HUNTINGTON BEACH : Teachers Picket in Contract Dispute

Ocean View School District teachers picketed Harbour View Elementary School on Wednesday over stalled contract talks and threatened to expand the picketing to other schools.

Union representative Dane Shepard said the main issue in the dispute is the distribution of state funds under Proposition 98, which requires the state to allocate a percentage of its annual budget for schools.

The district, which receives $59 per student in Proposition 98 funds, has offered each school $12 per student, Supt. Monte McMurray said. The remaining $47 per student “is on the table for salary increases,” he said.

But Shepard contended that the district has other sources for salary increases and should give the entire $59 per student to schools for classroom use.

“We want that (Proposition 98) money to go directly to the classroom,” Shepard said.

The union has also asked the district to increase its annual contribution to the teachers’ health and welfare plan by about $900 per teacher, to a total of roughly $4,300 per teacher. The district is offering $375 a year more per teacher, McMurray said.

Shepard said teachers “are actually getting a salary reduction because they have to pay out of pocket” for medical coverage, Shepard said.

Both sides are scheduled to present their cases before a state mediator on Jan. 11, Shepard said.