Administrators agree to 0 percent pay hike

The Brainerd School Board has reached a tentative contract agreement with its administrative group, the first of eight union groups with unsettled contracts.

Following a three-hour closed session of the school board Personnel Committee Tuesday, committee members recommended board approval of the tentative agreement that calls for no salary increases for both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years and an increase in the deductible amount for the current health insurance plan.

The agreement also reduces retiree benefits for administrators hired after Jan. 1, 2009. This provision affects one current administrator, Steve Lund, director of business services, and any administrators hired in the future.

The tentative agreement also includes one unresolved item on contractual language that the board needs clarification from union negotiators, said Lund. He said this item does not change the tentative agreement.

Razidlo, an hour after the committee meeting ended, said the administrative negotiations team was still planning for "a constructive dialogue" with its union membership, which includes 24 administrators, and with school board members to work out some details and confirm the agreement.

In a statement released Tuesday after the closed session, board members stated that this agreement helps to reduce the district's Other Post Employment Benefits, or OPEB, by achieving an approximate 30 percent reduction in future retiree benefits. Superintendent Steve Razidlo said in the future when healthcare costs increase, the savings in OPEB liabilities will grow.

Razidlo said that when the board voted to bond for the $23 million OPEB levy, board members promised taxpayers it would decrease future OPEB liabilities through collective bargaining.

"This is a significant and important first step for making good on that promise," said Razidlo.

The board's negotiating team will meet in an all-day bargaining session Wednesday with negotiators from Education Minnesota Brainerd to attempt to reach an agreement for teachers' contracts, which expired last June. If the board does not reach an agreement with its teachers by Jan. 15, the district will be penalized by a reduction of nearly $200,000 in state appropriations, according to state statute.

The board is in mediation with two of its seven non-certified groups, including educational assistants and food service workers. These two union groups, as well as the head cooks, clerical staff, interpreters for deaf students and custodial staff have been working without a current contract since June 30, 2008.

The district's eight unions represent all but 12-15 employees out of the nearly 1,050 employees in the district.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.