CUSD Set to Pay More for Teacher Health Insurance

The will pick up most of the increased cost of health-insurance premiums for teachers in a revised contract being considered Monday.

After striking in April 2010, the teachers' union agreed to a contract good through June 2012. But the union and district both had the ability to reopen two features of the agreement for negotiation.

The two sides have met six times since May to discuss class size, wages and health and welfare benefits.

“The estimated $329,270 cost to increase premium contributions spans two fiscal years,” the staff report states. “The estimated cost for 2011-2012 is $164,635.” Most of that, $124,003, would come from the general fund.

The district is vowing to pick up the full difference in hiked HMO premiums and half the increased costs for a point-of-service plan for 2012, according to a staff report. The district expects the migration to less-expensive HMO plans, such as Kaiser Permanente, to offset some of the costs.

In addition, both sides have agreed to reopen negotiations if the state “” on mid-year state budget cuts that kick in if tax revenues fall short. So far this year, the state is $1.5 billion behind, reports the Sacramento Bee.

“If mid-year cuts are made to K-12 education, the parties agree to negotiate, commencing January 2012, additional cost-saving measures with a focus on wage adjustment and temporary work-year reductions and class-size adjustments,” according to the tentative agreement the district struck with the teachers’ union on Oct. 27.

The post-strike agreement cut teachers’ salaries by 10.1 percent through June 2012, but the school board reinstated a , reducing the pay cut to 6.49 percent. That cut saves $10.5 million over the previous contract, according to the staff report.

The partial restoration of teacher salaries, announced in early February, cost the district $4.6 million.

The board has a packed agenda Monday. Trustees are also scheduled to:

• Hire lawyers to represent the district before the Internal Revenue Service, which is CAPO took out in 2009. 
• Decide the criteria for .  Starting with the Nov. 6, 2012 election, school board trustees will no longer be elected at-large. The district’s consultant recommends trustee voting districts be roughly equal in population, “respect communities of interest,” follow visible natural and man-made geographical and topographical features, and take into consideration the boundaries of other jurisdictions such as cities.  
• Hear an update on the district’s , set to start next year. A fee-based preschool is planned to launch in February. The staff intends to open enrollment early – in December –  so interested families can help raise money for the program, which was approved on the condition that it not drain district finances.
• Receive a report about how the district is faring academically. The 2011 “accountability progress report” shows CUSD as the highest-scoring among large school districts in the state and fourth overall in the county. and students with disabilities still continue to struggle.
• Consider a new policy on student conduct that targets bullying and cyber-bullying. The policy defines what bullying is and outlines the procedure to investigate and correct it with discipline, up to and including expulsion and notifying law enforcement.
• Get an update on the district’s efforts to build a compressed natural-gas fueling station in Aliso Viejo. Currently, school buses travel to Irvine to fill up. The project was initially opposed by neighbor Temple Beth El, but after meeting with city officials in September and October to review Capo’s risk-assessment study of the project, the temple is supporting the project. The city of Aliso Viejo will consider the project at its Dec. 7 meeting.