Teachers’ Contract Language Completed

Ending what both sides say have been the most arduous labor negotiations in district history, Los Angeles Unified School District and teachers union officials turned in final language Thursday for a three-year contract that provides substantially higher salaries and broader authority for teachers to help govern schools.

United Teachers-Los Angeles President Wayne Johnson called the contract provision for “shared decision-making” councils to help run schools “a giant step forward” for the nation’s second-largest school system.

Teachers are scheduled to choose their representatives today and elections for the parent and community slots on the new councils will be held in the fall at most schools.

Teachers’ Contract

The contract provides teachers with a 24% raise over three years, which will increase beginning pay to $29,529 and top pay to $51,490 by 1991. On Monday, the board is expected to formally ratify the teachers’ contract as well as raises for administrators, who have been offered increases of 16% to 24% over two to three years.

The board’s decision to offer administrators essentially the same raise it gave teachers after their nine-day strike in May provoked the ire Thursday of Los Angeles-area Assembly Democrats, who, in a letter to board President Roberta Weintraub, threatened an investigation into district salaries if the increases are approved.

As detailed in the teachers’ contract, the decision-making councils will be established at all of the district’s more than 600 campuses and will have eight to 16 members each, depending on the size and type of the school.

Makeup of Councils

Half of the members will be elected at large from each school’s faculty, and the other half will consist of the principal, a representative of the school’s clerical or support staff, parents and community members. High school councils also must have a student member. The contract spells out how many members of each group will sit on the councils. For example, a 16-member council will have five community and parent representatives.

The councils will have authority to make decisions regarding student discipline codes, scheduling of school events and exams and use of certain equipment, such as copying machines. In addition, the councils will determine how to spend money from the state lottery as well as special funds for integration, year-round schools, textbooks and other instructional materials.

The contract requires the councils to make decisions by consensus “whenever possible.” Lacking consensus, the councils will decide

matters by majority vote of the members present.

Other major features of the contract include bonuses of $5,000 a year for fully qualified bilingual teachers in predominantly minority schools, 40 minutes of paid preparation time and the elimination of yard duty for elementary school teachers.

It also says that teachers may earn back some of the money docked from their paychecks as a result of job actions during the past year by doing tutoring, truancy follow-ups and staff training.

Weintraub said that, given the improvements in pay and working conditions won by teachers in the new contract, “the question now is, what changes in the schools? Will we see changes in expectations and test scores in the schools? That is the bottom line of what we’re doing. If not, all we are doing is providing employment and warehousing.”

New Board Member

The group of Assembly Democrats urged the school board Thursday to postpone action on the administrative wage increases until after July 1, when a new board member, Mark Slavkin, will take office. During his recent campaign, Slavkin, who was endorsed by the teachers union over incumbent Alan Gershman, criticized district administration as too large and overpaid.

“This pay raise for administrators could not come at a worse time,” said Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-Long Beach), who called the raises “huge” and “unjustified.”

If the board approves the administrators’ increases, Elder said he will order a special hearing in Los Angeles of the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee, which he chairs.

Weintraub on Thursday acknowledged that the Assembly members were “obviously very angry.” But she said the raises are fair and that she does not believe the letter will alter the board’s position.