Teachers Union, District Break Deadlock; 3% Pay Raise Offered

Burbank teachers will receive a 3% across-the-board salary increase for the 1984-85 school year and additional medical benefits under terms of a tentative contract agreement reached between the Burbank Teachers Assn. and the school district, officials have announced.

The teachers requested a 6.5% salary increase when negotiations began last August. District negotiators had asked the teachers to forego any wage increase.

The agreement, described as a fair compromise by both sides, was reached after an intense 12-hour negotiating session with a state mediator, the sixth mediation session since negotiators reached an impasse three months ago.

The talks focused on issues that came up for renegotiation this year following the first year of a three-year contract.

In addition to salary and benefit provisions, the two sides agreed to form joint committees to study several proposed changes in district organization that would affect teachers. They also agreed on special compensation when teachers substitute during non-teaching periods.

“We feel that we are receiving the money that is available,” said Bonnie Shatun, negotiating chairwoman for the teachers. Board of Education President Shirley Nelson said in a prepared statement that the district was satisfied with the resolution of “some very thorny issues.”

A public announcement of the agreement’s provisions was delayed until Thursday while negotiators discussed the settlement with teacher representatives, officials said. The district’s 500 teachers are expected to ratify the agreement Wednesday, Shatun said.