives union members a choice of three health care plans, and the same salary matrix and early retirement plan from the school district’s Oct. 30 offer, said board attorney Vito DeLuca.

“We are doing everything we could to keep the salary matrix on the table,” DeLuca said.

The salary scale in the Oct. 30 offer has a minimum annual salary of $46,000 and a maximum pay of $83,500. The salary schedule awards teachers a raise for each year (columns) up to 16 years and for every six college credits above a bachelor’s degree (steps) up to 36 credits beyond a master’s degree.

The 2018-19 and 2019-20 salary schedules reflect the same employment and education credit formats, but the starting wage increases by $1,200 for each of the school years.

The Oct. 30 offer, as well as all previous contract proposals, are available at dsdhs.com.

Of the three health care plans in Tuesday’s proposal, two call for modest premium shares, DeLuca said.

The first health plan has no premium share, he noted.

Dallas teachers currently pay no premiums, and they are fighting to keep it that way.

One of the proposed health plans is a PPO that requires a premium of $11.34 for a single person or $31.40 for family coverage per pay period, he said. Teachers are paid biweekly, or 26 times a year, DeLuca said.

Another offer would keep the current HMO but includes a premium share of $31.19 for single coverage or $86.38 for family, according to DeLuca.

The union did not give a response to the district’s offer Tuesday.

“It was a lot of information,” said Michael Cherinka, president of the Dallas Education Association. “We need time to look at it.”

The next negotiation meeting is slated for Feb. 28.

Teachers have scheduled a possible strike for March 5.

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By Eileen Godin

egodin@timesleader.com

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews