HUNTINGTON BEACH : Fact-Finding Next Step in School Talks

With Ocean View School District officials and teachers deadlocked in their latest contract feud, a state mediator on Friday called for a fact-finding study to help spark progress in the stalled negotiations.

The initial session, in which an independent investigator will meet with representatives from both sides, is scheduled to be set up within a month. District and teachers association officials said Friday that they are willing to continue entertaining new proposals throughout the fact-finding process, which could last as long as four months.

The crux of the dispute, which centers mainly on teachers’ pay and health benefits and how the district spends its state lottery and Proposition 98 funds, is whether the district has enough money to allocate more for salaries and classroom conditions.

District officials maintain that because of declining enrollment and a statewide education budget crunch, it can budge no further. The union insists that because the district is spending $2 million to relocate its offices and is dramatically increasing several facets of its administrative budget, it is well able to offer more for pay and fringe benefits.

The most pivotal issue, however, is medical benefits because the district’s major health plan premiums have soared more than 50% this school year. The district, which before this year fully paid employees’ health coverage, has proposed an 11% increase, while teachers are demanding full coverage be restored.