LMEA
This walkout occurred after District representatives had waited 118 days to receive a complete response to the District’s proposed settlement offer dated August 21, 2013. Since that offer in August, the LMEA invoked a work to rule proclamation which, for a time, included the refusal to write letters of recommendation for seniors. Also, due to the work to rule proclamation, LMEA leaders are advising teachers not to participate in any non-mandated activities beyond their 7 1/2 hour workday. This currently includes the after school tutoring program for which they would be paid an additional $22 per hour. Based on this decision by the LMEA and to ensure struggling students get the help they need, the District is advertising for additional tutors.
Please take time to look at the comparison of the salary proposals of the District vs LMEA. To assist in understanding the figures, readers should keep in mind that the LMEA previously negotiated to get teachers to the maximum career salary as fast as possible (Step 17). They argued that teachers would rather receive more of their money up front to pay off school loans, etc… In return, they would not ask for as much money after they got to the maximum career salary. As you can see in the proposals, the LMEA is no longer following that rational. The District encourages taxpayers to look at career income rather than just percentage increases for teachers who have reached the maximum career salary in 17 years.
It is the District’s objective that, due to the dramatically increasing costs in teacher benefit packages, the District put forth a very reasonable offer compared to the extreme demands of LMEA leaders. The two biggest financial impacts to the District relating to teacher benefits are state retirement contributions and health care.
The District is required to contribute additional money to help fund each teacher’s retirement package. This mandated contribution is a percentage of their salary and has escalated from 8.65% in the 2011-12 school year to 21.4% for 2014-2015. Even if no teacher would get a raise in the first three years of the contract, the District would still have to come up with an additional $1,186,240 ($11,982 Average per teacher) to contribute to their retirement. Unfortunately, the retirement contribution rate is projected to escalate to 32.08% in the upcoming years. This is a major financial issue for the District. Funds typically paid directly to teachers for salary increases are being taken by the State to ensure the teachers’ pension plans are maintained.
A PPO Highmark Blue Shield plan is offered to teachers with a $100/$200 deductible. They also have prescription drug, dental, and vision plans. The family plan costs $17,622.54 of which a teacher would contribute $90 per month. Estimated increases for this coming 2014-15 year are approximately 21%. This would be another $3,700.73 per teacher with a family health insurance plan.
Based on these numbers and assuming no raises occur for any teachers in 2014-2015, the District will be expected to come up with an average increase over this year of $2,165 per employee for pensions. The District could also be expected to come up with another $3,700 for a family health insurance plan. That would be a total average increase of $5,865 per employee with a family health insurance plan. The pension contribution is fixed by the state. The District might be able to negotiate a smaller increase in health insurance premiums. These increases, combined with the demands of the LMEA would be devastating to the District and you as taxpayers.
Please click on the following link to see a comparison of the proposed salaries for each teacher.
(District vs LMEA Salary Proposal Comparisons by Teacher 1/23/14)