MONTEBELLO : School Officials Propose a Smaller Pay Cut

Montebello school officials have backed away from a plan to impose a 5.3% pay cut on teachers this school year, but have proposed a 4% pay reduction that could begin as early as July 1.

District officials unveiled the latest pay cut proposal last week, after the Montebello Teachers Assn. released a report from a fact-finding committee that recommended administrators find ways to balance the $92-million budget other than cutting teacher salaries.

The committee suggested a series of budget-cutting alternatives, including a hiring freeze and eliminating $448,000 in teacher bonuses.

Acting Supt. Norman J. Kirschenbaum said the district was able to tap alternative sources of income to avoid cutting teachers’ pay this year, but insisted that teachers’ pay will have to be cut in the next year.

“We don’t want to take wages from anybody,� he said. “We’re like a boxer on the ropes financially. . . . We’re living on a very, very tight budget.�

The teachers union and the school district have been at odds over the proposed salary reduction since last summer. Union officials said the fact-finding committee’s report confirms their contention that a pay cut is unnecessary. The committee consists of a union representative, the district’s personnel director and an attorney who acted as a neutral third party. Its conclusions are not binding.

Teachers have threatened to go on strike if the district cuts their pay, and union director Kathy Kohn said the proposed 4% cut is unacceptable.