LAGUNA BEACH : District Agrees to Raise Teachers’ Pay

Despite economic hard times for many school districts in the state, the Laguna Beach Unified School District has agreed to salary increases for its 108 teachers.

The Board of Education on Tuesday approved a three-year contract calling for a 4% raise next year that will increase to 5% in the 1994-95 school year.

The district received concessions from the teachers union to offset recent increases in health benefits that have doubled from $600,000 to $1.2 million in the past four years, district administrators said.

Teachers will pay more per visit when they go to a health office. They also agreed to a cap on the amount the district pays for health benefits, beginning in the 1994-95 school year.

“It wasn’t an easy situation to put a union in,” said Paul M. Possemato, superintendent of the 2,400-student district. “But health and welfare benefits are skyrocketing and will eventually impact teachers’ salaries. I think (the union) took a much more expanded view.”

The pact stipulates that district teachers work an additional day for a total of 184 days in the 1992-93 school year. They will have 185 working days in the 1993-94 school year.

In addition, the district agreed to re-evaluate the instructors’ salary structure if the financial situation improves during the contract term.

“I’m extremely pleased with the contract,” Possemato said. “We wanted to have three years of labor peace and make an offer that shows our respect for our teachers.”

Representatives of the Laguna Beach Unified Faculty Assn. agreed that negotiations had been smooth.

“I feel that it was a cooperative effort by all parties involved toward creating a good working relationship between administration and faculty,” said Jeff Nelsen, chief negotiator for the teachers union. “I look at it as a very successful negotiation process.”

The Laguna Beach district is doing well financially because city schools are funded mainly by property taxes. Districts relying on state revenue have seen their budgets slashed by the governor’s office during California’s economic slump.