VENTURA : Teachers, District Agree on Contract
The Ventura Unified School District ratified a three-year contract Tuesday with its 660 teachers, ending a year of bitter negotiations.
The teachers voted last week to accept the contract, which will be retroactive to July 1, 1989.
The new agreement calls for teachers to receive 50% of the district’s revenue for salaries, down from the 58% they received under the last contract. The teachers took the cut to retain their health benefits, officials said.
The difference will be pooled with other district funds to pay for health benefits for all district employees, including retirees.
In March, the teachers had turned down a contract that called for them to help fund benefits for retirees. Jerry Mittelholtz, president of the Ventura Unified Educators Assn., said the teachers changed their minds because of “a desire to get it over with. They looked at the contract and saw it was the best thing they could have.”
Under the new contract, the teachers will receive a one-time $1,000 bonus for the 1989-90 school year. District officials said the question of whether teachers’ salaries will be raised depends on the amount of state funds received.
District officials have projected a $1.2-million shortfall and have proposed a series of cutbacks.
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