THOUSAND OAKS : District Offers Teachers 5% Pay Cut

The Conejo Valley Unified School District has offered its teachers a 5% pay cut, larger classes and decreased benefits in the first step toward negotiations on a new three-year contract, officials said.

The proposal was criticized by teachers, who have asked for a cost-of-living salary increase and maintenance of existing class sizes and benefits.

“Any time you put a special tax on teachers to pay for education, it’s the wrong way to go,” said Jerry Morris, president of the Unified Assn. of Conejo Teachers.

The district must cut $2.1 million from its $75-million budget after trimming nearly $7 million in the past two years. Contract talks are scheduled to begin April 22.

“It’s a starting point,” Assistant Supt. Leean Nemeroff said.

If the district got everything it asked for in the proposal, it would trim the budget by at least $5 million, Morris said. “I think it’s just their opening shot,” he said.

The proposal would raise the maximum class size allowed from 38 to 40 in grades seven and eight, and from 38 to 42 in the high schools, Nemeroff said. Health benefits for spouses and dependents would no longer be paid by the district.

The contract covering the district’s 685 teachers, librarians and nurses expires June 30.