S.D. Teachers, District Reach Agreement

SAN DIEGO â€”  City teachers and school district officials will announce an agreement Monday to settle some issues and postpone resolution of others in their long-stalled contract dispute, knowledgeable sources said Saturday.

The move is so the two sides can present a common front supporting June ballot issues to raise more money for schools.

A Monday afternoon news conference to announce the tentative partial agreement will be attended by representatives of the district and the teachers union as well as Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction. In past weeks Honig counseled both sides to put as many of their differences aside as possible in light of the ballot measures.

Honig was quoted in published reports Saturday saying that the San Diego district, the nation’s eighth largest, had reached agreement with its 5,000 teachers.

However, school board president Dorothy Smith said Saturday that a complete contract agreement has not been reached but that the union and district officials will “attempt to come together and show a unified front . . . and that Honig is coming down because he is concerned about (achieving strong support for) his statewide initiatives.�

Smith declined to discuss details of the partial agreement. City Schools Supt. Tom Payzant also refused comment Saturday, saying he thought all sides had agreed not to talk about the issue until Monday. But Payzant added that Honig was not familiar with all the details worked out between teachers and the district.

The teachers have been without a contract since June 30, 1987. The district has offered a 2.5% raise plus a one-time, half-percent bonus. The teachers asked for an 8.5% raise plus additional teacher preparation time and other non-money improvements.

Knowledgeable sources on both sides said Saturday that an arrangement has been worked out resolving salary issues, but other matters of disagreement will be carried over for further negotiations after the June election.