SIMI VALLEY : Teachers, District to Discuss Repayment

Representatives of the Simi Valley teachers union will meet with district officials today to discuss how to repay an estimated $300,000 in salary overpayments to instructors caused by a clerical error.

Bill Davenport, president of the Simi Valley Educators Assn., said that one option would be to cut back a projected 11% raise for teachers next year as a way to reimburse the district.

“It’s a possibility,” Davenport said. “We have made a proposal to them, and now we need to talk about the figures. We’re going to meet Monday to see if we can resolve the situation.”

A recent in-house audit revealed that the district’s 750 teachers were overpaid $200 to $400 during the 1989-1990 school year as a result of a clerical error. School officials said someone apparently misread the teachers’ salary schedule when the district was putting together its budget last June.

“It was a mistake, and now we’re rectifying it,” said Dan Hill, district director of personnel.

Hill declined to talk about details of the upcoming meeting with union officials or the proposed cutback in the teachers’ raise.

“They’re willing to work with us,” Hill said.

“They’re very cooperative.”

The discovery of the salary error comes at a time when the district is struggling to cope with a projected $8-million deficit for next year. The district has proposed to lay off 32 temporary teachers and reassign dozens of administrators to lower-level positions with reduced salaries to offset the deficit.