FULLERTON : Union, District Reach Accord on Contract

Fullerton Joint Union High School District management and the 510-member teachers union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract that includes a 4% salary increase this year and ties future pay hikes to state funding.

The three-year pact was settled Monday with the help of a state mediator who was brought in after months of stalled negotiations. Teachers had been working without a contract since July 1, when their previous three-year contract expired.

“I signed off on it pretty satisfied, given the economy,” said Ben Rogers, president of the Fullerton Secondary Teachers’ Organization. “I think this is something we can live with.”

Rogers said that he expects all of the union’s members to vote on the package by Wednesday. It will then go to the district’s Board of Trustees for approval on Feb. 18.

“We’re pleased,” said Shirley Finton, the spokeswoman for the district. “We feel it’s fair to all parties.”

Overall, the teachers’ compensation package will rise 7.12% this year. The new contract includes a 4% salary increase, which will be retroactive to July 1. The package also includes a 1.54% increase for more expensive health and welfare benefits, as well as 1.58% for “step and column” advances--the amount given for employees who gain in seniority and educational background.

Annual salaries for starting teachers with entry-level experience will rise from $23,616 to $24,600. At the high end, pay for teachers with the most seniority and educational background will increase from $51,492 to $53,637. Overall, the district will spend about $1.5 million on the increases, Finton said.

In 1992-93, salaries will rise the same amount as the state’s cost-of-living increases, plus an additional 1%. Because of uncertainties over how much the state will actually increase funding, the contract guarantees at least a 2% pay hike. The compensation package that year also includes just over 3% in additional increases for health and welfare benefits and step and column advances.

In a major compromise by both sides, compensation in 1993-94--the third year of the contract--will remain open to negotiation, Rogers said.

Both sides also agreed to form committees to settle issues involving after-school athletic and activity stipends as well as hourly pay for adult education teachers, Rogers said.