Mediator in Teacher Contract Talks Praised

Contract negotiations between Beverly Hills teachers and the Board of Education were uncharacteristically trouble-free this year because of the work of a mediator, a spokesman for the teachers union said.

Stewart Horowitz, president of the Beverly Hills Education Assn., which represents the district’s 300 teachers, said this year was the first time in his 13 years with the Beverly Hills Unified School District that a new contract had been agreed on before the start of school.

The school board approved the contract last week.

Horowitz credited Ohio-based mediator Rob Germaine with smoothing out differences between teachers and the Board of Education so that the three-year contract was approved on time.

District Supt. Sol Levine called the techniques used in recent negotiations “a wonderful way to resolve labor issues.”

Horowitz said the teachers’ previous three-year contract, which should have gone into effect in July 1994, was not approved until January 1996 because of contentious negotiations.

This school year, teachers will receive a 5% raise, with 2% raises scheduled for the next two years. Also under the terms of the contract, teachers will get additional raises if the district receives increased funding from the state.