District, teachers reach stalemate on budget concessions

More than 500 Clark County School District teachers face being laid off next month if the district and teachers union don't reach a new contract agreement soon.

Negotiations between the district and the Clark County Education Association reached an impasse this month after four meetings between the two could not produce an agreement. Both sides will have to agree on an arbitrator to attempt to reach a settlement.

The process could take months, and neither side expects the process to be settled by the start of the new school year Monday.

Negotiations may continue while arbitration is scheduled, should both sides choose to meet again.

Because of budget cuts of $150 million this school year, the district asked the teachers union to agree to a new contract that would eliminate pay raises this year and save about $56 million. Teachers, and all other district employees, also are being asked to pay half of the 2.25 percent increase in their contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System.

The district also is asking to replace the Teachers Health Trust and Retiree Health Trust with a for-profit carrier, which the district says would cost less.

Associate superintendent Edward Goldman, who was appointed by the Clark County School Board as chief negotiator for employee-management relations, said the district would begin a process of massive layoffs, at least 500 in September, in order to meet the budget. More teachers would be let go each month thereafter until a settlement is reached. Layoffs would be determined by seniority.

"Right now, contractually, we are bound to pay the raises," Goldman said. "The only thing we're allowed to do is eliminate positions. If we're $150 million in the hole and paying the raises, pretty soon there's no money in the bank. We can't keep hemorrhaging like this.

"It's not the school district doing this. We don't allocate the money for the budget. We get the funding from the Legislature and local taxes, which have gone down. You have your budget, that's all you can do is work in your budget."

Teachers union president Ruben Murillo has made it clear that the union does not plan to make concessions under any circumstances.

"For the district it's all numbers," Murillo said. "What's at stake is the basic livelihood of teachers (and) their ability to earn a wage in Clark County.

"Our teachers are no different from any member in the community. They're suffering the same ramifications in this economic downturn. We haven't had a raise in three or four years. The number of things teachers are being asked to do are growing exponentially. For a teacher who has to spend their own money to supplement materials, teachers are sacrificing a lot."

The average teacher's salary was $53,238 for the 2010-11 school year, according to the district. The average teacher value, including benefits, was about $70,000.

Teachers' salaries begin at $34,688 and max out at $69,272.

Murillo said he knows teachers who have left the district to teach in other states and that some former teachers took jobs altogether different, such as food servers and bartenders, because of the uncertainty.

Before the Nevada Legislature reached an agreement on a budget in June, the district had been preparing for $400 million in projected cuts. The district expected to have to lay off more than 1,000 teachers this summer and raise class sizes by two or three students. Many teachers started packing their bags, not expecting to have work in Clark County.

When the better-than-expected $150 million in cuts were announced, the district restored class sizes to their previous ratio and prepared its budget, expecting the teachers union to make concessions.

Principals began hiring back teachers, but they may have to send them packing once again, only weeks into the school year. The district's newest teachers would be the first to go, such as Angela Foucher, a third-grade teacher at Gene Ward Elementary School, 1555 E. Hacienda Ave., and a New Teacher of the Year award recipient this spring.

She moved to Las Vegas from Colorado last year to work a job she loved. She thought she had lost that job, then thought she got it back, only to likely lose it again.

Ron Montoya, principal at Valley High School, 2839 Burnham Ave., will retire next month after 36 years in the district and worries that this process may hurt teachers and students.

"I think the morale is going to be significantly lower with the teachers," Montoya said. "There's going to be significant angst. I hope they continue to work after hours and do all the things they did in the past."

Jill Pendleton, principal at Clark High School Principal, 4291 W. Pennwood Ave., said the process of hiring back teachers she may have to let go again is "the worst thing that could happen."

"We went through significant cuts," she said. "Many people had already transferred or changed schools. We lost a lot of staff.

"It's just detrimental to the human spirit, the roller coaster ride. When it comes to staff, it's a job, but also the school's like a family. It's difficult to endure these kinds of ups and downs."

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.