Recently the Morgan Hill Times has printed several letters to the editor regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Service Employees International Union and the Morgan Hill Unified School District. The issue has been the topic of conversation locally and the subject of public comment at recent board meetings. To communicate the district’s offer to date and to provide clarification, I offer the following:
Our classified staff is a valued and integral support element in our school district. It includes bus drivers, maintenance crews, mechanics, office secretaries, health aides, food service workers, classroom instructional aides and many others. Because of the diversity of their hours and their jobs, the pay and benefits for each SEIU member is equally varied although they are all represented by one union and one contract. Unlike the teachers’ union, which is more homogenous, it is a challenge to craft a pay package that addresses all the different needs of this group.
This year the district initially offered 5 percent to classified employees — the same amount offered to other employee groups. The breakdown of how the 5 percent would be allocated was left open for SEIU to choose, but it declined to make a choice and wanted the district to make the decision on the breakdown. Due to the increase in health benefits, the district then suggested that the 5 percent be allocated partly to salary and partly to benefits. Under the current offer, a 4 percent increase would be added to the salary schedule, and benefits would increase by 2 percent, from $5,022 to $5,900 per year, for one additional work day (10-and-11-month employees only).
The district has offered a 2 percent increase to benefits for the 2007-08 school year bringing them up to $6,700 per year for two additional work days for 10-and-11-month employees and one day for 12-month employees when the calendar year allows. The district did not propose any weekends or holidays. This is a total package of 8 percent in salary and benefits over two years. It is essential to note that this offer does not preclude the opportunity to increase salaries even more next year. SEIU is free to bargain for additional compensation in 2007-08.
Last year, the teachers negotiated a three-year package that markedly increased their benefits. They are reaping the rewards of that strategy today. Unfortunately, SEIU declined to discuss a benefit increase at that time. The district, in trying to allocate some of the 5 percent to benefits for SEIU, recognizes that the classified employee benefits need to keep up with the other employee groups. In fact, the current proposal to increase benefits for SEIU by a specific dollar amount will give some classified employees as much as a 12 percent overall increase, depending on their current hourly rate.
It has been stated that the classified members in our district are underpaid in comparison to salaries in other local school districts. It must be understood however, that the classified employees of our district receive a benefit that the other unified districts do not pay, which has the effect of leveling the numbers. MHUSD pays the employee and the district share of the retirement for all classified employees, which amounts to 7 percent. In other unified districts, the employees pay their half of retirement from their own pocket. No other employee group in our own district receives this advantage. So when comparing salaries with other local districts, you must factor in this “unseen” benefit. For the 2006-07 school year, the amount of that unseen benefit was $658,000 for the unit. Any comparison of salaries with other districts that does not take into account this 7 percent is misleading.
The final piece of the current offer includes a change in retirement benefits to provide equality among employee groups and to allow the district to plan for future fiscal obligations. For teachers and administrators, retirement benefits are paid only to the age of 65. SEIU members, on the other hand, get five years of retirement benefits regardless of the age at which they retire. The current proposal would cap retirement benefits for SEIU employees at 65 years of age. To be fair, our current offer to the SEIU protects the older employee who has worked for the district for 10 years and who will be 55 years of age or older on July 1, 2007. Those employees would be able to choose between the old and the new plan.
On behalf of MHUSD and the board, I want to reiterate that we remain committed to working with the SEIU to find an agreeable settlement to this impasse, while still maintaining our public trust and responsibility to find a fiscally sound solution that will move MHUSD forward this year and in the future.
Alan Nishino has been serving as superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District since July of 2005. He served as superintendent of the Alameda School District for five years.
