Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for November 22, 2005 DAY TWO IN TRICO

No need for explanation...most of you have "been there, done that"!

From today's Southern Illinoisan...

Marsha Starkey, a second-grade teacher at Trico Grade School and a 23 year veteran in the Trico School System, was helping man the picket lines surrounding school property Monday morning as the teachers in that district went on strike. (CEASAR MARAGNI/THE SOUTHERN)

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Difference of opinion: No school for Trico Tuesday; two sides continue to disagree over insurance costs

BY CHRISTI MATHIS
FOR THE SOUTHERN

CAMPBELL HILL - Just days before Thanksgiving, with Christmas decorations popping up all around, those driving along Illinois 4 in Campbell Hill Monday were greeted with a most unusual sight for the holiday season - picket signs.

After months of negotiation, weeks of intensive negotiations, and last-minute talks, a teachers strike became a reality for the Trico School District, which has 947 students enrolled.

As more than 30 teachers walked the picket line, some of those driving by honked or gave other signs of support while others did not. One student brought doughnuts for the teachers who walked in a brisk, chilly November wind.

The strike followed another lengthy evening of talks that broke down about 12:30 a.m. Monday. The two sides offered differing opinions regarding the breakdown.

Trico Education Association President Lori Hill and school board President Brian Chapman said talks resumed about 8 p.m. Sunday and by 10 p.m. a decision had to be made about whether or not there would be school Monday, the announced strike date. Ultimately, it was decided school would be canceled; if the contract was settled, Monday would become an administrative day with teachers working and if not, it would be a strike day.

It was a strike day.

Chapman and Hill agreed that at about 10 p.m., it seemed an agreement would be reached. From the beginning, employee health insurance has been the sticking point in talks.

Hill and Chapman said the teachers and board agreed this year's insurance would remain unchanged and there would be a cap on insurance spending next year equaling this year's insurance cost. But that's where the disagreement begins between the two sides.

Hill said the teachers conceded to a cap on their insurance at the board's request, but then the board also wanted the same cap for the 2006-2007 school year and the teachers couldn't agree.

"We agreed to a cap and that's not good enough for them," Hill said. "They want a cap for the next year too. There's no way we can do that. We can't anticipate what this would be. We suggested that there could be a cap with a percentage added. But they didn't want to do that. Also, they took money off the table for salaries, too."

Chapman said the board made a one-time salary offer late Thursday night in order to avert a strike, but the offer expired that night.

"We feel that we've given concessions in the last two years," Hill said. She said the teachers have gone from having insurance completely paid for by the district to having 55 percent of dependent coverage paid.

She said the district "didn't get in this financial shape overnight. It took several years. They (the board) want to fix it all right now and they want it to all come off our backs. They have a balanced, surplus budget. Things are starting to look up and it's in large part due to concessions teachers have made."

Chapman said the strike is a surprise to the board because it believed an agreement had essentially been reached.

"Obviously there must be some miscommunication," Chapman said Monday. "The board was told for weeks that a strike will occur over insurance. We think that substantial progress was made late last night and there is in fact an agreement in concept on insurance language, and then late this morning a picket line forms."

"The public needs to know we were the last to place a very fair offer on the table, including the agreed insurance language," he added. "They walked out last night instead of countering our proposal. By their response, I think it's safe to assume they must want more money on their salaries than what is offered. The board has not left the table and continues to talk. An impasse has not been declared and we are awaiting their counter. The board feels the length of the strike lies in the hands of the teachers. It's their strike to start and to stop."

Chapman said he and the board believed a compromise agreement had been reached on insurance. He said they agreed that insurance would be unchanged this year and would have a cap next year. He said a second year of insurance cap is essential to help the district's fiscal picture and he believes it could have been done without hurting teachers financially.

Chapman said in actuality, the district previously had paid 80 percent of employee insurance costs, but in recent years the change provided 100 percent coverage for employees and 55 percent payment for dependent coverage.

He said salaries for Trico are "very competitive" when compared to others in the state and benefits are at the top end of the scale.

He said under the board's proposal, teachers would retain control of their insurance and would be able to switch to another, less costly insurance than the current plan, which has no deductible.

By having a deductible, the cost of the coverage would decrease and the district would have paid the deductible; the board then offered that instead of the district and TEA splitting the money saved on premiums and for those who don't use all of their deductible (which the district would pay), the TEA could retain all funding saved and use it to offset any premium or cost increase in the second year of the cap.

Chapman said the TEA walked out after the board placed that offer on the table and he said board members were surprised to see the picket line in place Monday when they were instead awaiting a counter offer.

Hill insisted the board was "absolutely aware" there would be a strike Monday if a contract was not signed by that time. She said the teachers did make a counter offer and are still waiting for the board's response.

"We have the last proposal on the table," Hill said.

Chapman said after the board made its last offer, the teachers gave them a "what if" but "the federal mediator (Richard Kirkpatrick) said it is not an offer, it's a what if." He said the district couldn't agree to a requested 15 percent escalator on the cap because of the fiscal uncertainty and he said the last proposal came from the board.

"The simple matter is they're after the control but none of the fiscal responsibility," Chapman said. "We made an offer that would allow them to be in control of their insurance and allow us to take control of the fiscal issues."

Chapman said the district is solvent this year, but the situation is tenuous and the board must act responsibly and think of the future and the present.

One thing both sides agree about is that the group most adversely affected by the strike is the students.

"The consensus of the teachers seems to be that we as teachers and counselors have taken care of the needs of the students in Trico for many years and it's time to look out for our families," said guidance counselor Casey Hawkins. "We hope the students and parents support us. The students of the district are the ones that will suffer the most. We're getting a lot of support from everybody today."

"For me, I believe every child is a gift from God and deserving of every opportunity in life that adults can give them," Chapman said. "My personal position regarding Trico is that our children are suffering because the adults have eroded away those opportunities. It has got to stop. It's time to spend our money putting the children first. It's time to restore those opportunities."

The school was "very quiet" inside Monday, Superintendent Dennis Smith said. He said the district's 12-month employees were invited to work and all did. Likewise, bus drivers for students in the Tri-County Special Education program were required to work since those students attend classes outside the district. However, the teachers were striking and support staff on contracts of less than 12 months "were told we wouldn't have any work for them to do" and they stayed home as the district asked, Smith said.

The district's Thanksgiving break begins at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday and continues through the weekend. Classes would resume Monday without a strike. Neither side offered a guess as to how long the strike might last, but both sides insist they hope it ends quickly. No new talks are planned, however.

Thus, there will be no classes again today at Trico and tonight's performing arts class fall production will be postponed or perhaps canceled.

If the strike isn't settled soon, it will also mean the move of the late November boys basketball tournament to Marissa. No school activities or classes will be held while the strike continues.

The TEA represents 64 full and part-time employees who have been working without a contract since Aug. 15.