Teachers and Schools Hammer Out Tentative Agreement in Burbank

The Burbank Teachers Assn. and the Burbank school district reached a tentative agreement that is expected to end a nine-month dispute over wages and eight other issues, district and association officials announced Tuesday.

Under terms of the proposed two-year agreement, teachers in the Burbank Unified School District will receive a 1% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 1985. Also, each step of the teachers’ wage scale will be raised 4%, retroactive to Feb. 3 of this year.

The latter provision is expected to especially benefit experienced teachers and those who have accumulated additional academic credits.

Second-Year Provision

In the second year of the contract, officials said, teachers will receive a percentage increase based on 80% of the cost-of-living adjustment.

Audrey Hanson, district board member, said the cost of the first-year agreement would be the same as the district’s previous offer of a 3% salary increase retroactive to July 1 of last year. The teachers had asked for a 5.5% raise, plus a one-time bonus of 3.5% of their yearly salaries.

The district agreed to use 55% of all state lottery funds received this year and next for teachers’ bonuses.

The agreement came after the two sides met for 36 hours over the weekend in a resumption of talks that had stalemated after nine months. Unlike previous negotiating sessions, attorneys were not invited.

Lawyers Excluded

Teachers and district officials said attorneys were excluded after some progress was made at informal talks and it was decided by both sides that an attempt would be made to settle the disagreement on their own.

“It was a tremendous relief to get this done,” said Hanson, who said negotiators met for 23 hours straight on Friday and Saturday.

During the dispute, the 550 teachers voted to authorize a strike and threatened to boycott open houses at their schools, a move that was thwarted when district officials said boycotting teachers would be suspended.

Both the teachers and the board are expected to vote on the proposal Thursday.