Las Virgenes Schools to Get Contract Mediator

Las Virgenes Unified School District officials said Tuesday that they will call in a state mediator to help unsnarl a pay dispute that has led to an impasse in contract talks with 346 teachers.

Negotiations broke down Monday, with officials offering a 6% raise and teachers asking for 8%, said Albert Marley, district superintendent. Talks are expected to resume in about two weeks, when a mediator is assigned, he said.

Although bargaining between the district and the Las Virgenes Educators Assn. had earlier been hung up on a district proposal to require master’s degrees of teachers earning top pay, that issue has apparently been resolved, Marley said. That requirement will be waived for current teachers who are otherwise eligible for top salaries, he said.

About two-thirds of the district’s teachers are at the top of the scale. They earn $32,085 annually.

Paul Markowitz, chairman of the teachers’ bargaining team, said the union is pressing for the district to use an estimated $2 million in new state allotments to increase salaries.

He said the additional money will come from Las Virgenes’ share of California Lottery revenues and extra funds due the district because of increased enrollment. “The district has more money this year than it probably ever has,” said Markowitz, a fifth-grade teacher.