One contract down, two to go

Historically, Eugene School District administrators have signed salary and benefit agreements after the district’s other two main employee groups, teachers and classified workers, have inked their deals.

Not this year.

In the face of its largest financial crisis ever, the district will now try to gain concessions from teachers and classified workers after announcing Thursday that it’s reached a tentative deal on concessions with administrators for the 2011-12 school year.

Pending approval from the Eugene School Board this month or next, school principals, assistant principals, central office staff and other supervisors represented by the employee group 4JA have agreed to work six fewer work days in 2011-12 than a normal work year and to receive no cost-of-living salary increases.

New Superintendent Sheldon Berman and department directors, meanwhile, will work seven fewer days. Thus Berman, who was hired at a record annual base salary of $180,000, will actually earn $175,172 in salary for 2011-12, district spokeswoman Kerry Delf said. Like other 12-month district employees, Berman would normally work a 261-day work year. But that will be reduced in 2011-12 to 254 days.

Administrators who are not yet at top of scale will receive 50 percent of their “step” increases, which are based on number of years served and level of education, of 2.5 percent.

District officials are hoping that other employee groups will now agree to similar unpaid furlough days and concessions — by Sept. 7, the first day of school, for teachers; and by Sept. 30, when their current four-year contract expires, in the case of office staff, cafeteria workers and other classified employees.

This will be the third straight school year that administrators have agreed to concessions. If the district is able to get comparable concessions from teachers and classified staff, the district will achieve its goal of $4 million in concessions to help balance its budget, Delf said.

In the face of a record $21.7 million budget shortfall, the district has already found millions in savings through employee layoffs, school closures, program reductions and the use of reserve funds.

The six unpaid furlough days that administrators have agreed to is the same offer the district made to teachers at the last bargaining session in June, before talks collapsed. The district’s bargaining team is scheduled to meet again with the Eugene Education Association bargaining team on Aug. 31 at the district’s Education Center. The district had a couple of negotiating sessions with classified employees in July, but currently has no additional meetings scheduled.

Despite the $21.7 million shortfall, the concessions deal for administrators is actually a better one than they agreed to last August for the 2010-11 school year. A year ago, administrators agreed to take nine unpaid furlough days.

“I think most (administrators) understand why we need to keep taking concessions,” said Monroe Middle School Principal Peter Tromba, co-president of 4JA.

The district also will continue to make monthly $1,100 contributions to administrators’ insurance premiums.

“Our administrators recognize that everyone has to be part of the financial solution,” Associate Human Resources Director Christine Nesbit said in a press release announcing the tentative agreement with administrators. “This agreement moves us toward our goal of a sustainable budget and produces long-term cost savings while helping us preserve school days and prevent further layoffs, which ultimately impact students.”