Hebron Dollars & Sense

Hebron Board of Education and Hebron teachers have agreed to accept a binding arbitration ruling on a collective bargaining agreement.

The two parties were unable to reach an agreement on contract issues and the matter went to arbitration, with an initial hearing held this past October.

The arbitration award was issued in November.

Some of the issues the two sides were at odds over included salary increases, the amount of insurance co-payments and extra hours out­side of the school day.

During negotiations, the board of education proposed a salary freeze during the 2011-12 school year, while the teacher’s union proposed no step advancements but a 1 percent increase.

The arbitration panel decided in favor of the board’s proposal, stating “the board of education in
Hebron faces significant financial pressures and uncertainties for the 2011-12 school year.”

During negotiations, the board of education had offered co-pay­ments of $25 for doctor’s office visits beginning July 2011 and $30 for office visits beginning July 2012, with no co-payment for preventive care visits.

The teacher’s union offered $20 for office visits for July 2011 and July 2012, with a co-payment of $25 for office visits beginning in July 2013, with no co-payment for preventive care visits.

The arbitration settled the ques­tion in favor of the teachers, with the arbitration panel saying “most teacher bargaining units are pay­ing $20 for office visits at this time.”

The panel also noted the sal­ary freeze in the first year of the contract had enough of a negative impact on the “welfare and ben­efit” of the employees.

The board of education had also offered co-payments of $100 for emergency room visits, while the union had proposed co-payments of $75.

Both of the proposals were increases from the current co-pay­ments of $50. The arbitration panel agreed with the union, saying it was too big of an impact on an employee to have their payments doubled.

The school board also offered co-payments of $200 for outpa­tient surgery, while the teacher’s association had offered co- pay­ments of $100. The arbitration panel settled this question in favor of the board of education, saying “as a gen­eral rule, employees will not be required to pay the outpatient sur­gery copayment frequently.”

For hospitalization co-payments, the board had offered $350, while the union offered $250; again the arbitration panel decided in favor of the board, saying the savings in premiums totaling $3,000 were “sorely needed” by the school board.

The board of education also offered to change the prescription drug rider to a managed public sector three-tier rider, while the education association proposed the prescription drug rider be the public sector formulary plan - the plan under the terms in the current contract.

The board’s proposal would save the school district approximately $70,000 in premiums annually.

The main difference in the plan is generic prescriptions are writ­ten for patients instead of brand names, but if a physician feels a brand name drug is more effec­tive, then there is no stipulation the patient has to stay on the generic drug.

The arbitration panel agreed with the board of education’s offer on this issue.

During the contract negotiations, the board of education proposed that teachers be available both before and after school - up to one hour per week - for faculty meetings, team meetings, profes­sional development sessions and other similar activities.

The teacher’s association pro­posed that, in addition to the regu­larly scheduled monthly faculty meeting, which was the additional time required of them under the terms of the current contract, teachers would be available before and after school up to one hour per month.

The arbitration panel decided in favor of the teacher’s union, saying the board’s proposal was too much in a time of “severe economic restraint.”

Hebron School Superintendent Eleanor Cruz said the duties of the teachers exceed the limits of the hours school is in session.

“A typical school day is not enough” to get everything done, Cruz said, noting that, for that reason, teachers had agreed to double their time available before and after school each month from the one hour to two.

Cruz also said change in the prescription drug plan was really a “win-win” for both taxpayers and teachers, with the huge $70,000 anticipated in premium payments while “virtually no change” in ser­vice would be noticed by staff.

Requests for comment on the arbitration to the board of educa­tion were not returned, but Cruz said the two sides were both to be commended for their hard work during the negotiating process.

“I want to compliment both par­ties,” she said.

Posted 12-21-2010

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