District, Teachers Union Mum on Tentative Pact : Moorpark: The multiyear contract includes a pay increase, which is retroactive for one year, and class sizes will remain the same.

Worried that early release of information might undermine a tentative agreement, officials from the Moorpark School District and the district’s teachers union are keeping quiet about their first new contract in three years.

Rank-and-file teachers reached Wednesday were happy about the news of the apparent deal, but had heard only a few details.

But sources said that the multiyear contract includes a pay increase, which is retroactive for one year, and that class sizes in the district will remain the same.

Union leaders confirmed that information but would not release details until letters explaining the contract are sent to the district’s 250 teachers. They should have a chance to discuss the contract before going public with the particulars, said Rob Dearborn, president of the Moorpark Educators Assn.

“We want the details to come from us and not from the newspaper,” Dearborn said.

After years of bitter conflict, most union members and district officials were relieved to hear the news, Dearborn said.

“Everybody was tired of all the fighting,” he said. “We didn’t want to start off the ‘95-96 school year that way. So we decided to get together and solve our problems.”

Until this week, teachers and district officials were at an impasse over salary increases.

The teachers, who have not received a raise of their base salaries in four years, had demanded a 1% across-the-board salary increase.

Although they have not received such an increase, most teachers have received pay hikes for each new year of experience.

Teachers have also been able to boost their salaries by obtaining advanced degrees and advanced teaching skills. But there is a salary cap in the district. The starting salary in the district is about $26,000 and the top salary is about $48,000, district officials said. Once a teacher completes 11 years of service and obtains advanced training or degrees, salaries cannot go any higher.

The union had wanted to add a 12th salary step and raise salaries across the board. But district officials, facing cuts from the state and projected budget shortfalls, balked.

District analysts projected that without increased state funding, the annual deficits would empty the district’s $3-million surplus within three years.

The gap between the two sides seemed to widen over the last year, and a state mediator had to be brought in after negotiations broke down last fall. The mediator did not seem to help and by the end of this school year no agreement seemed in sight.

But this week, after only two days of discussion, the two sides said they reached a tentative contract.

“It’s an excellent agreement,” said Clint Harper, a member of the school board. “It’s very fair for the teachers, and I think it keeps the district on solid financial ground. . . .”

Harper, district officials and union leaders said several factors contributed to the turnaround.

The negotiations, which had been done by teams from both sides or lawyers from both sides, were conducted by just two representatives. They were district Supt. Tom Duffy and Guy Arnoff, a high school teacher who served as union president two years ago.

Another advantage this time was that the proposed state budget includes a 2% increase for the school district. The increase amounts to over half a million dollars, sources said.

“It definitely opened windows of possibilities,” Duffy said.

Over the next two weeks, teachers will discuss the tentative agreement and a vote is expected within the month.

Meanwhile, the district will prepare a financial analysis of the contract’s impact, setting the stage for a school board vote.