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Bellevue school district, teachers union close to resolving 2 issues, far apart on pay(Seattle Times, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 7--The Bellevue School District and its teachers union have nearly settled two major issues but remain far apart on salary, drawing the strike into its second week. "We're getting much closer to settling this, but we are not there yet," said Michele Miller, president of the Bellevue Education Association, during a news conference at the union headquarters Saturday afternoon. Talks ended at 5 p.m. Saturday, and both sides agreed to resume at 11 a.m. Monday. Classes in the 16,000-student district are canceled for Monday. Still, the teachers union and district administrators said they were optimistic after closing in on an agreement on health-insurance coverage and the standardized curriculum, which has been a particularly controversial issue. The district's common curriculum, which prescribes what is taught every day, is intended to provide consistency throughout the schools. Union officials said Saturday the district has agreed to give teachers more leeway to come up with alternative lesson plans. But the sticking point remains salary. At the bargaining table Saturday, the union proposed a 5 percent raise over two years, while the district proposed 2.5 percent over the same time frame, according to senior administrators from both sides. "Bellevue's teachers have softened their overall salary demand from 11 percent to 9 percent to 5 percent," said Miller. "The district has made no significant movement on teacher pay since the strike began." To meet the union's pay numbers, said school spokeswoman Ann Oxrieder, the district would have "to cut positions and programs and increase class size. There is no magic pot of money." In Bellevue, a rookie teacher earns $39,798, according to the district. After five years, and with a master's degree, the salary is $49,067. The union says Bellevue's average teacher salary is $58,500, below six other districts in the state, including Everett, Marysville and Mercer Island. Union officials contend the district's high teacher-turnover rate is a result of the high cost of living on the Eastside. Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report. Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or [email protected] To see more of The Seattle Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.seattletimes.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Seattle Times Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |