ORANGE : School District OKs Teachers Contract

After more than a year of negotiations, the Orange Unified School District on Monday ratified a contract with its teachers union.

“It was like giving birth to a 70-pound baby,” said David Reger, president of the Orange Unified Education Assn. “I’m pleased that it’s done. I’m displeased with the process we had to go through to do it.”

In the end, the contract was nearly identical to last year’s except for a 2% raise to help compensate for a 2.59% pay cut teachers took in the 1992-93 school year. The agreement signed Monday will extend through the 1995-96 school year.

The district’s 1,200 teachers had ratified a contract June 16 that contained two changes that the school board trustees said they could not accept.

One would have given health benefits to half-time teachers. The other would have guaranteed an annual district contribution of $5,400 to a health benefits trust for each teacher. Previously, the district had agreed to give up to that amount.

At Monday’s meeting, two versions of the contract were debated. Finally, the old contract with the pay increase added was approved in a 5-2 vote.